I was driving into Oak Park on Sunday. I was heading to a meeting of the New New Deal Project, a project dedicated to developing strategies for realizing FDR's "Second Bill of Rights" - the one no one seems to remember anymore. You know, the one that proposed laws "under which a new basis of security and prosperity can be established for all - regardless of station, race or creed." It's not talked about much these days, what with "Shared Sacrifice" being the meme of choice, but FDR seemed to know a few things about how to deal with a screwed up economic system that plunged millions into despair and poverty, and I figure his ideas might be worth a second look today.
I was driving down North Avenue in Villa Park, one of Chicago's western suburbs. Villa Park is not one of the wealthier suburbs, not compared to some, but it's far from the bottom of the economic ladder. And I kept seeing the same things. Houses with big signs that read "FORECLOSURE SALE!" Lots of them. Strip malls with the same Dollar Stores, "Cash For Gold" and "Payday Loans!" shops. Things were looking fairly grim.
I got to the meeting and we discussed our upcoming forum (April 9, featuring Rep. John Conyers, sponsor of the 21st Century Full Employment and Training Act (HB5204), an actual functional and compassionate and reasonable jobs bills that would help people who, you know, don't have jobs - or have jobs that don't pay a living wage. The odds of the bill going anywhere in this Congress - well, I don't need to elaborate on that - but Conyers bill is a deficit neutral bill and it's exactly the kind of "New New Deal" project that would alleviate real suffering for real working people. If that's the goal of the government, it's worthy of their support.
But that's not actually what I'm writing about. I kept thinking about those foreclosure signs. And the people behind them. There's a family in Chicago, the Tellez family, and they are facing foreclosure. Tellez family fights foreclosure They are not planning to leave. The latest I heard, the bank is actually trying to work with them. One family, fighting back. Millions of others washed away by the tide of greed and heartlessness that has flooded the US banking system, allowed by a government that is clearly more concerned about protecting the profits of AIG than protecting the roofs over the heads of American families.
And there are those signs. Foreclosure sale! In other words, here is a chance for you to benefit from the loss and misery of others. Pick up a bargain out of the ashes of someone else's broken dream. Maybe the former owner wanted to walk away from the house. Maybe they had given up. Or maybe, like the Tellez family, they wanted to stay, wanted to fight, to try and negotiate a modification mortgage that would allow them to keep their home. The signs don't tell us their stories. We almost never get to hear their stories.
I heard another story today, though. I was driving to one of my part time jobs - I am one of those "unique Americans", you know the kind George Bush lauded as "fantastic" because I work multiple part time jobs. And I was scanning the radio and heard an interview on Chicago's WMBI. For those of you who don't know those call letters, MBI stands for "Moody Bible Institute". It's a large evangelical seminary in Chicago, and their "news" consists largely of the kind that would be welcomed at a tea party gathering. They have local politicians on from time to time who don't necessarily fit their demographic (Luis Guitierrez is slated as a guest this week) but overall, it's Horatio Alger/American Exceptionalism/anti-abortion/anti-global warming disinformation.
They have a regular daily feature called "Moody Radio Commentary". Today's was about Freedom, by Dr. Mark Eckel. He's the undergraduate Dean and Professor of Old Testament at Crossroads Bible College in Indiana. I have to admit I've never heard of Crossroads Bible College, but based on Dr. Eckel's piece, I suspect it's slightly to the right of Liberty University. Here's part of what Dr. Eckel's said, his commentary on "freedom"....
Tears filled my eyes as I listened to him talk. A Vietnam veteran, winner of The Bronze Star, said simply; "I would fight again to defend this country." Born in a cotton picker's shack in Alabama, Willie told me, "Ive traveled the world, I've seen people everywhere, and there is no place like America." Nostalgic, he continued, "Folks would tell me, "you Americans are lucky. Americans are so rich, you build houses for your cars." Not long ago, Willie, a student in my night class, came to tell me about his house. "Dr. Eckel, you wouldn't believe it. I put in a blind bid on a foreclosure home. I put in a ridiculous bid, real low. Out of the blue one day, the bank called to say I owned a new house. They had to remind me about my bid. I was born in a shack and now I live in a house by a lake." Tears came to both our eyes that evening as we hugged each other, grateful for this good gift.
And so to the right, and those who are their tools, there is a silver lining to your misery. If you are thrown out of your house, there's someone else who is going to be thanking God for the good gift when they pick it up at fire sale costs.
Frederick Douglas said, "“The white man's happiness cannot be purchased by the black man's misery”. Apparently, though, in 21st century America, the American Dream can be purchased out of the ashes of a fellow American's nightmare. It's a zero sum game. If some workers fight to maintain, through their union, a living wage and collective bargaining, they are attacked by other workers who have long since abandoned trying to protect such standards. We are set, one against each other, in a gladiator match we're all destined to lose.
There's hope. There is a way out. It's not new, it's not complicated. It's going to take courage and it's going to take effort. But it's been done before and can - and must - be done again.