I was recently reading Obama's book and was struck by the cohesiveness of his message. It reminded me of another book I read some years ago as a graduate student seeking a degree in education -- another book that left me feeling similarly hopeful and amazed by the clarity and simplicity of the message. Neil Postman's book The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School, is basically a discussion of the need for a unifying narrative in the context of public schools. However, it seems to me that this is a discussion that needs to be had in terms of the larger public context.
It made me think about this primary race and politics in general in a way slightly different than I have been to this point. The narratives that each candidate has created for themselves is very showing of thier characters and how they envision our future. I am relatively new to this community, but I am aware that these topics have been touched on before....I hope this adds a little something new.
I think it has been obvious for a long time that there has been a crisis in narrative for quite some time in this country. This is apparent in all the rhetoric declaring that you must be for or against, us against them. It is easy to fall into this dialectic -- just look at the democratic primary. We break up groups into ever smaller pieces and declare one good and the other bad, with little interest in seeing the point of view from the other side. I am as guilty of this as anyone else (I am currently struggling to keep an open mind about Hillary Clinton-- a struggle that I am sad to say I am losing).
The quote that resonated with me from Postmans' book in the following:
With some reservations but mostly with conviction, I use the word narrative as a synonym for god, with a small g. I know it is risky to do so, not only becuse the word god, having an aura of sacredness, is not to be used lightly, but also because it calls to mind a fixed figure or image. But it is the purpose of such figures or images to direct one's mind to an idea and, more to my point, to a story -- not any kind of story, but one that tells of origins and envisions a future, story that constructs ideals, prescribes rules of conduct, provides a source of authority, and, above all, gives a sense of continuity and purpose. A god, in the sense I am using the word, is the name of a great narrative, one that has sufficient credibility, complexity, and symbolic power to enable one to organzie one's life around it....
....the idea of public education depends absolutely on the existence of shared narratives and the exclusion of narratives that lead to alienation and divisiveness. What makes public schools public is not so much that the schools have common goals but that the students have common gods. The reason for this is that public education does not serve a public. It creates a public.
I would argue that this same argument could be applied to politics in America. For too long our leaders have been relying on narratives that are alienating and misleading. The result is a population divided.
For the republicans, the story for so long has relied on the idea of small government, free trade, low taxes, military dominance, and conservative so-called "family values." Almost thirty years after the fact, every single Republican candidate has promised to land on the continuum started by Ronald Reagan. To me this points to the utter failure of republican leaders in the interim to actually progress and create a story that makes sense.
Of course, they have had an awful lot of supporters over the years. But instead of creating a narrative that brings the country together they have instead reinforced our differences. They have entangled our public debate in ways that are detrimental to our well being -- how can we possibly decide on a sensible economic plan when the fight they want to have is about teaching creationism in schools, gay marriage, or Teri Schiavo. They have led us aways from meaningful dialogue and toward bitter, unsolvable arguments. Is this the definition of leadership?? They are still mouthing the old messages, but their actions show something quite different. I'm sure most people here are fully aware of all the hypocrisy and don't need me to spell it out.
For me it gets interesting when looking at the democrats. What is the story democrats are trying to tell?? Of course it is the party that is supposed to stand up for the average Amerian, the party that is more open and progressive. However, they have been equally inadequate in the last decade in actually moving the dialogue forward. Locked in partisan arguments, sharing in the corporate money and porkbarrel spending, mouthing the words of progress -- but voting for war in Iraq and failing still to elucidate an updated, relavent, and meaningful narrative.
Bill Clinton had something going when he was President. I may not agree with the triangulation and constant compromise, but he at least got things working again for a brief time. In this I mean that there was a sense of working together, of the possiblity of coming out with at least a vague idea of where we needed to be going. Perhaps I was just young and naive -- I was a college student voting for the first time back in 1992 and I remember the excitement.
And now Hillary. Let me tell you why I find her narrative inadequate. She seems to be saying that she is the inevitable president -- her story revolves around her years of experience and ability to lead, nevermind that Obama has held public office longer than she has. Living in the White House does not speak to experience, it speaks to nepotism. Stagnation is what happens when families simply trade the presidency back and forth, and I for one am tired of it. Originally I was rather ambivalent about the choice between Obama and Clinton -- after all the policies are not that different. However, as this race has continued I have watched her story, her narrative evolve into something that I find distastful. It has morphed into something that I decidedly do not like --a campaign that has resorted to whining, using fear tactics, dabbling in some underhanded racial assaults, split personality craziness. That is not a story that will move this country forward.
What are the issues we really need to deal with? How are we going to get the economy on track? How are we going to deal with the foreign relations debacle? Iraq? How will we deal with a broken healthcare system? A deterioratng infrastructure? A school system desperately in need of help?? These are serious questions How will we deal with them?
So far the only candidate who seems to even begin to offer helpful solutios is Barack Obama. He is the only one who has stayed on message, who refuses to stoop to the kind of divisive campaigning the other candidtates seem prone to use, and who really sticks to his values. Instead of compromising, he is using logical and civilized arguments and rationales to help move the center to his positions. That is what we need. His narrative is all about unity and forward thinking. He has a a story that resonates with all kinds of people in all kinds of communities precisely because it is a unifying vision.
My vision for this country does not entail constant and endless infighting. Again refering to Postman, he offers up several possible narratives for public education. The one I preferred was one he called "the American experiment"
..It has the virtues of being largely true, of explaining our past, including our mistakes, of inviting participation in the present, of offering hope for the future. It is a story that does not require the belief that America is superior to all other countries, only that it is unique, youthful, admirable, and opened wide to unfulfilled humane possibilities. No student can ask more of his or her country. No school can offer more.
Recognizing mistakes and moving on to a better future -- isn't that something all Americans can stand behind?