Things seem to be out of balance. Everything. Whether it's in our political parties, race relations, the economy, world order, religion, everything. I've got this weird feeling that things are just out of balance.
Both political parties are suffering through traumatic times. Both are in the midst of voting for a nominee for the Presidency. But neither has, by any measure, a candidate that could be called "Presidential". Someone for the population to look up to, to follow, to emulate, to be inspired by. The Dems have a couple of people in the mix. Hillary is a person who has been around singing the same old tired song for decades, has proven to be corrupt, is by any measure a criminal, and her main claim to the job seems to be that she is a woman. Bernie is a 74-year old socialist. A socialist! In the United States of America a socialist is gaining credibility as a Presidential candidate against the establishment's pick. Like I said...out of balance. The Republicans have a few more candidates, but they aren't any better. The kindest thing I can say about Trump is that he's been successful in business. But he's alienated large segments of the population, has a tendency towards soft racism, is scarily thin on the issues of the day, and seems to be focused on anger. The two Senators, Cruz and Rubio, seem to me to be just in it for power. We've sent a first term Senator to the White House previously. Didn't work out so well. After all, it is the most powerful job in the world so the person who occupies it should have some experience. Kasich, the only guy with experience can't get traction, and Carson is flailing away with no chance. Like I said...out of balance. And disconcerting. I ask myself what my fellow citizens are thinking and have trouble figuring it out.
It seems like we are still so far apart on race and gender relations. Sometimes I think we've come so, so far in this area, and other times I think we've not even made a dent in the problem. Just when I see blacks or Hispanics or Asians or whatever making strides and achieving the American dream, I'm slammed back to the reality of continuing inequity and the poor getting poorer. No one seems to be able to even attack, let alone address the problem. And if it is attacked, it's never enough. If there is an effort made, there is inevitably suspicion and, it seems more times than not, it breeds resentment.
There seems to be little recognition by our leaders that we need an expanding middle class to maintain our place as a great nation. And yet they aren't putting policies in place to achieve that goal. It's not rocket science. It is a finite problem and can be achieved. They just don't do it. There is a lot of blaming the big banks for our problems but I really think that is a cop out. It's been famously said that the business of America is business. I think that's right. Banks and businesses will do what is required to make money for their owners and shareholders. That is a just a natural phenomenon. They will normally do everything in their power to bend the rules in their favor. So when the government keeps increasing rules and increasing taxes there is a natural tension. And a natural inclination to blame business. And they probably have some culpability. But for my money the economic woes we find ourselves in lies squarely on the government.
There seems to be no solution to the Middle East and more importantly our role in the world. Whenever I hear leaders talking out national security strategy they focus on the military, on boots on the ground. And that is so not the solution. Using all the instruments available to us is required, but I don't hear anyone talking about that. I've written extensively about this and won't focus on it here, but we face a dangerous, disruptive, and asymmetric world that takes an enormous amount of talent to navigate. I just don't think there is anyone who is seeking the Presidency who is equipped to do this.
I'm a Christian. I hear people talking about loving each other and loving Christ, and yet I see unbelievable discord and accusatory drama taking place around me that is definitely not in keeping with Christian values. People need to think about their actions and their words...because both can hurt.
What is going on? And what is the matter with people? What is the matter with our society. Why is everyone so angry? I don't know...maybe I'm just getting old. But I keep wondering when people are going to get their act together. When are we going to come back into balance?
I read a lot of people's writing every week. Some I usually agree with, some I rarely agree with. One that I rarely agree with is Maureen Dowd. But her column this week really got me thinking. Its basis is the Clarence Thomas hearings and the O.J. Simpson trial. But those things aren't what I focused on when reading the article. She really makes a pretty good point about how we are still so divided after all of the things that have happened. You can read it here. There are a couple of paragraphs that jumped out at me. Here's one:
"Yet reliving those horrible, maddening events reveals how resonant our race and gender problems are, despite a black president and a Democratic woman running to succeed him. Things have changed but they haven’t changed. The country still roils with gender and racial tensions. Black Lives Matter and #OscarsSoWhite reflect the jarring dissonance in how blacks and whites see society."
It's true isn't it. We see things differently. There's old saying that I've quoted many times, but it seems to be truer with every passing day. "Where you stand depends on where you sit". People react to things, believe things, understand things, support or oppose things depending on their perspective. On where they sit.
"Courtney Vance, who skillfully plays the late Johnnie Cochran in the FX show, recalled how he was in Toronto making a TV movie with Tony Goldwyn when O.J. was acquitted. ‘Yes!’ and he screamed, ‘No!’ and then we looked at each other in horror,” Vance told The Hollywood Reporter. “And we began the dialogue — the entire country began the dialogue. Everybody went to their corners and it kept coming up again, the same issue. Ferguson, what went down in Chicago, shooting that teen 16 times. It’s crazy. Absolutely crazy.”
Yep...absolutely crazy!
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