Several decades ago, Saul
Bellow wrote this:
For the first time in
history, the human species as a whole has gone into politics. Everyone is in
the act, and there is no telling what may come of it.
At this point, however, we
can say what has come of it: failure. Politics has failed to deliver on nearly every
promise it has made since the 1960s, and I think it’s time to hold it to
account.
50 Years In
I was still a child in
1966, but I remember it fairly well. And I remember a good deal of the politics
of the era, because my mom was involved with it. In fact, she helped to rewrite
the Illinois State Constitution during those years. (Adoption came in 1970, but
there were several years of work preceding it.)
So, I know what people in
that time were hoping to get out of politics… what they firmly believed they would get out of politics. Here’s the list:
·
A solution to
the race problem.
·
An end to a
pointless war.
·
A solution to
the Middle East problem.
·
A solution to
the problems of poverty and welfare.
·
An elimination
of police brutality.
Bear in mind that the
people who were seeking these things were decent, well-meaning people. They truly
wanted the world to be better, and they believed politics would make it happen.
And to their credit, they
worked to make it happen. Not only that, but their children and grandchildren
have kept the faith and continued the fight. We now live in a world of all politics, all the time. And
so, half a century in, I think we need to take a hard look at the results,
which are these:
The race
problem
Race problems have shifted
over the past 50 years, but they are still very much with us. And when I say “shifted,”
I mean this: If you go to the towns of the American South that were considered
the cores of racism (in those days it was called “bigotry”), you’ll find that
black and white people generally get along pretty well; far better than they
did in the 1960s.
Where racial tension
survives and thrives these days is in the realm of the political and because of
political actions. The typical white hater of the ’60s derided Negroes as being
bad by nature. The “angry white men” of modern times are upset that their
money, jobs, and opportunities are stolen via politics and handed to other
people. (There is of course a residue of just plain hate.)
The bottom line here is
that politics is keeping racism alive. And if the truth is to be honestly
faced, this is because a large number of political operatives would have no job
if racial prejudice evaporated. It behooves them to keep it going. Verdict:
Fail.
Pointless war
Vietnam goes, Iraq and
Afghanistan come, and Syria may be next; ho hum, just another season in the long march of the military-industrial complex. Verdict: Fail.
The Middle
East problem
Israel, the Arabs, bombs,
terrorists, dictators… which decade’s headlines are these? Verdict: Fail.
Education
Test scores since the
1960s have steadily fallen; teachers’ unions have become ever-more rapacious
and arrogant, colleges ever-more expensive. Metal detectors now adorn school
buildings, teachers are forbidden to adapt the curriculum to the students, etc.
Verdict: Fail.
Poverty and
welfare
More
people are on more welfare programs than ever before… and in the face of ever-declining scarcity in the world. And again,
armies of political operatives would lose their jobs if these problems ever
went away. Verdict: Fail.
Police
brutality
Eric Garner, intensely
violent and overly used SWAT teams, and an ever-increasing list of innocent
victims. At the same time, every evening’s television shows laud “law
enforcement” as our true and great saviors. Police departments are laden with
bigger, deadlier tools and massive budgets. All of this while Acton’s dictum
(“Power corrupts…”) remains. Verdict: Fail.
We See, but Can We Perceive?
There’s nothing secret
about the facts itemized above. We’ve all seen them. The question is this: How many of us are
able to accept them?
Most people hate the
reality that forces them to change their opinions. They fight it, cleverly and persistently.
If the first reason to reject reality doesn’t work, it’s followed by a second,
third, and fourth. And if excuses fail, anger, accusations, and wild displays
may follow.
Still, reality
is what it is. And this particular slice of reality is that politics has
failed. Profoundly.
We may have leapt into
politics with the best of intentions, but our efforts have failed to produce
beneficial results… save of course that they allowed us to feel righteous. As
far as changing the world, we’d have been better off gardening; that, at least,
would have provided good food for people we cared about.
We can either face reality
or fight against it. But if we really care about the state of the world, we
need to face the truth: Politics has failed miserably.
Comments
It’s time
we try using the US Constitution (as written). We need to get the federal
government out of unconstitutional activities.
The Constitution grants very limited enumerated powers to the federal
and leaves all other areas to the States and the People. Education and Law
Enforcement are State and local functions. 90% of what the federal government
does is unconstitutional and needs to be put back in their box.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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