Feeling a Little Verklempt

I just returned from a quick non-inauguration related trip to Washington, DC. The city was humming in anticipation of the big day next week, almost like that somewhat supernatural phenomenon that happens in Taos, NM. But I’m sure it was emanating from inside me – I was beside myself.

On our last day in the city, my travel mate and I stood before the inauguration podium, walked the streets lined with bleachers where millions are anticipated to converge on January 20^th, and peeked through the gate at the White House. We posed in front of Blair House, where the Obamas took up residence during our stay (or rather diagonally to it, as the street was naturally closed off), a follow up to our photo in front of the Hay-Adams Hotel where the First Family Elect were relegated for a couple weeks due to one last, lame power play by Bush. And we poked through the mostly-made-in-China inauguration paraphernalia at a shop near the White House. It was here that my emotions really ran amok, and I had to choke back tears as I pawed through the pins and stickers and t-shirts.

I’m sure it had something to do with the rough night I had before, thanks to a toxic combination of Ethiopian food and gimlets (okay, wine too), and a waxing head and chest cold. But that wasn’t it – see nothing else was choking me up. Not the homeless people, the mentally ill woman who accused my friend and me of being go-go dancers, the potentially confrontational scene between DC police and some young shoplifters in the Filene’s Basement entryway, or even the gut wrenching photo of a napalm survivor at the Richard Avedon exhibit. My hormones were tuned to respond to the historic occasion approaching, and nothing else.

But as I contemplated the unexpected intensity of my emotions, I realized it was not just the historic nature of the event that was making me feel so raw. It was fear, mixed with desire. Desperation is probably more apt. I was struck with the realization that I am expecting too much, and need to ratchet my hopes down – but just a notch. I do believe good things will start happening, and quickly. We’ve had brilliant policy makers in the White House, corporate puppets, ideologues, philanderers, and buffoons - often a combination of these at any given time. I’ve never had the word “integrity” bubble up when I think of a president, until now. It’s the golden ticket, Charlie! But it’s the golden ticket in the hands of a mere human, in a terribly flawed and corrupt system – fortunately one he has not been tumbling around in as long as most.

So what’s a patriot to do? Well, this one is going to pay attention, stay engaged, and make my voice heard. And yes, I’m going to keep up the hope. It can’t hurt.

The Continuing Saga

What follows is my second "letter to a young patriot." I won't reprint his response to my first letter, but hopefully you'll get a sense from what I've chosen to focus on below. This has been a very challenging time - seeing at last the manifestation of his indoctrination into a fundamentalist Christian world view, and wondering how this could happen. I have some theories...maybe a post for another day...

*****


Hey, thanks for your reply. I’m moving past trying to change your mind about the vote, but would like to continue this dialogue if you’re willing.

My argument about the righteous anger of Rev. Wright was not meant to apply to Obama. I was just saying that in my opinion, there’s a lot of understandable anger out there, and that Obama is likely to be “associated” with lots of folks who are less than thrilled with the institutionalized oppression of ethnic/racial minorities and women. You can put me in that group, although I’m not able to claim any association with Obama. I think one of Obama’s strengths is that unlike me, he maintains a sense of optimism about being able to change the country for the better. I’ve never seen or heard anything that legitimately portrays him as harboring racial hatred toward whites, but as a member of a community, and as a community organizer, he has of course associated with folks with more radical views than his own. Again, I see it as a strength that he interacts with a broad spectrum of people, and is willing to name the inequality that is being exacerbated by current economic policy. I am so relieved to have a leader with the courage to talk about progressive taxation of the rich. By my value system it’s absolutely immoral that the richest Americans are getting richer while the middle class is disappearing, and the poorest are seeing critical government programs cut to fund the occupation of Iraq and tax breaks for wealthy corporations.

About the Ayers thing – I know they have had contact beyond the board membership. But the point of the white privilege article I attached is that what gets termed “bad judgment” when Obama’s involved doesn’t even merit a mention when it’s connected to McCain or Palin. There are a different set of rules being applied. I doubt McCain believes all the stuff that some of the people who have supported his campaign or pastors in churches he’s attended have said, but it’s not being transferred onto him as his belief system.

