I have been overwhelmed by all the ISSUES currently facing AMERICAN SOCIETY. It helped me to write them out in a list, in black and white, and see that they are finite if difficult, with possible solutions.
1)THE CORE POLITICAL ISSUE IS THE SPLIT IN THE TWO PARTIES. The crazy thing is that the issues are so diverse that neither party really covers them effectively. With Obama’s presidency, the Republicans became terrified that minorities would soon control the country and make it “Demo(n)cratic!” forever. In fact many Hispanics are Republican, some blacks, and the split is more complicated. But Trump effectively polarized the minorities against the Republicans for his goals and because of his racism. Several issues are involved: A)white or other >> racism (Native Americans, 1st peoples, are part of this for other reasons); B) right or left economics: favoring banks and large corp or favoring workers; C) matriarchy or patriarchy & #METOO, this is a crazy issue that became a party issue for no good reason! Democrats reacted against abortion opposition to keep the woman’s vote, and this alienated Catholics who are usually Dems, and clarified the issue that Republicans are the “man’s party” and Dems “the gals” even though many Repubs are gay including probably Trump, and it is all political theater…the craziest part is that this is the most emotionally viable issue even though it has no immediate significance!! D) Immigration. the long history of immigrants contributing to the society has split as Hispanics take control of border states, and the central American countries have drifted into chaos as a result of the Reagan era wars. Repubs pretend this takes jobs away from workers, when the important jobs are offshore by Republican businesses to China.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/03/opinion/us-immigration-politics.html ( the third rail of politics article does not address how the US continues to create it)
2) GUNS AND GUN VIOLENCE this failure of political stability has created a tension about the future of the country. A country already obsessed about how guns will protect us, is fueled by manufacturers wanting to sell as many as possible including to Mexican drug lords etc. Children are killed in schools every month and yet no commitment to prevent this is politically possible because it is a split issue!
3) DEMOCRACY or not TRUMP made it clear that he would do anything to prevent being voted out of office and nearly did. The persisting effort to pretend that the election was fraudulent reveals that Republicans no longer support democracy if they are at risk, and that a significant group of the country doesn’t care. This is truly scary. Most South American countries have gone through this stage with terrible consequences for the citizens. Consider Argentina's "disappeared".
Neither side believes that Washington is a reliable governing center. The stalemate in legislation for the past 3 terms, with the exception of the tax bill, reveals a failure to negotiate between parties. And DC is replete with “Beltway Bandits” who find every possible way to access tax dollars for their sponsors. It has become a “forbidden city” of interest mongering that isn’t perceived to represent the needs of the citizens.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/16/are-liberals-to-blame-for-our-crisis-of-faith-in-government
Government at a national level has four responsibilities:
protect the citizens from internal threats:Citizens distrust the FBI, Homeland Security, and ATF
protect the citizens from external threats: The country has had several useless wars in the last century
manage interstate commerce fairly and international trade
stabilize the economy: Special interests manipulate the economy
So what is to trust here?
4) Does the Federal government have a role in managing personal activities? Liberals seek country wide or “universal” values despite the fact that many states are not predominantly liberal. Conservatives are determined to prevent national laws that require conforming to social values they don’t share. Abortion, feminism, and women’s rights are all, amazingly, not shared issues across the states!
5) The situation of children is especially dark. The lack of protection for child abuse, trafficking, effective education, and avoiding economic exploitation (including guns) is totally lacking at the Federal level. THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T CARE ABOUT KIDS OR FAMILIES. Few state and no Federal policies effectively manage standards for families and children. While children are being ignored, the population is aging and becoming less productive, and the birth rate diminishing. This will impact the economy in the near future and change the balance of power.
6) The collapse of HEALTHCARE is not strictly the fault of government, but a national issue. The lack of national agreement became bizarrely clear with the COVID epidemic. One administration tried to pretend it wasnt happening because it would be bad for hospitality businesses and real estate. The next administration tried to push for public conformity, only to discover a broad lack of trust in the medical industry, the result of a history of abusive practices. (Opiate epidemic for one.) It does not matter whether you think “Healthcare is a right”. It is how you maintain citizens to be productive in society. It is not to develop expensive new treatments to prevent aging. It is not to create a separate component of economic activity that feeds off other components.
7) Do we have any agreement on the changes in CLIMATE, and how to respond to them? It seems inconceivable that all people living in the same world would not realize something is changing, and some response is needed. Can the US manage this? NO. Real estate and other business interests are desperate to pretend that it doesn’t matter. Millions of square miles of high priced coastal land are at risk. And fossil fuel companies are determined to prevent the contraction of their business. Is this a Republican vs Democrat issue? No, but whoever pays for elections is favored. Another reason not to trust politics. And this is not consistent across states, because the immediate impact is different in different states.
8) WHAT IS THE US PLACE IN THE WORLD? After WW2, Americans believed they had a special role in saving the world from “communism”. It is not worth commenting on the stupidity of this, or the problems it created, but it led to a useless war in Vietnam, and a total failure to manage the economic collapse of Russia. These were both warning signs of conceptual immaturity of a potential world leader. The US continued to intervene unproductively in self interests, claiming a moral highground to the Gulf War. Instead of seeming the embarrassing stupidity of how it happened, the country rejoiced. One result was the attack of 9/11. The worst possible response occurred: collapse individual freedoms, try to attack a shadow enemy that is not localized, and start a war for other reasons that lasts forever and accomplishes nothing. Bin Laden is smiling from his undersea grave. He has had the last laugh on the US: Trump. A powerful country must recognize its role in dealing with other countries, seek self interests but not disregard the needs of others, and find meaningful accomodations that serve both. The American Foreign Policy establishment is terrible at each of these goals. They are always looking for a “bad guy”, because they watch too many superhero movies.
9) Rome fell because of internal problems, not the attack of external forces. It had impossible wealth inequality, ineffective government, and poor leadership. The current economic inequality in the US is worse than at the time of the “Robber Barons”. Government at every level is corrupt. A country that “monitors” elections of others cannot agree on its own election results.
10) Often world wide instability is the result of dramatic changes in technology. This is absolutely the case at the present time. The internet communications system has linked the world and provided access to corrupting, hacking, theft, and confusion on a dramatic scale. But it also provides the opportunity to communicate and discuss problems and find mutual solutions. Current tech companies are exploiting their advantages and must be regulated. BUT THEY ARE NOT THE PROBLEM. THEY ARE THE CHANNELS OVER WHICH THE PROBLEMS ARE OBSERVED AND COMMUNICATED. Making tech the problem is both an impossible wish to return to an earlier phase of civilization, and a need to find a scapegoat for our failures to be responsible for our country.
I live in CALIFORNIA. One of the richest states, it has some of the worst economic inequality, homelessness, and social instability. One of the states blessed with extensive natural resources, it has struggled not to squander them and pollute itself in the process. It is experiencing dramatic changes in environment drought and hellish wildfires. But it is advanced in renewable energy, controlling transportation pollution, and managing agriculture. It is a place where change is possible, where people are able to join in self management, and where the Left/Right split occurs but is not totally crippling. And it has nice weather (most of the time).
