I'm a fan of ideas and possibility, and the drive to make difficult dreams a reality. I like that about the mythology of America. It's what I call "America the Idea", as opposed to the country called "United States". These days people say they are anxious and dissatisfied because of jobs and the economy, but there may be a deeper issue. One that goes to the heart of the country's DNA.
Disclaimer: I'm a proud Canadian, but one who has been interested in American politics ever since having worked in the US several years ago.
Disclaimer II: I'm an all-flavor Star Trek fan. I don't go to conventions or have a Klingon dictionary, but the notion of going where no one has gone before, or of building something no one has built before, is to me an inspiring one. And I've often felt that notion is part of the "DNA", or the mythology of the US. However, I think that people in the US don't know what that "idea" is right now. And so there's discontent.
When people say they're dissatisfied with the accomplishments of President Obama & the Democrats, when they say there's too much spending, or there's too little spending, or there's too much taxes or too little, they're expressing a deeper dissatisfaction that they can't put their finger on. It's not articulated with words very well, because it lies deeper in the human psyche. It's a sense of meaning, a sense of connection, a sense of purpose. A belonging to a vision that is larger than themselves, and that connects them to a whole. In such a vacuum, people rally their own prejudices, misconceptions, anxieties and choose whatever fight fits that narrative. They join political camps and lob tomatoes at each other. It's related to why underprivileged kids into joining street gangs; they want belonging, purpose. They do it to provide meaning with a larger world that doesn't seem to speak to their inner spark. They have an innate drive to connect with something larger, purposeful, without which humanity looks more like a virus continually expanding in a host until running its course.
What people really want is the emotional satisfaction that comes with that purpose or vision. Right now, and for a long time, there has been a vacuum of precisely that. I want to affirm that President Obama has done a ton of great and extremely under-appreciated stuff in very troubled times. But maybe in part fueled by Obama's governing style and more importantly the broken US political system, there seems to be no cohesion. People want a goal, a vision, and a sense of working together to achieve it. They want instead to be inspired. For example, imagine you built a high speed rail system that spanned the country. If you ask a Tea partier for his thoughts after seeing a blazing fast, floating train shoot past his eyes, he'd probably say it was an amazing sight. If you ask a left winger the same thing, you'd probably find the two in complete agreement. No blue moon required. That's why going to the moon was so iconic. It was the US vs. the USSR, it was a visible national effort, and it was something amazing. But the challenges that face your country are more diffuse than a single, easily identifiable enemy.
And that's one reason that even as the Democrats have tackled tough problems, a sense of malaise persists in the nation. When you ask people why, the likely reason you'll get is the economy. The lack of jobs. The pessimism about their economic future all weigh heavily on their minds. But that's only at the surface level. It's possible for a human being to become instantly transformed by an insight, a vision, a hope. He or she may hope for a better future, but what people really hope for is that spark; to feel part of a group moving forwards on an inspiring goal. It can be anything that transcends everyday human concerns and gives them a vision of possibility.
Consider when a professional athlete lunges for a ball, or contorts his body to make a difficult shot. In that moment he or she is not concerned with the future at all. The athlete and the body are expendable in that instant, the desire to reach that goal more inspiring that the muscular effort, mental focus, and even anguish that may be required. So when people say they want more jobs, that's obviously very important. But just as important, perhaps even more so, is a sense of meaning and purpose. I saw a young Obama-voting college student interviewed a week ago. She said she wasn't likely to vote because she didn't know "where we were at" (or words to that effect). That's not because there's been no progress, but more likely no narrative that gives the progress meaning. What's it all about ?
Paul Krugman recently argued that the greatest economic expansion in US history was made much easier, and even caused by, the World War II effort. It gave a nation compelling reason to come together, engage in governmental spending, and basically to make stuff happen. Now the US again needs something to inspire (and hopefully war won't be an option). I hope that citizens of the US and its government can come up with that vision, that inspiring common purpose. Cable news is the substitute, the drug of the day. That intravenous drip continuously feeds peoples' complacency and hopelessness, their sense of mistrust in the world. It needs to be replaced with vision, promise and hope. People working together. Fixing unemployment is necessary, but even that won't truly satisfy the eternal hunger. The way jobs are created could offer the sadly needed nourishment for the national DNA; the answer to the question "What's it all about?". What inspires you ? A fully green economy ? A network of ultra high speed rail allowing you to travel faster, or more conveniently ? A new power source ? What's something big, something real, something that inspires and most importantly taps into the best of 'America, the Idea' ? The US economy was built on the next new idea, on looking into the future. So what's the next frontier ?