These are strange times to be an American. I think it’s because so many of my fellow Americans appear to be – what’s the word… Oh yes, nuts.
A standing president just announced that he supports equality and freedom of religion. Apparently, that was controversial.
A thought comes to mind:
What. The. Hell.
A portion of the electorate, as recently as earlier this year, would have called New York City a den of liberal, east-coast godlessness. But it now has hallowed ground in it.
So the east cost liberal threat-status has been downgraded. Muslim community organizers are the in thing to hate now. But don’t fret, New Yorkers, right-wing sentiments are like fashion trends. They’ll come around soon enough.
But this isn’t just about politics.
It’s about fear
By no stretch of the imagination am I a Star Wars fan, but we could all stand to keep the following in mind: "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to douchebaggery." I think that's how it goes.
That’s what underlies the politics. That’s what underlies the culture. And we get a lot of it from every direction.
Even the air in notoriously relaxed Seattle seems weird these days. When I moved out here over 12 years ago, I reflected on how timid everyone seemed compared to my experiences in New England. People are still timid, but they’re also clearly anxious.
The roadways have always seemed a barometer of sentiment. I have lost count of how many times people will honk or flip me off for going the speed limit on a public road. And this says nothing of grocery shopping. One item over the limit may soon be the threshold for a screaming argument.
But it’s not about the roadways and check-out lines. These are mere indicators. Didn’t we learn anything from that damned Muppet?
In my mind’s eye…
I imagine the American mood. We’re stressed out, haven’t slept, and wound up tightly. We’re unwilling to wait. We want more time so that we can do more work.
And we’re poorer; the money doesn’t go so far. We need to cut back. And the kids that we’re smothering? Yeah, they need better schools, too. That under-paid teacher is a bitch. She doesn’t do a good job; I think I’ll yell at her.
There’s no time. We’re distant. In a room full of people, we’re alone. If you speak up, you’ll be glared at by people that don’t have the strength to speak up. So much resentment.
Some of this is local, but I’m increasingly convinced there’s a national element.
I may still have reservations about the whole generational perspective, but it sure as hell feels like we’re in the midst of an unraveling period. All the yelling voices. All the disconnected people. We need to find our footing again.
I can’t remember if I wrote this earlier, but we really are poorer. Median income rose very slowly between 1970 and 1995 or so, picked up for a few years during the tech boom, peaked around 1999, declined for about four or five years thereafter and was slowly recovering when 2008 hit. I can’t imagine that it’s risen since, and at least one apparently reasonable chart on Wikipedia says that it hasn’t. So median income for Americans has been, on average, declining for better than 10 years. This is a situation that is unprecedented since the Great Depression. Admittedly, we’re declining very slowly from a very high base, but I wish there were more discussion of this long-term trend.
We don’t do so well with slow-motion events. I really wish I could recall one of the interesting observations from back when I read Strauss & Howe’s original work. It related to a (roughly) three year period during the Great Depression. A sample of the writings at the end of that period was remarkable in that it highlighted how different the country’s mood seemed. It had changed considerably in a relatively short time.
I don’t have data at hand so who knows if that’s just an artifact, but I can’t help but feel that we twiddle our thumbs while our institutions and the economy crumble in this slow-motion state. The one thing I’ll say about the U.S., though, is that we go from hubris to nervous in no time… once the reality of the situation finally hits us, that is.
As always, thanks again for your thoughts Keith. They’re always welcome.