More compassion needed in America
I haven’t been alive quite long enough to know if we are actually at a tipping point in America, or if it just feels like it. Maybe every generation feels like they’re in the midst of an unstoppable upheaval all the time.
In my own lifetime, even, I remember a point during the Bush years (shortly after his re-election), when I thought we were on the brink of a second civil war. There were huge moral and political clashes, especially pertaining to religion and the power of the religious right; a war a lot of people didn’t ask for and didn’t want, coupled with the nagging feeling of danger and of another big terrorist attack; and we regressed on a lot of important environmental policies.
People were angry — even the people whose party was in power. In that case, Republicans were angry with everyone who dared to call out the Bush administration, calling them unpatriotic America-haters who would send our country straight to hell. (I’ll avoid a tangent about how those very same people see no problem with denouncing the Obama administration every chance they get.)
And yet, we soldiered through. We didn’t descend into civil war. We didn’t even re-enact the ’60s with mass social movements and protests (Occupy Wall Street was too late, and too futile, to count as part of that era).
But things are pretty bad right now. Perhaps worse, because we’ve added a terrible economy to the mix. Education, all the way from kindergarten through college, is in trouble. Government secrecy and shenanigans are a big problem (though it’s been bad before. Exhibit A: Nixon).
Wealth disparity is worse than ever and growing. As I said in another column recently, the American Dream is dead. And people are still really, really angry.
Recently, fast food workers from across the country have been protesting. They’re asking for a living wage for the work they do — $15 an hour. A high number, to be sure, but surprisingly unlikely to make a noticeable dent in McDonald’s profits, should we inhabit another universe where a raise like that would ever actually happen. It would, on the other hand, make a sizable difference to fast food workers who rely on fast food work because there are no other jobs in America. (The turnover rate at fast food restaurants is so large, it’s a place to find a job when you’re desperate for any work you can get.)
The sheer anger leveled at these workers for having the gall to ask for the ability to escape poverty is astounding and disheartening. They have been called lazy, weak, stupid, morally corrupt. Entitled, of all things. One could see a Revolutionary-War style revolt, if those who would revolt weren’t so exhausted from slapping together hamburgers all day.
And that’s just here in America! It’s not even touching the social upheaval in the Middle East, Greece, France, Spain or the massive housing bubble in China, which affects everyone. Etc., etc., etc.
But it comes down to this: I’m an eternal optimist. I have to believe that while the situation here isn’t ideal, the people in America are still basically good, basically decent. We’re still a lucky country. We’ve made huge progress on gay rights and quite quickly. During those Bush years I mentioned above, I never would have guessed we’d progress from rampant homophobia to a point where even the most traditional of my friends and family agree that LGBT individuals deserve equal rights.
It’s also heartening to remember that a lot of people, even those who have money, recognize that there’s a problem with poverty in America and try actively to fight it. People still train — in increasing numbers, even — for careers in social work, education and nursing, despite the fact that those who commit their lives to these fields are increasingly devalued. (One commentator on the 蘑菇视频 Facebook page, a social worker with a master’s degree, points out that she does not make much more per hour than the $15 fast food workers are fighting for.)
How long will this state of relative peace last? Only time will tell. But I hope we get to a point where we all seek out our better selves and have a little compassion for each other.