Friday, August 28, 2020

Toward A Body Politic

It's been a tough week. Events in Kenosha, WI, have piled on top of a year of increasing economic inequity and racial unrest. The political environment has deteriorated beyond just tribal conflicts to the point where it feels like we are on the precipice of legitimate open civil conflict. I am constantly met with voices that seem to have no interest in finding a middle ground. It is both exhausting and demoralizing. I am normally inclined to assume that things will settle down and find their equilibrium...and while I guess I still believe that it is difficult to be hopeful.

Adding to my own sense of heaviness has been the work of shepherding an arts organization through the times of Covid. The Forst Inn Arts Collective was well positioned to have a great 2020. Diverse season, a robust and growing volunteer base, growing patronage, increased attendance...it was looking really healthy. Instead, our first show closed after it's first night...stumbled through a few performances in June and the next show had one good weekend and then had two consecutive weekends close due to potential Covid infections. We were fortunate in that we did not have an outbreak sourced from our facility; however, symptoms and positive cases in volunteers caused us to close as precautionary measures. It's a challenge. That isn't to say that we haven't had our successes, but it has been a struggle to maintain focus.

So, I have not posted in quite a while. Partly that's because the few times I was inclined to do a reflective post I have done it within the context of The Forst Inn Arts Collective blog (https://www.forstinn.com/musings). More recently it has been because, in my role as a director of an arts organization that has a diverse patron base, I have been reluctant to comment too directly on things political. However, given the state of the universe, I think it's time to be more open in my beliefs.

This is largely because I am blessed to have in my circle a wonderfully diverse community of people who are working to make the world a better place. They have been in a host of groups that highlight important social issues and have been "out there" in their own public persona in ways that I admire and respect. Eventually, one reaches a point where trying to be circumspect and neutral starts to feel like a betrayal of those things that one values and cherishes. I guess I have reached that point where I feel a responsibility to use what little voice I have to support my ideals and those folks around me with whom I share those ideals.

So, for my own mental health, I offer the following thoughts. If you don't care, stop reading. I want to emphasize that there is nothing unique or new in these thoughts. A little research and reading will provide you with information that is much more thorough and comprehensive than my thoughts. I just need to speak for my own sanity.

REGARDING POLITICAL PROTEST, RIOTING AND LOOTING

I suppose this could as easily be headed, REGARDING SYSTEMIC INJUSTICE. It is incredibly frustrating to read social media posts in which folks argue at length about the details of individual interactions between individuals and our social systems. While these interactions are important as exemplars of the injustices and biases that exist, it is easy to dismiss or extol ones own perspective by highlighting specific elements of individual interactions. These discussions are filled with logical fallacies and false equivalencies. 

At their root, however, I believe that systemic racism is deeply entrenched in our educational and legal systems. That does not mean that every individual in these systems is overtly racist; however, it does mean that these systems perpetuate injustices that have plagued our social fabric for centuries. I know that there are amazing educators, prosecutors, and police officers who believe in making a positive impact on their communities. At the same time, implicit bias is a difficult beast to overcome. There is a great piece on implicit bias on the podcast Hidden Brain

Because of that fundamental injustice, large communities of our society are unable to access the ideals that we blithely attribute to being a citizen of this country. Those of us who are insulated from that injustice struggle to see that bias and are unable to truly empathize with their perspective. That difficulty is easily labeled "White Privilege", but as soon as you assign a label objections abound. I believe that the unrest that we are experiencing at this time is not because of these individual instances, but, rather, are an accumulation of deep and significant disenfranchisement and disillusion. Communities are not burning because of a specific event...they are burning because we have left too many of our fellow citizens behind.

Some of what is happening in regard to the destruction of property comes at the hands of those who are trying to make their voices heard. Other instances seem to be coming from groups who see advantage in fomenting discord as a way to disrupt the voices of those who are disadvantaged. All of these participants are speaking from a place of frustration with the status quo.

So, I believe that the current expressions of dissent, whether they manage to stay peaceful or result in the destruction of property, are legitimate expressions of systemic injustice. Most importantly, I believe that the more these protests are resisted with violent suppression, the more they will increase. Portland is the perfect example of how LISTENING is more effective at managing dissenting voices than is violent suppression. 

REGARDING ECONOMIC INEQUALITY

While systemic racism stands alone as a problem to be addressed, economic inequality that seems to be baked into the capitalistic norms of the United States exacerbates these injustices. A society which allows a small percentage of its populace to hold almost all of its wealth is not likely to long prosper. Simply look at the broad economic trends of the past 120 years and it is easy to see this. After a period of significant inequality, the rise of unions, the introduction of the income tax, and the policies resulting from the response to the Great Depression resulted in a lengthy period of reduced inequality (roughly 1937-1980). This is the period that built the middle class and which many Boomers look back on as the "good old days". Since then, tax and economic policy has allowed a distressing trend back to the years of the "robber barons" which has only intensified in this year of Covid. An individual's perspective on the economics of 2020 are largely determined by whether they are living the economics of the stock market or the economics of low paid wages.

What is important about this is that, I believe, the unrest we are experiencing is heightened by the ways in which it is driven not just by racial injustice but also by the increasing awareness of younger generations that the fix is in. This is fueling the intensity of protests and also adding the unfortunate participation of those who blame their economic despair on those who might need support. It is a confounding brew. Too many of us look around and feel like they have almost nothing to lose.

POLITICS

Conservatives are not evil fascists. Progressives do not hate the United States. Some of us think that a smaller government would be better, others believe that government is an important social good. Compromise is beneficial. Read about how Newt Gingrich created the politics of the nuclear option. And for God's sake, we're all socialists when it benefits us personally. 


Okay. That's all I've got. It's nothing new. For God's Sake, get your news from a reliable source. I have my biases about what that means but if you've never taken a moment to evaluate the reliability of your news sources, please, do so. I will update and add to this as I can. 

https://www.adfontesmedia.com/