Current Affairs

In the midst of the Supreme Court hearings around two marriage equality cases, I wanted to reflect on how we got here and where we might be going. Many of us who came out in the 70’s or 80’s would agree that realizing we were gay freed us from a path toward conventional marriage. Many of us found our happiness in that difference. We were coming out at a time of sexual liberation and marriage was the last thing on anyone’s mind. 

But we grew up and marriage grew up along side us. We watched a very role based institution evolve and truly for the first time in the history of humankind, marriage became an equal partnership of two people who loved each. We grew up to realize that the happiness of love, stability, family and home are just as possible for us as for anyone and so a fight for marriage equality began. 

It was slow and small for many years and 2004 saw the passage of so many state constitutional amendments banning marriage equality. There was a presidential campaign that focused on pushing us back from our quest. But then as more and more of us felt safe enough to come out and we became just another sister, a cousin, a friend, a co-worker, a neighbor, we stopped being so scary. So the support numbers began to grow at a rapid rate. High profile celebrities didn’t hurt but the real difference was made in our home towns.

I would suggest that during these two days of Supreme Court hearings, with social media and visibility, it is possible the support numbers went up another 1-2% points. Maybe even more?  We do not know how the Court will rule. Will there be a sweeping decision or a partial decision? or at worst, a negative decision? We will know for sure in June. 

What I do know now is that our quest to be part of the marriage culture is certainly not destroying the ever evolving institution. In many ways, we may be saving it. I think interest in marriage was on the downturn. But when something you have is coveted by others, you often appreciate the value for the first time.

A World Without Want

One of the world situations that likely keeps us all from feeling as happy and content with our own lives as we wish is the knowledge of such massive poverty that exists for so many in a world of such abundance. Many economist see great progress towards a better life for 6 billion of the world's inhabitants. But most experts agree that there is really no end in sight for a group called, “the bottom billion.” There are differing perspectives on this issue because when we do donate or do what we can to help, we want to think that we are really making a difference.

Some of the countries that you might find in the bottom billion include Malawi, Ethiopia, Haiti, Laos, Chad, Burma, and the countries of central Asia including Afghanistan. Other, once poor countries such as India, Brazil, or China are seeing vast economic progress. So why are some countries stagnating, or even becoming poorer? Many of the economists that are studying the situation are using very complex forms of statistical analysis to come up with that answer. 

In his book, “The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing”, Paul Collier suggests that sending money is not always the answer. Change must come from within and cannot be imposed. He suggests that in all these countries, there are reformers and those opposed to change. We may have to help the reformers by the use of military interventions and trade policies. The problems are not easily solved by celebrities spotlighting the problems and there is not a one size fits all solution.

 

Jeffrey Sachs, the author of “The Price of Civilization: Reawakening American Virtue and Prosperity"  applies his global economic theories to the US. Sachs is an advocate for economic aid and he works with celebrities like Angelina Jolie and Bono who raise visibility for his programs. His work in Africa has been in the form of initiatives such as the Millennium Villages Project.  He wrote this book as a result of his growing concern that America is not going in the right direction. He suggests that neither party, the Democrats or Republicans have any really substantial ideas.

He believes the Republicans to be the party of “Big Oil” and the Democrats to be the party of “Wall Street.” Just as he believes the right kind of activism can make a difference in the bottom billion countries, so he believes the same for the US.  He advocates that the current diagnosis that big government is the problem is exactly the wrong diagnosis. In reality, only government can fix the real challenges we are facing, globalization, technological change, and environmental threats.

He suggests a partnership between the market economy and government can make a difference and that the top 1% have a social responsibility to do their part.  There are many things in these ides that ring true, both globally and locally. 

 

Eating Ethically

"Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser hits on a subject near and dear to my heart.     I consider myself a "foodie". What that means to me is that I love food and I am thoughtful about what I eat. When possible, I want to know where the food comes from and the impact it has on the planet.

Do I sometimes indulge in fast food? Yes, for convenience or from a craving established in my college years. But I feel that every meal I eat that supports healthy, sustainable agriculture is a tiny victory.

