I am generally of the opinion that the injuries we have inflicted on ourselves as a society are fatal. Over the course of my lifetime we have embraced an ideology of supply side economics and unsustainable growth (like that of a cancerous tumor that grows until it kills), endless war and war profiteering, and the anti-intellectual stance of religious fundamentalism. Hatred is our national motivation and brutal violence its natural expression. Our elected officials can barely stand to talk with each other, let along govern. Not surprising really, we can barely stand each other.
How we made it this far is kind of a wonder. That we can't go much further seems a given.
But once in a while there is a ray of hope. The unimaginable massacre of a room full of kindergarten kids has actually sparked something in America's view of itself, that perhaps we are not the shinning beacon to the world our delusions would have us believe. Though not actually talking about any real gun control, we are talking about maybe talking about it. For this country that is a huge step. (Not that I think any real laws will actually be passed. I give the assault weapons ban about a 1 in 15 chance, the limit of clip size about 1 in 20, and closing the gun show loop-hole about 1 in 25. Even if one or all of the above become law, the 5 Justices of the Supreme Court owned by the NRA will obviously side with the gun manufacturers and declare it / them "Unconstitutional".)
Still, there is a serious, loud and contentious clash of opinions taking place this Holiday. The mass murder of 6 year old kids didn't push the NRA from its official Weapons Manufacturer's Party Line one iota, showing a total lack of compassion that surprised even me. But at least, this time around, a whole lot of people are standing up in open defiance and condemnation of such a brutal display of inhumanity. There is even a Republican or two daring to disagree with the standard party line on guns. That, in and of itself, is rather astonishing. Up until now the Republicans seemed monolithic in their commitment to a weird kind of self-destruction, with the added insanity of thinking that taking the country with them is "progress."
(Not a big fan of hanging people with labels I hate to tar all NRA members with the same brush. I know several and can imagine they winced at the NRA's statement, but ... they are still holding a card that claims they agree with the Associations goals. If a whole bunch of the 4 million members tore up their cards and sent them back? Now that might just mean something real was happening in this country.)
Another small (very small) ray of sunshine is with the budget debate. Not so much what the political parties are saying - they all sing from the same hymnal. But there are a few voices crying loudly that the whole thing is nuts - lets just go off the cliff. At least the out-of-control Pentagon budget takes a hit the Bush insanity tax rates go away. Our whole "fuck the poor" social mentality does get a boost with the cuts in social program - but two out of three is a damn sight better than none out of a million.
Of course these small rays of sunshine and hope do not suggest that American society, as currently expressed, is going to get better. Our American society is ill to its very core. Much like Islamic ideology, there is nothing of the modern American social ideology that has any redeeming value at all. The good that does lurk in our collective souls is just plain humanity, a humanity that is opposed by virtually everything "American."
It is curious that humans continuously create societies that are so hostile to human beings. Like purposely building a house where the doors are too low to fit through without crouching, the floors too tilted to walk on comfortably, the tables too tall to reach, the lights too few to brighten the dark, and the heater too small to keep away the chill. Why would anyone do such a thing? Why do we listen to a Priest who tells us we are horrible creatures doomed to an eternity in hell when we know that we are not so horrible, and that we have done nothing that deserves an eternity in hell? Why do we listen to an Imam who suggests that killing a daughter who was raped will restore our honor? A President makes up an excuse, and we willing send our sons and daughters off to be shredded in his war. A commercial comes on that insists a new red car will make us happier than the blue car sitting in the driveway, and we run out and buy one.
I know there are a few of the truly crazed that would debate otherwise, but is there any real doubt that we would be better off living in a society were there were far fewer guns? Where it would be unthinkable to argue that everyone should carry a concealed weapon in order to protect ourselves from everyone else so armed? Is there any real debate left that the country, let alone the world, can survive unrestrained consumerism? Is there an honest, sane argument for crushing the middle class while moving an even larger percentage of a nation's wealth into the hands of the very few? All of these seem at least as crazy as insisting that a god demands a man kill his sexually assaulted daughter.
We build horrible houses, then wonder why it is we are miserable living in them. So maybe I'm seeing just a ray of sunshine in the fact that at least a few are starting to suggest that this is a really horrible house that we have built. That maybe it is time to tear it down and build a better one. The old house doesn't survive, but the people living there end up much better off.
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