With everything going wrong today, from the pandemic, to the government’s response, to the economy, to our polarizing political climate, nothing can be fixed before we do one simple thing – we have to admit all of this is the fault of everyone of us Americans. Not one party, not one group, not one level of government but every adult American citizen. Before we are able to deal with any of these dire issues in such a way that the solutions are long lasting we have to confront the fact that we caused this or more accurately allowed it to happen. This is not an act of finger pointing or condescending lecturing. I am honestly trying to start a conversation that I believe must first be had before we can deal with these issues. Let me explain.
First this pandemic. We have come to a point where we have allowed science to be victimized by false equivalency, that is allowing equal weight to fringe theories and anecdotal examples into the conversation when discussing scientific and now specifically medical issues. Science is not an ideology or a political perspective or a belief system. It is a tool used to ascertain facts no matter what they are. We need to know this now – FACTS CAN CAUSE BELIEFS, BUT BELIEFS CAN NEVER CAUSE FACTS. No if ands or buts. If you are wrong, you are wrong. No matter how deeply, sincerely you believe, or how long you have believed it it does not matter. The virus doesn’t think let alone care what you think. Science observes and analyzes and reports and processes the data. Solutions can be debated, but the facts cannot. We can no longer tolerate people who value believing they are right or being seen as being right as being more important than actually being right. We must allow for the fact that even if our sources and methods are good that we more likely than not are wrong sometimes about this that or the other. Knowledge is constantly growing and adjusting to reality and if we do not base policy on what actually is correct and stop allowing firm belief or disbelief to affect policy we will again end up where we are. This attitude must start at home before we impose it on anyone else.
As far as the government’s response, we must acknowledge this now – in a democracy WE are the government. Government is not some other, a separate entity. It is us. The founding fathers set this system that we have to ensure that government is actually of the people, by the people and for the people. Granted the definition of “people” has changed (for the good) slowly and over a long time, but basic premise still remains. As long as we view government as something outside of ourselves we have absolutely no right to complain about how the government is functioning. Citizenship first and foremost is a set of responsibilities and not a list of goodies we are entitled to. In a nation that votes at barely 50% rates we cannot be surprised if there are special interests of all kind working the system to their own advantage and to our disadvantage. And that makes it our fault and removes any right to bitch about the government. If you don’t like what government is doing at all levels and you don’t vote and remain willfully ignorant of the processes and policies that directly affect you every day, shut the hell up – you have abdicated responsibility and have zero right to complain no matter what your political leanings are. The government and politicians can only do what we allow them to and as it has become so painfully obvious with the behavior and lack of behavior of all political sides today. Until we accept the full responsibilities of citizenship, today is our fault.
As far as the economy is concerned this is directly related to two points. The first point is directly addressed by the point above. We are the government and therefore the economic policy we have is our responsibility like all other aspects of government. The next point is our ignorance of the basics of economics. Whenever we allow the 1% to yell socialism every time any policy that addresses income inequality and then then demand corporate socialism it is our fault for not learning how economies work. I mean this at the most basic levels – jobs and pay. While Romney and Co. argue that corporations are people, we should have immediately countered with why aren’t people corporations. Until we realistically understand these basics we will be taken advantage of. Poverty wages mean that we are providing our product (labor) at a loss. We need to eat, shelter, raise families, provide for education for ourselves and children, save for future expenditures and if we are constantly going deeper into debt trying to pay for these things in order to remain working we are operating at a loss. Why are we allowing companies to force us to sell our product at a loss? They even justify the low wages as what they need to do to remain profitable. The fact that they would still remain obscenely profitable while providing fair wages that would allow the employees to also profitable proves their greed. We need to educate ourselves about the realities of the economy, participate in our role as part of the government if we are going to be able to build a fair and sustainable economy.
Now finally, on to the political climate. This, more than anything else, is our fault completely. We have gotten to the point we will not pay attention to politicians or more importantly journalists reporting on politics if there is no drama, no reality TV conflict. If it doesn’t entertain, excite or keep our attention completely we don’t pay attention at all. This has led to a ratings based news industry and to politicians as deceptive marketers taking advantage of the willfully ignorant and the intellectually lazy. Gathering and demanding information to remain informed and responsible citizens is not a form of entertainment. The best government is the most boring government. Adulting as a citizen is a chore, a responsibility we must undertake as patriotic Americans to ensure a life that allows to engage in entertainments. When we refused to be informed, when we allow others to say anything without holding them accountable for intentional disinformation, when we are just too lazy to do the intellectual work we end up with a system where the loudest, most extreme voices screaming for attention get to set the agenda and the tone. By not putting thought into our democracy we will have a thoughtless democracy and it is all our fault.
So, until we address these most basic issues, no matter our place on the political spectrum, we cannot solve the problems we face. Right, left or center it can be our success or our fault how things turn out now and after this passes if it does.