Schlosser suggests there are other things we can do, aside from avoiding fast food. We should push Congress to ban advertising targeted at children and pushing unhealthy food.  We should demand better health safety laws. He goes into great detail around how the meatpacking industry that has often been driven by the fast food industry is a disgrace. There are high rates of worker injuries. Both meatpacking and fast food rely on high turnover employees, with limited access to quality health insurance, training, career advancement, or even basic fair treatment. He has a great quote, "When labor unions have too much influence, they can become corrupt and encourage inefficiencies. But the absence of unions can permit corporations to behave like a criminal enterprises, violating labor laws with impunity." Our food supply is not as safe as it should be and that has been tolerated while the occurrences of food poisoning  continue to grow. The right pressure applied by consumers could result in change faster than anything the government can do. I wonder what the tipping point will be.
 
Imagine a future where more and more of those that can afford to spend more of their income on local, organic, sustainable food decide to do so. That means more restaurants spring up that deliver healthier food. That means more small farmers establish themselves. This could result in the rebuilding of small town America. This means more jobs that do require intelligence but also hard work and not necessarily an over-priced college degree. As this network of farming grows, prices can begin to drop. Once the farmers have more security and a more consistent consumer base and delivery channels, the food can become more and more affordable. While I expect it might take some time before farmers can make a livable profit,  with increased opportunities to work remotely, one spouse/partner could continue to hold a more conventional job.

Spending in the U.S. will slowly shift. One can hope that spending more on food results in less of the cheap, useless goods from China being bought. Perhaps even some of those dollars can be directed to spending on other healthy choices? It is hard to say how that could all play out.  Health care spending should level off as American become healthier.

Politics and Religion

Like so many things in the 21st century, the notion of separation of church and state is no longer a reality. Faith is no longer private and politics has begun to tackle the personal. The intersection of social issues and public policy has left us living in a world where the separation is no longer a reality. The question today is not how to separate but how to live within these polarizing world views. With both sides believing they are on the right moral side, compromise becomes impossible. 

I saw a bumper sticker that says it all "You are entitled to your own opinions but not to your own facts". This struggle is the reason that politics is no longer fun, that there is no longer any room for compromise or even back room deals. When every issue is tied to religion, peace is hard to find. 

The Distress of the Privileged

The Distress of the Privileged 

  

 

Economic Growth

I have read that the growth that has fueled the economy we have today may be coming to an end. These bloggers/authors all seem to be suggesting that we need to accept that and act accordingly. The focus now must be on sustainability, not growth.

I read more from Thomas Friedman, the author of the "World is Flat". He also wrote "That Used to Be Us"  along with Michael Mandelbaum, who is a leading foreign policy thinker. This book was more of a wake up call and a bit less optimistic than The "World is Flat".  They describe four challenges that we face: 

1. globalization
2. the revolution in information technology
3. the nation’s chronic deficits
4. our pattern of excessive energy consumption. 

While they do offer solutions, with the current political climate, it is difficult to believe the solutions will be implemented.

The 2012 election is very much about restoring the American economy but it is hard to see that happening regardless of the outcome. Friedman and Mandelbaum do believe that the recovery of American greatness is within reach. They show how America’s history, offers a formula for prosperity that will enable us to cope successfully with the challenges we face. 


 
Building on the success of his book, "Does IT Matter?" Nicholas Carr wrote "The Big Switch. " This looks at how a new computer revolution is reshaping business, society, and culture.

Another book with a similar theme, "The Third Industrial Revolution, " author Jeremy Rifkin discusses how internet technology and renewable energy will merge to create a powerful “Third Industrial Revolution.”  He paints a picture where hundreds of millions of people produce their own green energy in their homes, offices, and factories, and share it with each other in an “energy internet,” just like we now create and share information online.  He believes it will create thousands of businesses, millions of jobs, and bring us a new paradigm of human relationships. This change will facilitate a move from hierarchical to lateral power and will impact the way we conduct commerce, govern society, educate our children, and engage in civic life.

