Thursday, May 19, 2016
The id Post: Thriving in the Chaos of 21st Century America
The id Post: Thriving in the Chaos of 21st Century America: by Irene Daniel I had a funny feeling a while back that this election year would be one for the books. In the Chinese Zodiac it is the Year...
Thriving in the Chaos of 21st Century America
by Irene Daniel
I had a funny feeling a while back that this election year would be one for the books. In the Chinese Zodiac it is the Year of the Monkey and, like 1968, 1980 and 1992, it has been full of surprises thus far. And we are still six months away from election day.
I often caution myself to "never say never," and so will not predict the outcome of the presidential election. Yes, Donald Trump could become our next president. I don't think it's very likely, but I won't say it's impossible. Mortifying for me, yes; but impossible? No.
The chaos of the 2016 campaign is, however, fascinating to political junkies everywhere. It is truly a time of shifting priorities and a seemingly heightened awareness of a fundamental unfairness in the way we do a lot of things here: wealth distribution, campaign financing, voting and race relations to name but a few.
The American rage and quest for greater things that birthed a nation and settled the west has surfaced once again. And I wonder where this sweeping energy will take us now.
We see unfairness everywhere. Middle-class and working-class whites see an idealized American model of the 1950s that is no longer accessible to them. Non-whites, the working poor and others who were always on the outside looking in during the time of that now longed-for era, see five decades worth of advances in their right to the American dream now at risk. And the elite and the media, now the mouthpiece of the oligarchs in charge of all the money and power, have convinced us that it is that "other" American's fault that our American dream is slipping away.
And so now we have a presidential race that exacerbates our differences rather than maximizing our most powerful potential found in unifying efforts. When Americans unite, we are unbeatable. We can literally conquer the world, as evidenced by our performance in two world wars, not to mention the Cold War. During WWII all Americans, of every color and creed, united in a painstaking effort to defeat fascism. Every American family sacrificed and all rejoiced in the victorious outcome.
When American economic and scientific forces unite, we can conquer space. The American flag that now sits on the lunar surface is a mighty testament to what can be accomplished when big government, big business and big labor combined resources to accomplish something greater than any one could have accomplished without the others.
We are all frustrated and feel let down by leaders that we trusted. Whether Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, white or non-white, we all feel betrayed. And we are angry. Who can blame us?
What we do with that anger, however, is entirely up to us. We can use that anger to engineer solutions for all Americans, bringing order to the chaos by listening to all voices and honoring diverse constituencies. Or we can use that energy to destroy the infrastructure that has served us for almost 250 years. It's tempting to take a wrecking ball to something that isn't working. But is that really the solution? Walking away from all that makes us great and shattering any hope of the American unity that is the foundation of our greatness will not make us freer and safer. It will only fuel the flames of fear that could result in a truly scorched earth -- literally. Wouldn't that be like burning your house down completely when all you need are new floors?
We will, without question, reap what we sow. Will we sow seeds of united empowerment, working together adjusting and fixing that which is broken without destroying the progress made as we evolve toward that "more perfect union?"
Or will we unleash our collective rage; which can only bring more chaos?
Copyright, 2016, Irene Daniel, all rights reserved.
I had a funny feeling a while back that this election year would be one for the books. In the Chinese Zodiac it is the Year of the Monkey and, like 1968, 1980 and 1992, it has been full of surprises thus far. And we are still six months away from election day.
I often caution myself to "never say never," and so will not predict the outcome of the presidential election. Yes, Donald Trump could become our next president. I don't think it's very likely, but I won't say it's impossible. Mortifying for me, yes; but impossible? No.
The chaos of the 2016 campaign is, however, fascinating to political junkies everywhere. It is truly a time of shifting priorities and a seemingly heightened awareness of a fundamental unfairness in the way we do a lot of things here: wealth distribution, campaign financing, voting and race relations to name but a few.
The American rage and quest for greater things that birthed a nation and settled the west has surfaced once again. And I wonder where this sweeping energy will take us now.
We see unfairness everywhere. Middle-class and working-class whites see an idealized American model of the 1950s that is no longer accessible to them. Non-whites, the working poor and others who were always on the outside looking in during the time of that now longed-for era, see five decades worth of advances in their right to the American dream now at risk. And the elite and the media, now the mouthpiece of the oligarchs in charge of all the money and power, have convinced us that it is that "other" American's fault that our American dream is slipping away.
And so now we have a presidential race that exacerbates our differences rather than maximizing our most powerful potential found in unifying efforts. When Americans unite, we are unbeatable. We can literally conquer the world, as evidenced by our performance in two world wars, not to mention the Cold War. During WWII all Americans, of every color and creed, united in a painstaking effort to defeat fascism. Every American family sacrificed and all rejoiced in the victorious outcome.
When American economic and scientific forces unite, we can conquer space. The American flag that now sits on the lunar surface is a mighty testament to what can be accomplished when big government, big business and big labor combined resources to accomplish something greater than any one could have accomplished without the others.
We are all frustrated and feel let down by leaders that we trusted. Whether Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative, white or non-white, we all feel betrayed. And we are angry. Who can blame us?
What we do with that anger, however, is entirely up to us. We can use that anger to engineer solutions for all Americans, bringing order to the chaos by listening to all voices and honoring diverse constituencies. Or we can use that energy to destroy the infrastructure that has served us for almost 250 years. It's tempting to take a wrecking ball to something that isn't working. But is that really the solution? Walking away from all that makes us great and shattering any hope of the American unity that is the foundation of our greatness will not make us freer and safer. It will only fuel the flames of fear that could result in a truly scorched earth -- literally. Wouldn't that be like burning your house down completely when all you need are new floors?
We will, without question, reap what we sow. Will we sow seeds of united empowerment, working together adjusting and fixing that which is broken without destroying the progress made as we evolve toward that "more perfect union?"
Or will we unleash our collective rage; which can only bring more chaos?
Copyright, 2016, Irene Daniel, all rights reserved.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
The id Post: A Page of Praise for My Hometown: The Cowboy Cradl...
The id Post: A Page of Praise for My Hometown: The Cowboy Cradl...: by Irene Daniel I was born and raised in Florence, AZ in the mid-1950s. Ike was President of the USA; and copper, cotton and cattle were K...
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