About racism in general - I don’t know about it going “two ways.” There’s not a universally accepted definition of racism, but most scholars agree that it goes beyond dislike of a particular race, and is related to the distribution of power, resources and privilege. So I think that racism can flow in a lot of directions, but I don’t think it can truly ever be directed at whites (as a group). You can be mad at your oppressors, speak out against them or even use violence against them – that’s not racism, it’s revolution. I don’t know if the dislike and prejudice of particular racial/ethnic groups can be eradicated, but I do believe it’s the government’s role to level the playing field as far as access to resources and opportunities.

People who hold the power are not likely to give it up all that easily. But when you do the math on the sheer volume of the working class vs the elites – 80% of “us” vs. 20% of “them” it’s a no brainer. That’s where these fringe issues come in. They divide us and distract us from what’s going on with the growing divide between rich and poor. And by fringe issues I mean those that are really more personal in nature (patriotism, gay rights, reproductive rights, etc.), and end up appealing to some core values we hold and can relate to more easily than the financial structures that perpetuate inequality. So you have an entire group, which I am beginning to understand that you consider yourself a part of – the evangelicals – who are willing to ignore these huge structural issues in order to focus on who can marry whom, or how to legislate morality. And that is very troubling to me.

You mentioned that I could guess that Obama’s “misinterpretation of the bible” wouldn’t be cool with you. I am not a religious scholar, but I researched the misinterpretation issue, and found a website about it that you might find interesting: http://www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com/#Info. There are quotes about Obama’s belief system that were very telling.

So you have to focus on your midterms, but when you are through why don’t you poke around a bit on the internet beyond the Focus on the Family website? I know from experience that things can always be taken out of context by the media, or twisted (or even completely made up) by detractors – so you always have to look at a number of diverse sources and consider the citations, go to the original source whenever you can, and look for independent analysis.

Letter to a Young Patriot (my own version)

This is my response to someone near and dear to me who recently proclaimed that he can't vote for Obama because he's "not fond of whites or America either" based on his associations with Rev. Wright, that Ayers guy and an incident when he didn't put his hand over his heart during the national anthem.

Dear One,

First, I can understand why this information is concerning, taken out of context and amplified by conservative media types with no journalistic integrity (FOX news, etc.). And I don't claim that Obama has never made any errors in judgment or associated with people who speak their truths a bit more plainly than we are used to hearing. I just want to challenge you to dig a little deeper about these issues before completely throwing your vote away. The Ayers thing is ridiculous - that's like me being held responsible for something done by one of my associates on one of the boards I sit on, or one of my organization's donors. It is being harped on by the McCain Campaign and FOX because they have nothing else, and they're getting desperate.

The Wright thing is more complicated. I actually think black people have good cause to be distrustful and angry toward white people. As a white, Christian man you don't have any experience with oppression - you are a member of the "ruling class," and while you may not personally be oppressing anyone, you are reaping the benefits of membership. As a woman, I have slightly less privilege, but still recognize my elevated status as a white, middle class person and the perks it brings. We cannot understand how it feels to be held down for generations. I think there is a lot of righteous anger there - and the solution is to hear it and acknowledge it and move forward toward healing (reparations?), not condemn it. For some people, including many of my friends, the symbols of the country - flags, anthems, etc. - have been use to silence dissension, invade countries we have no business being in, torture political prisoners, and protect the wealth and privilege of the elite - the 20% of Americans who own 92% of the wealth, while those of us in the bottom 80% fight over 8% of the wealth. I know people who I respect enormously who won't "pledge allegiance to the flag" because their allegiance is to values, not symbols. So we are patriots, but not the kind that walks in a lock-step believing everything we read.

The bottom line is that one of these guys is going to be our next president, so it makes sense to me to spend a bit of time finding out which one comes closest to my values. I went to a great seminar last spring by a man who works to end violence, racism, etc - oppression in general. This is an article by him about evaluating candidates based on who benefits from their policy positions: http://www.paulkivel.com/articles/assessingpolicy.pdf

I know you are busy, but if you have a chance to check it out, tell me what you think. You know I'm only having this "discussion" with you because I think you are very, very smart and the US needs smart, analytical young people to engage in the political process, hard and frustrating as it is!

 Love you.