 
Michael Lewis in "Boomerang"  takes on topics like European sovereign debt and the International Monetary Fund,  making them comprehensible and fascinating. He gives us a guided tour through some of the differing places hard hit by the fiscal crisis of 2008, like Greece, Iceland and Ireland. He suggests how different people for very different reasons made grave economic errors with the cheap credit available.  He is literally an economic disaster tourist as he travels to these countries to understand what went wrong.  Icelanders wanted to stop fishing and become investment bankers. The Greeks wanted money for everyone with little work.  The Germans wanted to be even more German and the Irish wanted to stop being Irish. He also includes California and Washington, DC in his financial tourism.   Lewis also wrote, "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" which was a bestselling 2010 book.

 
In "The Tyranny of Dead Ideas" by Matt Miller suggests that there are 6 dead ideas.  

1) each generation can expect a rising standard of living  

2) free trade is always good  

3) employer-provided healthcare benefits are the only way 

4) tax rates are too high  

5) local school financing is good and 

6) free market outcomes are just and fair.  

The author contends only top business executives can spearhead new ideas since power-driven politicians are incapable of such leadership. He suggests that the skill and speed with which people cope will be the key to success and those slow to adapt will be punished faster and more harshly.


And finally, I read "Republic Lost" by Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig. His focus was on what is wrong with the political system, in an era when special interests funnel huge amounts of money into our government. With recent changes in campaign-finance rules and brought to new levels by the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, our trust in our government has reached an all-time low. More than ever before, Americans believe that money buys results in Congress, and that business interests wield control over our legislature.
His book describes how fundamentally good people, with good intentions, have allowed our democracy to be co-opted by outside interests, and how this exploitation has become entrenched in the system. Rejecting simple labels and using examples that resonate as powerfully on the Right as on the Left, Lessig seeks out the root causes of our situation. He reveals the human faces and follies that have allowed corruption to take such a foothold in our system. He puts the issues in terms that the average reader can understand. He ultimately calls for widespread mobilization and a new Constitutional Convention, presenting achievable solutions for regaining control of our corrupted-but redeemable-representational system. In this way, Lessig plots a roadmap for returning our republic to its intended greatness.  While America may be divided, Lessig vividly champions the idea that we can succeed if we accept that corruption is our common enemy and that we must find a way to fight against it.

 

 

Great Conversations

My goal for this blog has always been to try to reframe ideas so that my reader might see a new way to proceed out of the quagmire where we often seem to be stuck. To gain inspiration, I have been reading a lot of books written in the last couple years. And I plan to continue that trend. But with a recent gift of a new Kindle, it has made it easier for me to also read the classics so I joined an online group called  Great Conversations.

Right now, we are reading William James and that was a great place to start as I have some history reading James. I have particularly enjoyed his writing on the topic of habits. We all make New Year's resolutions to change our "bad habits" and exercise more, eat better, or strive to be more forgiving and kind.  We usually think of changing our way at the local level. And in many cases, we do not undertake the change at all because old habits are hard to break.

Nationally, as Bill McClellan, a journalist for the St. Louis Post Dispatch, pointed out, we have become like a dysfunctional marriage. We are more interested in proving the other party is wrong than in really solving any of our problems. And a divorce might be necessary for the sake of the kids, but it is virtually impossible. So our best bet may be to go to counseling and see if we can change our bad habits.

One of our bad habits involves throwing around economic terms that no one really understands, capitalism, socialism, free markets, or communism. It is hard to discuss new ideas unless you have the language to do so. We have images associated with these words that scarcely reflect the reality of what those terms mean in terms of our own economic realities. I challenge us to take each sector of our economy and examine what part the government plays and how things really work. Then perhaps we can come up with new words. Agriculture in America is hardly an example of capitalism or free markets at work nor is it truly socialism. Food is our most key and elemental need. When we do see free markets at work, i.e. the movement to buy organic, we still see a dangerous mix of government regulation and profiteering.

We need to expand our language to describe new models and we need to create new habits when discussing and governing. If we don't, we will forever be stuck in the past and some group/country/sector or movement that is able to form a new paradigm will pass us by.

I think there are the limits on the Occupy Wall Street protestors ability to affect lasting change. They do not have the ability to articulate a different vision than their current reality and they are following in the footsteps of all the other talking heads and using the habit of anger instead of building a new way of approaching politics.

 

The art of being wise is
the art of knowing
what to overlook.

William James
Principles of Psychology