America is Diseased: Mocking the Dying, Profiting off the Work of Uninsured Artists |
How did we get this way?
Or is it only an illusion or myth that we were, collectively, any other way – other than selfish, self-centered bastards only out for Number One?
I used to be insulted at the concept of the “Greatest Generation” – basically those people who grew to adulthood during the Depression then fought World War II and either died for their country or came back and built the economic powerhouse that was the American Middle Class. I was insulted because that was not my generation, those born in the generation after, we Baby Boomers, those of us who reaped the success of the most robust economy the world has ever known.
But now I really do see the point of the adulation and see that it’s accurate. These were people, many of whom probably did not agree with the war effort, who nonetheless selflessly joined the effort to defeat the fascists because they realized that a group effort would work, this national project would work, that the alternative was hell.
Consequently, they returned home and kept that “we’re all in this together” spirit of the battlefield, realizing that the collective building of schools, of roads, sewers, hospitals and all of that was for the good of everybody, and that nobody got to where they did only because of their own sweat or their own grace. These people knew this. They felt it in their bones.
How did we forget? Because the infrastructure was built. Somewhere in the late 70s or early 80s we, as a country, decided the U.S. was built as far as it was going to be and now it was time to take the spoils, to be greedy, to get as much for ourselves as we could before it all came crashing down, and hopefully we’d either be set or we’d be dead by then.
It’s really not a pretty picture, and didn’t have to turn out this way. I have no idea how we can recapture that essence in this country. Still, I hope it’s not a lost cause. Any ideas?
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I’ve thought for several decades that what we needed desperately was a leader who would galvanize our collective consciousness the same way that JFK, MLK and RFK did before all three lives were so tragically cut short. The “ask not what your country can do for you …” credo. Forty-plus years ago, Lyndon Johnson and RFK made the War on Poverty a cornerstone of their political agenda. Last week a report was published saying that poverty is at higher levels than in decades, and people barely took notice. (Did any of the Republican candidates even mention it?)
People need to be exhorted to be better than they currently think they can be. I lay at Reagan’s feet the beginnings of the “me mentality” that’s mushroomed exponentially since the 80s. Along with millions of others, I thought Obama had the right stuff to inspire a new age of altruism. So far that hasn’t happened – maybe there’s a chance he still could be the one, but I’m not so sure. But I truly believe it requires a secular visionary who’ll inspire people to relearn the joy of doing good for others, of living in a society where we care about our brothers’ and sisters’ welfare as much as our skins.
Nina, I totally agree with you. I also hoped that Obama was that kind of leader, but have been hugely disappointed in the last couple of years – but to be honest, I do believe his administration saved us from a 30s-era Depression. (Though I’m crossing my fingers!) There doesn’t seem to be that kind of inspiring leader on either the left or the right, but I’m very encouraged by people such as Elizabeth Warren stepping up to public service. The young people have to know there’s an alternative to the greed that’s pervasive in the world these days.
Thanks for commenting and looking forward to seeing you soon! JJA