Eyes Wide Open

We have a great country. I am a patriot. I am also a realist who delights in creating visions of the future. The latter would be day dreaming if the realism were lacking. But my eyes are wide open. Hopefully the visions are possible, even probable.

To achieve that we must be honest in seeing our country fully ~ all the good and all the bad ~ so we are dealing with the real world.

To do that we must be willing to note our liabilities and faults. Here are some to consider:

• We  claim our bold historical significance without telling the back story; we took the New World from the American Indians, the indigenous tribes who predated the European newcomer by thousands of years
• The railroads were authorized to settle the western frontier in order to build their intercontinental routes. To do that they were given vast acreage of the wilderness. They were the law and slew tens of thousands of Indians in the process. They imported thousands of Chinese laborers and abandoned them as spent slaves when the construction projects were completed
• Mexican settlers who had settled hundreds of years before the white man were tossed off their land and subjugated
• Raw materials were ripped from the earth leaving behind dangerous tailings and marred landscapes
• Water was both dear and wasted at the same time; the EPA was needed far before its formation
• Millions of workers were maimed, killed or abandoned while the industrial revolution was born and matured; this, long before OSHA was created
• Yes we have discovered oil reserves throughout the globe and installed infrastructures for those nations to bring their oil to market, making them rich in the process; but we have plundered the world’s oil markets in the process and created international power tensions over the control of those markets. The Middle East is a tinder box and has been for generations. Not because of them. But because of American interests; us!
• We are the home of religious freedom but are intolerant of Muslims and Jews. Lord, we are even intolerant of Christians who don’t follow our denominational or ecumenical dictates!
• We allow people to bully, like the Wild West, physical power and nerve at the OK Corral!
• Guns are allowed because a bunch of people are afraid the government might overpower them? Or are they really into the sport of hunting? Or are they really saying they are afraid of the mindless mobs who might take away their belongings? What does this say about our nation’s internal sense of safety?
• We build fences to keep out immigrants? Really? Does this work?
• We are a nation of immigrants and proud of it; just not the latest batch entering our pristine land?
• We exported ‘derivative investment products’ and collateralized mortgage packages to the world markets. Those same investments were going sour in the USA yet we sent them to our friends throughout the world and then wonder why the global economy entered a recession when the banking and investment institutions failed large enough to destabilize governments?
• We exported huge numbers of manufacturing and technology jobs and wonder why our work force is unemployed?
• Ok. Ok. I’ll stop here. You get the idea. We lack humility and honesty.

We are not perfect from a long shot. We are good.  We are resilient. We are inventive. We are generous. We are blessed with many good characteristics. But we are not perfect and we need to be honest about that before we can do anything about solving our problems.

This is about realism. This is about resourcefulness. This is about possibilities. This is about our future. It will come regardless of what we do. But, how well it happens and benefits the most people is up to us to make happen. So let’s get down to doing something practical.

We will need to do some heavy lifting because a lot of junk is in the way:

• Do nothing politicians. If they are complaining and not providing answers, then they are in the way and need to be sidestepped (in time we can replace them with public servants who want to get something accomplished but until then we have to ignore the useless ones and do this work ourselves)
• Ignorance of basic economic concepts. Economics 101 and 102 are basic to a working understanding that allows us to work creatively; not understanding economics (but thinking we do!) really needs to be cleared away from our creative workplace
• Lack of belief in the talent of our workforce. We are blessed with the resourcefulness of the American people and their willingness to work hard and smart. They need to be made a part of our recovery, not an obstacle
• Greed of corporations and the wealthy. They are allowed to lobby, donate and bribe their influence and power throughout the federal and state power structures. This must stop. If corporations and the wealthy cannot win their arguments with logic, they must not be allowed to buy power away from the people
• Distrust of educational research and scientific discoveries. We have invested trillions of dollars in educational institutions, teaching, research and accumulated knowledge. We must use it intelligently. It is a golden resource. Why do we leave problem solving to politicians when it is the academicians who could provide much better answers?

Let’s start our work by removing the junk. Clear the way for progress!

At the same time we need to get started on the future building process. 

October 19, 2011