I like history. I read historical books just for pleasure. I have been wondering if we are on the verge of another watershed moment. A critical turning point. A moment in time when there are big changes.
In watching the political discourse saturated with divisiveness and what appears to me to be an exponential widening of philosophical differences, I find myself sad and worried. Listening to NPR the other day I heard an author speak to the insane growth in extremist groups just since Obama was elected. I am also saddened knowing that, as humans, we have to seek the so-called unalienable right to marry from an apathetic electorate. Why people care about someone else’s marriage confounds me daily. And, I am watching with disgust as a battle is played out in political arenas over my rights over my own body.
So here we are again and again and again. There is a focus by the legislative branches on extreme social policy underpinned by a true economic crisis. Ring any bells? Hello, Mr. Lincoln.
What is past is prologue.
While I don’t really believe we are in for a civil war fought on the soil, we are in a real civil war of social policy that has a dire effect on political and economic policy. I don’t think there will ever really be wars fought in such narrow bounds ever again. We are now in a constant state of war. There are no real defined enemies, no winners or losers. We are being fed a cacophony of boogie men. A distraction. Here at home in the good old USA, the electorate is being pitted against one another over topics that should be nothing more than an individual’s rights and protections in a free society. Instead, we are being introduced to many foreign sources to blame for our woes. We are being controlled by fear, hate, and divisiveness.
As we edge closer to another election, I think we are at another important moment after the voting lever falls. No matter what you believe or how you vote, after the election, there will be huge consequences we all will face. There will be no winners.
That being said, I am still optimistic that it is just one of those moments and will pass. What makes me hopeful is my belief that other tipping points are coming very soon. We are just one “generation” from when my generation, Gen X, enters into real positions of power. We are a small generation, so it will be only a short time after that when Gen Y and the Millennials will begin having real influence over social, political, and economic policy. There will always be “haters,” but their ranks are shrinking, and the smaller a group gets, the louder they shout and the more extreme they become in the spirit of protectionism. Shrinking because the younger generation has come of age in a very different time. Information flows freely for them, and their perspective is broader than any that have come before.
I hope I am right. At the very least, I am looking forward to the pendulum swinging back the other way for awhile.
Dixie's Road Trip 