That reality is that we are bankrupt—that is a euphemism in this instance—we are deeply in the red, so much so that the usual mechanisms for creating debt-facilitated growth have failed. We are facing a systemic collapse of our economy, not because a single crack in the dam compromised the entire edifice, but because of dozens of cracks that formed over the years, cracks that we merely patched lightly and painted over in lieu of repairing and ensuring the underlying soundness of the dam. Our national infrastructure is a disaster, our debt overwhelming, our currency questionable. Our factories are shuttered and our military has been relegated as a security apparatus for a handful of corporate interests.
The waters are now rising, the dam could collapse fully at any moment, the outgoing Administration is looting whatever it can, and Barack Obama is posed in front, a formidable and handsome figure casting a long shadow, no doubt, with a can of putty and a mop. It’s picturesque, without question, but it is not a picture of change in the making. It’s a picture of unstoppable change coming.
Soon-to-be President Obama may well be the placater-de-jour, handpicked by the supposed oligarchy to steer us through the unimaginable. One might reasonably argue so, especially with the bizarre level of self-sabotage undertaken by the Republicans and the in-flows of corporate cash to Obama’s campaign. However, all those obvious flaws aside, what do we really think we are looking for in the chief executive of our Nation? Who do we think we are, as individuals, when we ascribe to these leaders such holy mantles of perfection? Unreasonable expectations will kill this Administration and we will become the victims of change, instead of the navigators of change--so far, few have adjusted to the idea that we are entering a Greater Depression, where the entire game changes. You’re worried about sending your kids to college when you should be worried about three squares and a pot to piss in. If you can’t accept that, then we are doomed as a nation. If the entire country chooses at this point to adopt the role of victim, without any sense of personal responsibility and self-reflection, there is absolutely nothing Obama can do except take us into a greater war, the last mechanism of the failed state, the ever faithful dance partner to the economic melee.
Health care, education, environment…these are things we should have attended to when the money was flowing like honey. I imagine Obama et al bailing water and building small dams, while an earnest pundit complains that the noise of the surge pumps is disturbing the endangered cockatoo. No one is saying the cockatoo isn’t important; we just can’t do much for the critter under water. Meanwhile, as a few people attempt scattered rescues in make-shift dinghies, too many bob around flaccidly in the water, complaining that no one has brought them a towel. I know it’s a somewhat inane metaphor, but I know a lot of people and it’s not a stretch to envision them bobbing aimlessly out there. They are good people, but they have become horribly dependent on tools they do not understand.
When tough times come upon a Nation, it becomes necessary for the people to discern clearly between those instances in life where they have been truly clever and those instances where they have been merely lucky. Dealing with people from day to day, I worry that many have lost that distinction, the excesses of the last eight years rendering them somewhat narcissistic, aggrandizing their sense of control over their environment, and exaggerating their own accomplishments. I’ve had young friends come to me recently in complete frustration, saying, “I don’t understand. I’ve always been able to leave and find a job whenever I wanted.” It’s funny because they really do, in the moment, think that it is a personal affront to them—it seems difficult for them to accept the station of being one of many, or to count their blessings in recognition of those who suffer more. As I talk them down from the tree of martyrdom, I am surprised at the resistance to the idea that they need to adapt, change the way they perceive and function in the world. They are too use to slipping in a different disc and changing the world to fit them. It’s hard to consider that mindset as being functional within a harsh recession where resources are limited and innovation is the key to survival.
When we emerge from this passage, it will be in an altogether different place then where we have been before. Obama cannot change that, but he can lead the nation through change, by informing us, being candid about the problems, and empowering the people to stand as strong communities in times of crisis. No one can change this future—no one has ever seen it before, there is no precedent, there is no model, just a scattering of myths, prose and poetry that hint to disasters past. All we have are a lot of unproven ideas and very little resources to test them out. We cannot “change back” to the comfortable levels of sustainable illusion provided during the Clinton administration, or the generic Rockwellian image of the perfect and sanitized 1950’s American experience. This is a new frontier before us, and like our forefathers who came here in search of the unknown, we have to embrace the same spirit of the frontier. Progressives and protestors have to hold firm to the obvious litmus of social integrity: stop the war, stop the blatant financial fraud in Congress, dissolve the unitary executive and reestablish the strength of our three-branch Republic. Then, and only then, can we begin forming relevant solutions to the myriad of other problems that beset us. The economy is the economy, probably the only truly democratic expression of the people at large. Villains and bad guys abound, and we’ll get them, but humility demands that we take our share of the responsibility and open ourselves to changing the way we live. The change is coming regardless. Most importantly, wisdom dictates that we in the progressive movement become champions of reason and reality, our individual visions of utopia set aside in favor of sustainable solutions for all.
