I made this tweet, in part, to get people to start thinking. I am not sure what I expected. I did received a few comments concerning the lingering fears from 9/11, even though the country where 15 of the 19 9/11 terrorists originated is not among the countries listed in the executive order. However, one comment in particular made a very important point:
“…I think both sides need to at least try to understand the perspective of the other. We have to do something to re-unite ourselves. Otherwise the terrorists will have succeeded in dividing us and their ultimate goal of us destroying ourselves will be accomplished.”
I am not sure just the terrorists want to see us divided. I have read discussions that alleged the wealthiest “1 percent” of the US population want to keep the “working class” members divided, because if the 99 percent stay divided, the uber-wealthy can continue to fleece the country.
Whether it is the oligarchs, overseas terrorists or some other force that has our country divided, one thing is certain: we cannot continue down this path if our nation is to survive.
Here are my thoughts on some of the hurdles we must overcome to start the "reunification" or our divided nation. I realize that my thoughts are at best, reasonable, and at worst, just the rants of a liberal, straight, white, privileged, Midwestern male. I have no special training that lead me to these conclusions, but in my humble opinion, our current dilemma boils down to several major points. Granted this is oversimplification but here goes:
Blame Game
People love to blame other people for their troubles... that way they do not have to admit fault and/or take responsibility. I can acknowledge the fear/paranoia associated with 9/11 and other incidents. One such incident affected me directly, though minimally.
Since 9/11 Muslims have been a convenient group to blame for almost all terror based problems in our country. It is easy to blame one group for current and even imagined problems. Donald Trump plays the blame game constantly. Although I hate the comparison, Hitler also played the blame game masterfully during his reign.
Anybody who reads and understands the history of the Middle East must acknowledge the many mistakes we in the west have made and continue to make in this region. “Western” aggression has been present in the Middle East since ancient Rome and the Crusades. More recently, the Ottoman Empire had their claims on the Middle East until World War I, and the U.S. and others in the west have installed various puppet dictators – some of which lead to the rise of Islamic republics, such as Iran. Finally, the current troubles and destruction associated with the recent wars help create ISIS.
We are also playing the blame game against immigrants. Immigration records have shown that there is no great influx of Mexican or other Latin American people into the US. Yet we are building a wall to keep out the “hoard” of immigrants that simply do not exist… or arrive by plane.
Perhaps it is time to eliminate the blame game and begin addressing our mutual problems in a constructive manner.
Admitting Mistakes
People do not want to acknowledge their own mistakes, no matter if they were honest mistakes or ones based on false perception. Rather than acknowledge errors, many people "stick to their guns" or "double down" when confronted with facts that are contrary to their own beliefs. For this reason, there will always be people who will support the President they voted for, regardless of his or her actions or consequences.
One of the challenges to admitting mistakes concerns the variety of news sources available. It seems there is always a media outlet that will support a mistaken premise, no matter how misguided or destructive that premise might be.
Unfortunately, people generally prefer media that share their own prejudices or bias, hence the popularity of Fox, Breitbart and similar news outlets. There are equally bias news sources on the left as well. How much better would we be if we all selected news from sources considered mainstream, or at least less bias, as the following chart indicates:
My primary sources for national and international news are all within the “Mainstream” on this chart, including the New York Times, Washington Post, (both of which use Reuters and AP), BBC and NPR. I also occasionally read the Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and the Huffington Post. Unfortunately, there are dozens of similar charts, all of which draw the line between bias and partisan news in a different position. I guess we cannot even agree on bias.
To make matters worse, our President and his cabinet began their term developing conspiracies, discrediting the media, and trying to inject “alternate facts” into our national dialog. Apparently, to be a “true” American (in Trump’s mind) you should only get your news from his administration. Many of his followers seem willing to do just that. The left leaning and most of the mainstream media have fought against Trump’s war against the media. Even the conservative Fox News has begun to question Trump and his spokespeople more thoroughly. I never knew facts could be partisan.
It is going to be a monumental challenge to hold constructive and healing conversations between members of our divided nation when we have become so divided that we cannot even agree on facts, credible sources of information, and reality.
Short Attention Span
Many people have short attention spans. Whether this is because of our technological revolution, differing education levels, or just the ever-growing chaos of life, who can say? Trump won many votes by keeping his message simple. Liberals should not assume that providing more detailed information and encouraging people to "go to our website" will have much influence, let alone win elections.
