Gaia -- an American Experiment?
Ok, so I need to set aside the cynical self for just a few moments. I do realize that most of humanity is out for itself, me first, step on toes, etc. But it is just possible that we are at the threshold of something interesting, even novel, given the past 50 years. And oddly, the catalyst might be one B.H. Oh-bama.
First, let us consider the various societies that have risen and thrived in recorded history: almost without fail, each society has had internal cohesiveness. That is, the members of that society identified themselves as being part of a greater whole. Romans were citizens. Greeks and Egyptians were similarly self-identified. The great European civilizations of the last 2000 years were characterized by form of nationalism ... "God, King and Country." But God took a backseat to King and Country when it really came down to it. Whenever you had a fight for God (at least the Christian version) you had some really messy breakdowns, inquisitions, failed Armadas, slaughters of heretics and native peoples.
The only God first empire or society that lasted any significant period of time revolved around Allah, a religion that requires that adherents submit, heart and soul, five times a day. The very nature of following Islam makes it the primary motivator for its adherents. Islam was very successful and dynamic, but ultimately failed as a long term prospect through its very success. The expanse and stretch of the Empire embraced too many cultures, some of which proved to be divisive and unsuited to the yoke of the five Pillars. The identification collapsed and so did the Empire. That and some brave dudes under Charles Martel (the Hammer) who turned Islam back from the center of what is now France.
Think about the greatest empire yet seen on Earth: The British Empire. God? Yeah, they went to church. King? Well, it was a Queen. Country? Oh, yes. A few years earlier it was for the King that the Brits fought ... the French. The French ... pour La France, no question. They beheaded their King.
Then came the 20th Century ... empires that lasted only a short while, at least by historic comparisons. The Nazis, the Fascists, the Soviet Union, Communists, etc. Note, by way of proof that the Chinese are different -- they have always self-identified first as "Chinese." But, during that 100 years a new empire rose that still has vigor and hope for humanity ... The United States of America.
Sure, the U.S. has its roots in Britain and its social system, but the early Americans decided that those traditions had limitations that they wanted no part of. It took until the dawn of the 20th Century for the U.S., America (I will use the term as Americans use it, Mexicans, etc. be damned), to start to realize its potential. Huge waves of immigrants flooded the country, often against the wishes of those already living here (notably the "Native Americans," but also earlier immigrants). And in those teeming throngs, there was a single unifying thought: "I wish to become an American." Those immigrants came here to learn the English language -- often forbidding the use of the tongue of their country of origin at home -- and assimilate into our developing society. In so doing each brought a sliver of their culture into the larger whole, enriching it. What made it work was the desire to make it work. Like a marriage, effort is required.
But somewhere in the 1960's Americans lost the plot. Political correctness in the form of socialist drivel imported from Europe came to be regarded as learning to be imposed on the great, wild and uncouth American people. And that is too bad. It created divisions that had never been there to start with, but to be fair also healed great, huge gaping scars such as racism, or tried to.
The critical error of the '60's was its very tolerance of other people -- we should have been color-blind to start with, but history dictated otherwise -- but tolerance of other cultures allowing our own new culture to fall apart. People no longer self-identified as "Americans," but as something else: African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, etc. Applications started to include separate boxes to allow people to show they should be entitled to extra consideration because of history. People were given positions that they were not qualified for. Policemen could hardly speak, read or write English. Whole areas of the Country had secondary economies run outside of the taxation regime meant to apply to all. Segments of the population became entitled to the fruits of the labor of others -- without any recognition or contribution of their own. In certain States it became easier to speak Spanish than English. The sense of identity fell apart.
In World War Two, back in the bad old days, people of Japanese extraction were prohibited from fighting, until someone figured out that it might be sensible to send those people -- who were desperate to fight for their country -- to fight the Germans. Blacks were segregated and relegated to REMF positions, despite their desire to get their hands dirty and fight AS AMERICANS. Ultimately, the Army took its head out of its rectum and put Blacks into combat positions, where they proved that they could fight as well as any in the entire army. The Vietnam experience showed that when put together in combat, blacks and whites soon came to realize that their blood was red, no matter who shed it.
But politically, certain Americans persisted in pointing out the differences, cultivating them, demanding that people should be permitted to be "different" and that we should celebrate the difference. And in so doing ... we destroyed the American fabric. We bought Chinese goods, we glorified German cars, we worshiped Japanese electronics ... American products, society and morals came to be considered as inferior. Bad.
But in the elections of 2008, change is really not change. It is a desire to unify, to go back to the spirit of the past and drag it into the future. A Black President. If America can swing behind that, we might just achieve something. Again.
America is not a bad place -- as Michelle Obama seems to be saying, at least on the surface. But she has a point: something is wrong right now. And we need to fix it. How ironic would it be if a leftist Democrat, a representative of the party (or its adherents) that may have had the chief role in screwing it up, might be the agency of change? I have faith that a Democratic President will screw up the economy and create programs and expenses that cannot be supported. Rebooblicans will have to come back in four years and clean that up, but ... the cultural divide might just work out. A Black man as President, elected by a majority White country.... Maybe.
