The Obama Era Begins
When the race was called for Barack Obama last Tuesday I was happy, no – more like relieved. The October Surprise never materialized, no message from Bin Laden, no new war with Iran, Syria, Russia or N. Korea, no new lie from the right-wing hate machine that went viral, no gaffe or slip of the tongue that gave people a reason to vote against their conscience. What I did not feel was the emotional catharsis that seemed to grip people all around the country. It kind of surprised me. My immediate thought was – okay, what now? The laundry list of problems that need immediate attention is longer and more serious than any other incoming president in my lifetime has inherited. The media recites them over and over like a mantra – the economic crisis, 2 wars, 47 million without health care, addiction to foreign oil, global warming, Iran’s nuclear program, growing tensions with Russia, and something called “The War On Terror”.
With all this to address, how will he ever have time to make the fundamental changes within our society that will allow us to advance beyond the status-quo and enter the next stage of our evolution as a culture?
As is so often the case – in the problem lies the solution.
Because of the fact that our problems require such drastic solutions, we may be able to effect changes that in ordinary times would seem too extreme.
Naomi Klein, in her book “The Shock Doctrine”, puts forth the theory of Disaster Capitalism, whereby during times of catastrophe (whether natural or man-made) people will accept arrangements that would seem ridiculous in times of peace or prosperity. Usually these take the form of loans or services that are needed to get through an existing crisis, but that carry with them a long-term price that allows their future to be mortgaged at high interest, and when the burden of payback becomes too great, they must cede their sovreign rights to foreign governments or mult-national corporations who wish to exploit their natural resources, establish military presences inside their borders, or have their government’s enthusiastic support for other ventures in the region they occupy. It tends to play out more or less like accepting a favor from the Godfather – someday he will ask for a favor in return, and you are almost certainly not going to like it – only on the scale of countries instead of individuals.
This same pattern can, on rare occasions, be enacted in a much more benevolent way. The era most equivalent to our current economic situation was the Great Depression. When Franklin D. Roosevelt became president in 1932 he enacted a series of programs that would have been strongly opposed in most circumstances. The proponents of the status-quo would have been victorious had the populace been in their usual mode of complacence and apathy. But the problems of the day were such that the usual lip-service and denial could not overcome the need for deep and fundamental change. What followed, slowly at first, was not only an end to the depression but an era of era of economic prosperity never before seen in world history. The rise of unions, workers’ rights, and a strong middle-class coupled with a blurringly rapid advance in technology (fueled in part by World War II), put America in a position of economic, military, and social dominance for the next 50 years, until the conservative movement succeeded in tearing down many of the policies and philosophies that allowed these changes to occur.
We have an opportunity now to renew ourselves in a similar way. To set a course that will usher in a new era of prosperity and enlightenment, and restore our standing in the world community.
An end to the wars will help stop the bleeding of our wealth with nothing to show for it and allow our military people to regain their lives and families.
Infrastructure projects will get people working and will be a proactive way to avoid the catastrophes that slow us down.
An Apollo program for renewable energy and transportation will allow innovation and entrepreneurship to flourish, to avoid the coming confrontations over oil as emerging nations step up to demand their shares, and to avoid or lessen the impact of global warming on our well-being.
A national health care plan will give us relief from the medical and financial catastrophes that can pull the rug out from even solidly middle-class citizens and leave them ailing and destitute.
Will the current list of crises pull people out of their apathy enough for them to see the need for change?
Does Obama have the kind of vision and skill it will take to set the course?
I am very hopeful that the answer to both of these is – yes.