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| U.S. Coal Mining Production Source: U.S. Energy Information Agency |
Lies are simple and apparently easy for some. Telling the unemployed coal miners "I will reopen the mines" is an example of a lie that Trump used to win votes. It is also one lie that can be addressed. Coal production has not declined as much as politicians have implied. Furthermore, regulations had little to do with the loss of jobs, except in cases of safety violations. Often mine owners use regulations as an excuse. Miners lost more jobs to automation, mines that closed for safety reasons, or mines being closed because they were unproductive. Finally, other sources of energy replaced coal, primarily Liquid Natural Gas, which burns cleaner and at one time was less expensive.
These lies can and should be addressed. However, the miner and others who are unemployed must be willing to change professions.
These lies can and should be addressed. However, the miner and others who are unemployed must be willing to change professions.
Resistance to Change
In the discussion above, I cited an example of how one political lie turned economic decisions and mineral depletion into a promise to “go back” to better times. In spite of what was promised, we have to reach out and help mining families move forward. Just this week, Republicans kicked off their drive to roll back Obama-era environmental regulations by repealing a "Stream Protection Rule" meant to keep coal mines from dumping waste into streams. Allowing coal mining companies to contaminate water resources will not reopen unsafe mines, nor will it increase mining employment within mines that have been automated. It will simply save mine owners money by allowing them to discharge their waste rather than treat it.
Change is enviable. It can also be frightening, especially to the families who have seen their prospects for employment diminish, in coal mining and other industries. This is similar to the manufacturing history of my home: During the late 19th century, the City of Columbus, Ohio had a comparatively large manufacturing sector. The city became known as the "Buggy Capital of the World," thanks to the two dozen buggy factories—notably the Columbus Buggy Company, founded in 1875 by C.D. Firestone. However, during the early 20th century, technology offered a new mode of transportation and eventually, Columbus’ buggy production collapsed. Workers were forced to change their profession as the buggy market dried up. Perhaps many of the buggy workers did not want to change jobs and leave the buggy manufacturing profession. But changes in technology and the market often doesn’t not allow that choice.
Miners, in this example, have to understand that we are in an energy situation that is not sustainable. Fossil fuels are not renewable and Americans need to conserve these and other resources as well as continue to develop new, sustainable sources of power. Unfortunately, that leads me to my final point.
Simple, Easy Solutions
People want simple solutions. No matter how complex the problems, many people want an easy out. Climate change and the depletion of fossil fuels are examples of complex problems. Unfortunately, many politicians are all too willing to offer their constituents simple solutions (that are often ineffective) or dismiss entire problem as a "liberal hoax," in the case of climate change. Those of you who know me know my opinion of that.
However, if we are ever going to reunite our nation, we must also understand that many people believe they cannot afford to think and plan beyond our next paycheck. How are we going to get those on the far right to take climate change and energy consumption issues seriously? Humans cannot directly feel or experience climate change on a day-to-day basis. Many news sources and politicians still deny what most of the world has already acknowledged.
Perhaps we need to take a very different approach. Simplify the message. In the case of climate change, perhaps, if we can agree that fossil fuels are a limited source of energy, maybe we can get people to acknowledge that we need to begin finding new sources. That does not mean a complete shutdown of the fossil fuel industry. As these figures show, the three largest sources of energy both in the U.S. (and in the world) are fossil fuels. There is no way we can simply mothball all fossil energy sources immediately,
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| Current and Historic Energy Utilization in the United States by source. |
Conclusion
So does any of this ring true? Did I hit the mark; miss it entirely; or at least come close? I will let the readers decide for themselves. Can we come together and reunite our country? Can we find common ground upon which to build a new constructive American dialog to replace our current situation of verbal snipes and social media jousting? Who can say? It will take open minds and a great deal of compromise, two things that seem to be in short supply these days.
All I know is that, we cannot continue as we have in the past. We can not approach our mutual problems thinking that we have all the answers and the other side is just wrong. Maybe folks much more prominent and important than me should plan to listen more and try to understand opposing points of view before trying to solve the situation.
Obviously, this list is hardly all-inclusive. It certainly does not address the problems with our election system. Perhaps that is a topic for another blog post.
-- Food for Thought
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