A frank view from the political centre
We are at war in Iraq. Terrorists are growing up in our country. Feelings of disenfranchisement are spiralling upwards. Youthful anger is more drunken, drugged and violent than ever in my lifetime. Common courtesies are declining. Road manners have turned to road rage as standards of driving decline. Sexual morals are lower perhaps than they were pre-AIDS, but without the 'free love' aspect. Respect for the elderly is dangerously low. But life goes on, right? C'est lavie! What's the use in complaining! It's best to just mind your own business and worry about your own problems. It's not like we can fix the world. Right?
Well there are ways of halting and even reversing the decline, but they need people on the right and left of our political and social spectrum to accept that their way is not the only way. It will take more than mere good intentions to turn things around. The great majority of people need to 'buy in' for anything to actually work. Equal Opportunities in employment, US style, was very well intended. But I saw at first hand how it could be hijacked by those who didn't buy in. A company I worked for in 1985, in New Orleans needed a manager and to get their minority quotas up. Instead of hiring a black male who was extremely knowledgeable, well liked and highly respected, they hired a black woman who knew nothing, had no peer respect and a lousy work ethic. In one fell swoop, they filled two quotas, provided evidence to the nay sayers of what a poorly conceived law they were being forced to comply with and still managed to leave behind a person who deserved promotion. Clearly, good intentions alone will not cure society's ills.
Many wonderful initiatives for social justice have been hijacked and have gone beyond where their contribution remains positive. Worse still, by going too far, they have alienated many of their natural supporters. A couple of obvious examples are Trade Unions and Children's Rights. Without Unions, many workers would undoubtedly still be earning starvation wages. For a while, they became overly strong and counter-productive. As a result of the backlash against this power, there are now very few strong unions left and in the USA, it is not uncommon to just replace workers who strike.
Children's rights have resulted in it being a crime to mete out even mild corporal punishment in homes and schools. Whereas child abuse is obviously wrong, the decline in respect for any form of authority in so many of today's youth is testament that the minimum level of boundary enforcement necessary for a safe society is not being met. While driving buses, I saw kids literally laughing in the faces of Policemen; and after a 'stern' talking to, they continued their bravado and invective. If parents, teachers and the police cannot set these boundaries, who should? The children themselves? Apparently so!
No matter how similar our aspirations are, and economic circumstances can sometimes be, differing histories make the statement that all people are the same, inherently racist, blind and harmful. Disparities can only be overcome if recognized.
Talking about what is there to be seen can be racist, according to the prejudices of the presenter. But negative assessments might not be racist or prejudiced. If I state that driving standards in England have decreased sharply and on-road manners have mostly disappeared, this is a self-evident truth. If I further state that it is due to a misguided government policy that allows new arrivals to claim a British license for the asking, and that people may not be adequately prepared for London driving if they learned to drive in entirely different conditions, there are those who would see this as racist. Note, however, that I do not blame the foreign individuals for claiming their license.
The truth doesn't care if you ignore or accept it, love or hate it. If it is misrepresented for long enough, accepted truths can diverge from the actual. But however people react to it, the truth is, and will remain, what it is. Turning a blind eye is no more effective than a young child covering their face and thinking that nobody can see them!
If you look at our world and your own doorstep with a discerning eye, you cannot help but be disturbed. And Liberals blaming it all on Conservatives and vice versa, misses the whole point. Finger pointing achieves no more than ignoring. We are all to blame. Each generation of students looks at the mess in the world and rightly concludes that the adults governing us are a bunch of idiots and idealistically predicts that they and their peers will not make the same mistakes. And each generation, as they grow into the seats of power, make some of the same mistakes along with some new ones. And the situation in the world and at home continues to get worse and the finger pointers on both political wings continue pointing fingers and ignoring the truth.
Exactly who benefits by ignoring the statistics that on average, black violence is more angry than white violence? And who benefits by pointing fingers at the perpetrators and calling names? And yet people seem to choose one or other of these responses instead of seeking to find solutions. Throwing money at these problems merely assuages Liberal guilt. Political disenfranchisement creates new layers of anger. And basing conclusions upon the view through glasses tinted with roses or smeared with faeces helps no-one. The truth, in its unbiased clarity, remains for all to see and unfortunately ignore in favour of their own view. The truth is not comfortable. It doesn't conform to political ideology. It cannot be viewed with smug superiority by anyone. We have all created it as it has created us. A valid question: Is the actual truth political, in a modern context? If you answered yes, you are one of the people who have shaped the mess we are in. As the answer is an unequivocal NO, the next question is, why do you think that politics provides the answer? Another question: Are you comfortable, when you look with opened eyes and an open mind, that your politics are entirely compatible with what you see and how you would choose to fix it? Indeed, does history or reality suggest such compatibility?
And so people go on in their lives, pursuing the unimportant, unknowing or not caring that love, not wealth, is the only really important thing in the world. And in a world of facades, we hardly even know ourselves, let alone our neighbours, near and far. We do not accept the simple truth that the cause of all war, prejudice and misunderstanding is that you are not me. We prefer to say "you are wrong", rather than admitting that from such different perspectives as exist in the world, we might both be partly right. But from our 'moral high ground' or position of strength, there is no pressure on us to see through the eyes of others. So we stumble, onwards and downwards, with our pride intact. It is easier this way.
About the Author
I admit to being opinionated. I have always been criticised by those on the political extremes. I know that ignoring the truth doesn't make it not the truth, and that preconceptions colour opinions. I hope I have done a reasonable job of seeing past mine. This is a personal and passionate view.
For some offbeat observations and more politics, please see my blog: sceneandheardiny.blogspot.com