Just maybe we can become a single greater organism, again. A new American Gaia.
First, let us consider the various societies that have risen and thrived in recorded history: almost without fail, each society has had internal cohesiveness. That is, the members of that society identified themselves as being part of a greater whole. Romans were citizens. Greeks and Egyptians were similarly self-identified. The great European civilizations of the last 2000 years were characterized by form of nationalism ... "God, King and Country." But God took a backseat to King and Country when it really came down to it. Whenever you had a fight for God (at least the Christian version) you had some really messy breakdowns, inquisitions, failed Armadas, slaughters of heretics and native peoples.
The only God first empire or society that lasted any significant period of time revolved around Allah, a religion that requires that adherents submit, heart and soul, five times a day. The very nature of following Islam makes it the primary motivator for its adherents. Islam was very successful and dynamic, but ultimately failed as a long term prospect through its very success. The expanse and stretch of the Empire embraced too many cultures, some of which proved to be divisive and unsuited to the yoke of the five Pillars. The identification collapsed and so did the Empire. That and some brave dudes under Charles Martel (the Hammer) who turned Islam back from the center of what is now France.
Think about the greatest empire yet seen on Earth: The British Empire. God? Yeah, they went to church. King? Well, it was a Queen. Country? Oh, yes. A few years earlier it was for the King that the Brits fought ... the French. The French ... pour La France, no question. They beheaded their King.
Then came the 20th Century ... empires that lasted only a short while, at least by historic comparisons. The Nazis, the Fascists, the Soviet Union, Communists, etc. Note, by way of proof that the Chinese are different -- they have always self-identified first as "Chinese." But, during that 100 years a new empire rose that still has vigor and hope for humanity ... The United States of America.
Sure, the U.S. has its roots in Britain and its social system, but the early Americans decided that those traditions had limitations that they wanted no part of. It took until the dawn of the 20th Century for the U.S., America (I will use the term as Americans use it, Mexicans, etc. be damned), to start to realize its potential. Huge waves of immigrants flooded the country, often against the wishes of those already living here (notably the "Native Americans," but also earlier immigrants). And in those teeming throngs, there was a single unifying thought: "I wish to become an American." Those immigrants came here to learn the English language -- often forbidding the use of the tongue of their country of origin at home -- and assimilate into our developing society. In so doing each brought a sliver of their culture into the larger whole, enriching it. What made it work was the desire to make it work. Like a marriage, effort is required.
But somewhere in the 1960's Americans lost the plot. Political correctness in the form of socialist drivel imported from Europe came to be regarded as learning to be imposed on the great, wild and uncouth American people. And that is too bad. It created divisions that had never been there to start with, but to be fair also healed great, huge gaping scars such as racism, or tried to.
The critical error of the '60's was its very tolerance of other people -- we should have been color-blind to start with, but history dictated otherwise -- but tolerance of other cultures allowing our own new culture to fall apart. People no longer self-identified as "Americans," but as something else: African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, etc. Applications started to include separate boxes to allow people to show they should be entitled to extra consideration because of history. People were given positions that they were not qualified for. Policemen could hardly speak, read or write English. Whole areas of the Country had secondary economies run outside of the taxation regime meant to apply to all. Segments of the population became entitled to the fruits of the labor of others -- without any recognition or contribution of their own. In certain States it became easier to speak Spanish than English. The sense of identity fell apart.
In World War Two, back in the bad old days, people of Japanese extraction were prohibited from fighting, until someone figured out that it might be sensible to send those people -- who were desperate to fight for their country -- to fight the Germans. Blacks were segregated and relegated to REMF positions, despite their desire to get their hands dirty and fight AS AMERICANS. Ultimately, the Army took its head out of its rectum and put Blacks into combat positions, where they proved that they could fight as well as any in the entire army. The Vietnam experience showed that when put together in combat, blacks and whites soon came to realize that their blood was red, no matter who shed it.
But politically, certain Americans persisted in pointing out the differences, cultivating them, demanding that people should be permitted to be "different" and that we should celebrate the difference. And in so doing ... we destroyed the American fabric. We bought Chinese goods, we glorified German cars, we worshiped Japanese electronics ... American products, society and morals came to be considered as inferior. Bad.
But in the elections of 2008, change is really not change. It is a desire to unify, to go back to the spirit of the past and drag it into the future. A Black President. If America can swing behind that, we might just achieve something. Again.
America is not a bad place -- as Michelle Obama seems to be saying, at least on the surface. But she has a point: something is wrong right now. And we need to fix it. How ironic would it be if a leftist Democrat, a representative of the party (or its adherents) that may have had the chief role in screwing it up, might be the agency of change? I have faith that a Democratic President will screw up the economy and create programs and expenses that cannot be supported. Rebooblicans will have to come back in four years and clean that up, but ... the cultural divide might just work out. A Black man as President, elected by a majority White country.... Maybe.
Just maybe we can become a single greater organism, again. A new American Gaia.
posted by Zaphod at Wednesday, February 20, 2008
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