Heaven knows, if we thought that the only effort we needed to make in regards to change was electing Obama and giving him our laundry list, his failure is already secured and our Nation will mourn its demise alone. We didn’t elect change. We merely elected to change. It’s not Obama’s job to change our Nation, only to manage the change we bring about. Now let’s see if we’ve really got the collective fortitude to bring that change on without assaulting the rest of the planet or our next door neighbor.
The waters are now rising, the dam could collapse fully at any moment, the outgoing Administration is looting whatever it can, and Barack Obama is posed in front, a formidable and handsome figure casting a long shadow, no doubt, with a can of putty and a mop. It’s picturesque, without question, but it is not a picture of change in the making. It’s a picture of unstoppable change coming.
Soon-to-be President Obama may well be the placater-de-jour, handpicked by the supposed oligarchy to steer us through the unimaginable. One might reasonably argue so, especially with the bizarre level of self-sabotage undertaken by the Republicans and the in-flows of corporate cash to Obama’s campaign. However, all those obvious flaws aside, what do we really think we are looking for in the chief executive of our Nation? Who do we think we are, as individuals, when we ascribe to these leaders such holy mantles of perfection? Unreasonable expectations will kill this Administration and we will become the victims of change, instead of the navigators of change--so far, few have adjusted to the idea that we are entering a Greater Depression, where the entire game changes. You’re worried about sending your kids to college when you should be worried about three squares and a pot to piss in. If you can’t accept that, then we are doomed as a nation. If the entire country chooses at this point to adopt the role of victim, without any sense of personal responsibility and self-reflection, there is absolutely nothing Obama can do except take us into a greater war, the last mechanism of the failed state, the ever faithful dance partner to the economic melee.
Health care, education, environment…these are things we should have attended to when the money was flowing like honey. I imagine Obama et al bailing water and building small dams, while an earnest pundit complains that the noise of the surge pumps is disturbing the endangered cockatoo. No one is saying the cockatoo isn’t important; we just can’t do much for the critter under water. Meanwhile, as a few people attempt scattered rescues in make-shift dinghies, too many bob around flaccidly in the water, complaining that no one has brought them a towel. I know it’s a somewhat inane metaphor, but I know a lot of people and it’s not a stretch to envision them bobbing aimlessly out there. They are good people, but they have become horribly dependent on tools they do not understand.
When tough times come upon a Nation, it becomes necessary for the people to discern clearly between those instances in life where they have been truly clever and those instances where they have been merely lucky. Dealing with people from day to day, I worry that many have lost that distinction, the excesses of the last eight years rendering them somewhat narcissistic, aggrandizing their sense of control over their environment, and exaggerating their own accomplishments. I’ve had young friends come to me recently in complete frustration, saying, “I don’t understand. I’ve always been able to leave and find a job whenever I wanted.” It’s funny because they really do, in the moment, think that it is a personal affront to them—it seems difficult for them to accept the station of being one of many, or to count their blessings in recognition of those who suffer more. As I talk them down from the tree of martyrdom, I am surprised at the resistance to the idea that they need to adapt, change the way they perceive and function in the world. They are too use to slipping in a different disc and changing the world to fit them. It’s hard to consider that mindset as being functional within a harsh recession where resources are limited and innovation is the key to survival.
Heaven knows, if we thought that the only effort we needed to make in regards to change was electing Obama and giving him our laundry list, his failure is already secured and our Nation will mourn its demise alone. We didn’t elect change. We merely elected to change. It’s not Obama’s job to change our Nation, only to manage the change we bring about. Now let’s see if we’ve really got the collective fortitude to bring that change on without assaulting the rest of the planet or our next door neighbor.
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