I have to wonder about my feelings after 11-2. I feel alienated from half the people around me. My like-minded compadres all seem to feel the same. We are trying to make sense of Bush’s popularity with a lot of people we know and work with. John stuck his head in my door and waved a newspaper at me. “What do you make of this?” he groaned. I looked up from a desk I was moving before class. “I know!” I said. “And they claimed that it was a vote for moral values.” That really got him going. He went off about Iraq and the wholesale death and destruction we’ve exported there in the name of American democracy and national security. What’s so MORAL about THAT?!!
Everywhere I’ve gone in the last couple of days I’ve heard people talking about feeling despondent, discouraged, confused, disoriented, and wondering what awaits usin this post-11-2 world. I’m confused. My alienated confusion is interesting to me because I’ve always felt alienated from the mainstream. But since the mid-70’s it’s been more about lifestyle-level preferences than anything really consequential. When Vietnam and Civil Rights were hot issues there was some real serious alienation, but after those ended we were left with more posture than substance. Most of us got on with our funky lives, trying to fit in without giving too much away.
I have new respect for the depth of the gulf that divides America. How could so many people have voted for the cowboy pres? I don’t believe anything he says, and I don’t like his nervous little chuckle when he gloats. Should I extend my distrust of him to all of the people who voted for him? That’s hard. But then, maybe not. I don’t think even a single one of my friends voted for him. So maybe there really are two different countries separated by this ideological abyss. In a way, the election is a survey of the changed landscape after the shockwave from 9-11.
It’s as if an earthquake has fractured the world’s crust all around us. Bush Backers have to know that the election wasn’t about morality, even though that’s what they claim. We’re all MORAL, for God’s sake! Nobody has a lock on that. The ideology behind the Republican agenda is more about materialism and cultural values than anything like ethics or morality. I think the word ‘morality’ has been put in their mouths by media puppetmasters. The appeal of national security was sold to people with a strong dose of fear and the threat of more terrorist attacks, even while innocents continue to die in hideous ways in a foriegn country that had no plans to attack us. The “umbilical” Christian Right wing won’t look at the destruction, discrimination, deception and denial of the Bush administration. I guess that Christ had it right when he called them ’sheep’. I’m a Christian, but I don’t agree with those who embrace a narrow-minded, intolerant political agenda. Jesus preached spirituality. Christ never preached fear. America got it wrong.
The Book of Changes tells about Difficulty at the Beginning. It is a time of chaos that occurs when the creative power of heaven descends upon the earth. Clouds and thunder, powerful forces, come together. It is a difficult time that brings with it the challenge of sorting things out, as one would untangle a mess of tangled threads. Helpers are necessary for the work that must be done. Appeals to “bridge the divide” are customary after a dispute. We should not be tempted (How could we be?) to think that interests opposed to the president’s agenda will be considered. Bush is going to spend his political capital. He told us so. But I predict that he will overdraw his account. The dialog that needs to happen now is between those whose political will did not prevail – and we need to talk about things that matter.
One big difference between this time, and 35 years ago is that the Left is no longer focused and vocal. We must not be silent. It is time to organize. The Republican party is on an expansionary colonial mission. They want to bore deeply into our culture, and apparently the cultures of other nations, and impose a narrow vision of self-interest and privilege for those who were born to it. They claim otherwise. But they lie. They lie to themselves.
And everyone should think about this: get used to the fact that this mess won’t go away by itself. Don’t ignore the danger. Power is real. And it cuts both ways. We can oppose injustice. We can resist it. We can creatively engage problems and even have some fun with them. It’s still our world as long as we claim a stake in it.
Have fun. Be difficult. Cop an attitude. It’s not over. There’s work to do.
