Americans must recognize cultural divide, address it
As we optimistically approach the New Year and even more impatiently, Inauguration Day, one threat to the United States looms large. Americans are drifting further apart political, culturally and economically.
The Founding Fathers understood “united we stand, divided we fall.” That resulted in the very different 13 colonies to reluctantly unite. With today’s divisions, America is as close to a national breakup as we were in 1860.
In the Oval Office, traitors defile the Constitution by suggesting martial law to abrogate the clear will of the American people. A Reuters/Ipsos poll finds 68% of Republicans believe this election was rigged. If that unfounded belief persists, the legitimacy of our electoral system collapses, making the survival of any democratic republic impossible.
No one ever claimed creating the world’s first multi-racial, multi- ethnic democracy would be easy.
A new year and a new administration in Washington is time to pull the nation from the brink. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris need to rise above the titfor-tat temptation. Postelection, it’s obvious Biden is the only Democrat who could have defeated Trump and now the only leader who conceivably can stem the nation-ending plunge into tribalism.
It’s also timely for introspection. Marin has greatly benefited from the information economy. We should reflect on those who’ve been losers in this new environment. Start by exhibiting respect for those with different worldviews from what well-educated, prosperous suburbanites and big city residents vocally propound.
Inside our self-satisfied bubble it’s easy to forget the pain in the demoralized Rust Belt, the environmentally obsolete coal regions and depopulating rural communities. At its heart, our divide is more cultural than economic.
Here are steps the new administrations and the American people can take to heal our self-inflicted wounds.
• Biden must first address those who, as Pope Francis says, “Live at the margins.” That includes people of color, LGBTQ communities and immigrants. More difficult for Democrats and Marinites will be exhibiting genuine empathy for rural folks, underemployed blue collar workers and those residing in communities the 21st century economy bypassed.
• Universal military services will help if “military” and “universal” are linked. Otherwise, young coastal elites will volunteer for altruistic projects while men and women from the South and rural America will opt for the military making the venture pointless.
istorian Stephen Ambrose said, “During World War II and the Cold War, American (men) from every group got together in the service, having a common goal — to defend their country. They learned together, pledged allegiance together, sweated together, hated their drill sergeants together, got drunk together and went overseas together. What they learned in common — patriotism, a language, a past they could emphasize and venerate — matter far more than what divided them.”
• Double the time spent teaching American history and civics. Without a foundation, it’s impossible to learn from the past and create informed citizens. Offer federal grants for school districts for more history and civics classes.
• Dividing the public is profitable. Cable, talk radio and internet giants with a wide potential audience know every niche is profitable. They reinforce the far left, extreme right and conspiracy crackpots relegating reality-based mainstream media to a diminishing center. Corporations running these cynical founts of misinformation should restrain themselves or they’ll kill the golden goose that’s the USA.
• Broaden our outlook. MSNBC viewers should read constitutional conservatives at the National Review. Fox News followers might regularly click on the Washington Post. They’ll find not all liberals are “defund the police” fanatics while many intellectual conservatives reject Trump’s racist authoritarianism as firmly as any progressive.
It all may be inadequate given the divide’s width. If patriotic, farsighted leaders fail to emerge, America will live the maxim “nothing lasts forever.”
The Founding Fathers understood ‘united we stand, divided we fall.’ That resulted in the very different 13 colonies to reluctantly unite. With today’s divisions, America is as close to a national breakup as we were in 1860.