When Did This Happen?

Life is a process. It happens minute by minute, hour by hour, year after year. Bits and pieces occur. Logical or not one thing follows another. And one thing changes the landscape simply by being a part of it and that sets up change for everything else on the scene. Unfolding, constantly unfolding. That’s time. That’s life.

There are times when flashes pass before my mind. Glimpses of something. Not of the future but of the past. Memory of an instant? Not sure. But it is real. Over the decades the glimpses may take on a pattern but probably not; we only think they do.

Memory of long past days. Why are they with us still? Were they significant then? Or were they merely a keynote of a connected-ness to today?

I think you know what I mean: an aroma that brings back feeling for a time in the past; a sound that recalls another time and place. A taste bud tingled into past traditions. Music that brings to mind a complex passage of time ~ romance, tragedy, sorrow, glee or expansiveness of feeling ~ a scenario or vignette of memory.

It must have been important or why else would it pop up at this moment?

Glimpses. As I said. Just tiny bits that suggest a picture but not fully. Tantalizing in its incompleteness.

Fast forward to the present. What’s happening now is related to what happened yesterday and the long forgotten yesterdays. There is a congruity, though; a continuation of patterns and routines, of meanings. We only know them because we expect certain outcomes given specific circumstances. We can ‘read’ the situation and predict what will happen. And then – it doesn't happen the ‘right’ way. An unexpected result is manifest.

We are talking human behavior here, not natural or scientific events. We experience a shift in expectations because a basic value or marker of value drops a tiny portion of its whole and becomes something entirely different.

We can relate to it. Love is love. Coupling in pairs for relationships happens; with or without sexual union; with or without commitment; with or without expected longevity. Divorce collides with our assumed peace. Death jars awake long forgotten feelings. Rules change. Careers collapse. Happiness is defined differently.

Crash! We see things different all in a sudden flash of reality. And we didn't see it coming. We didn't know the roots were growing toward this unveiling force. But it is here to deal with.

We Americans are spoiled in many ways. We have it good now and have had it good for a very long time. We expect it to go on forever. Earned or not.

But now we are aware that America is not automatic. It is not always the same. It is not always responsive to what each of us needs. It could be but individual initiative is required. Just like love, career, and financial success. Work and investment are required. Time spent is a must. Awareness of reality and history is of primary significance. We have to do our homework if we want the rewards.

American governance and culture is like this as well. You rely on government to do its job and expect certain results. If we let it run amok without our guidance, monitoring and appropriate voting actions, government will morph into something totally unexpected. Like now and the so called Fiscal Cliff.

The cliff really doesn't exist. It is largely a figment of media reports and political manipulation. But the workings of economics are real. We can screw it up. And we have with undisciplined spending and perilous tax policies. To fix the problems is fairly simple, but it is not as simple as spending less and taxing more. There is a finesse required, a finesse not managed well in a political cesspool of conflicting values and game playing.

No, economics is better managed with cool minds focused on the long term results designed to benefit the maximum number of people. Not special interest groups or manufacturers, or service providers or corporate leaders. Certainly not crass politicians only interested in preserving their own power and money interests.

We got this way not over night but by bits and pieces following one after another, mostly unnoticed actions of seeming little significance. The weight of these actions, however, accumulated mass and made unwanted things happen. The blame is not just on certain people but all of us.

The President has wisely said this is our problem. We made it. We allowed it to come about. It must be fixed. By all of us. It is a ‘we’ thing, not a you or me thing.  Congress has to take the lead to repair the damage. The president has to point out these basics. Deflecting blame by others is one such talent Mr. Obama has. Bless him for this. No name calling. Just accountability.

The Constitution gives Congress certain powers. They either fulfill them or not; either way they will reap the rewards or ignominy of their actions. Not the president. Not the courts. Only Congress. Whether Democrat or Republican, the Congress has the power to act. They can hurt us all if we let them.

Walking the tight rope of recent events in the House of Representatives ill served by Mr. Boehner, or by Mr. McConnell in the Senate, demonstrates how thin a veneer we Americans live upon. Only we citizens can repair the damage and hope to build workable relations in the halls of Congress in the future so we avoid these shenanigans.

The shame belongs to We the People as much as it does individual politicians. We must understand our form of government and manage it better. It means each of us has work to do.

May this be our primary objective for 2013.

January 3, 2012