The old man still does think. Well said indeed. What he said reminded me of
something on the American scene I put together a few years ago, so I thought
I'd include it below.
Ed
________________________________
From: Ray Harrell <[email protected]>
To: "RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION"
<[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 1:31:42 PM
Subject: [Futurework] The old man still thinks.
Well said, REH
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/is-the-n-r-a-un-american/?hp
Whither the City on the Hill?
Thursday, Apr 22, 2010
An item in yesterday’s paper said that the
Republican Governor of Florida’s chance of being re-elected are rapidly waning
because he gave Obama a hug when the President visited the state to help sell
the stimulus package that was to bail out the banks. While the Governor’s fate
is a relatively minor event in American politics, bigger things seem to be
going on.
Tea Partiers, large crowds of people waving flags
and holding signs frequently gather to let the government know that it is
becoming too dominant in their lives and isn’t living up to the Constitution.
Recently, pictures of Tea Partiers have included stout, well to do middle-aged
men with guns strapped to them.
While that is scary enough, there are far scarier
things going on. Find Hutaree on the web and watch men in camouflage fatigues
running through the woods with guns in their hands, men who believe that acts
of violence can bring about the final judgment prophesied in the Bible — and
therefore have been arming themselves to go to war with the Antichrist,
"evil Jews," and Muslims. Go to the Oath Keepers website and find
that young men, many in military service, have sworn to defend the Constitution
and pretend that the American Revolution of 1775 continues today. Go to the
Michigan Militia website and learn that "A well-armed citizenry is the
best form of Homeland Security and can better deter crime, invasion, terrorism,
and tyranny." All such things may make you recall Timothy McVeigh, who in
1995 killed 168 people in Oklahoma City because he hated what government was
doing.
One has to wonder what’s bothering these people
so? It would seem that their concerns arise out of things both ancient and
modern. One of the most important concerns is the changes that America has
experienced during the past century. There was a time when populist movements
focused on political and economic issues made government sit up and pay
attention. It forced things that people didn’t like to change. Populist
movements can still make a difference, but far less so because the American
polity and society has become far more complex than it was a century ago. Yet
many people still look back longingly at the times when marching about with
guns in hand made all the difference.
Whether they march about or not, Americans are
facing a changing world, one that is not changing in their favour. As a recent
article in Harper’s points out, much of America’s industrial base has been
bundled up and shipped overseas— "a policy that shut down the working-class
escalator to a better life, gutted the unions, and deprived liberals of their
main source of political power." ("The Vanishing Liberal", Kevin
Baker, Harper’s, April 2010) While it is an exaggeration to say that Americans
no longer make the things they buy, there is considerable truth to it, as a
visit to Walmart and the cars being driven on Main Street show. Moreover, as was
demonstrated by the fallout from the sub-prime mortgage debacle, there has been
a marked shift of power from the manufacturing to financial sectors during
recent decades. It’s not how much stuff is made in factories that determines
the state of the economy, it’s what’s happening on Wall Street. And while some
great cities like New York are still thriving,
others like Detroit and Cleveland are in freefall decline.
It’s no wonder that Americans are confused and
angry. Because of globalization, increasing complexity and shifts in economic
power, the once fabulous city on the hill is tumbling down the cliffs piece by
piece. Someone has to be blamed. Why, government of course! So march about or
run through the woods with guns in hand and blow a few things up if you have
to. That’ll fix things! That’ll show’em!
Ed Weick
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