We have a choice.
We don't always fully grasp the nature of that choice, nor are we always aware that the choice exists, nor do we know when and how to take advantage of it. Often the choice is obscured by the bipolar nature of our party politics and winner-take-all elections. Sometimes, by the time an election comes around, we've already lost the opportunity to take advantage of our full range of choices. In other words, we have to make the choice before the choice is presented to us. We have to influence the process to ensure that our most favored choice remains available.
What am I even talking about?
Visions. Visions of the future.
Every time we vote, we're choosing a future. Is it the future we want? How can we even answer that question without having a future in mind? Personally, I often believe that I'm voting not for the future I truly want, but for the one I find less threatening between two that are both far from ideal. And I know I'm not the only one who feels this way.
When we vote, do we think about the future, or do we think about policies, platforms, personalities? Ah, one might say, but those policies, platforms, personalities are what establish the foundation of the future. Well, yes, but it's naive to expect that those policies, platforms, personalities will necessarily bring about the futures they seem to promise. We need to begin with the end in mind. We have to know where we're going in order to figure out how we're going to get there. If you've ever tried driving in New England, you know that simply choosing what looks like a promising direction every time you reach an intersection can lead you far from where you were hoping to end up. So it is with the republic.
I have no doubt that the folks at ALEC know exactly what kind of future they want to bring about, and they're working strategically to produce it. Can we say that we're doing the same? I listen and I listen for candidates to talk about what they believe America should be, and I hardly ever hear it. I know that Democrats are against Republican ideas, and Republicans are against Democratic ideas. I know that the Democrats have become conservatives, seeking to defend the institutions of the New Deal and the Great Society (and, sometimes, Wall Street), and that the Republicans have become radicals, seeking to uproot them (except for the Wall Street part). But as these candidates talk about what America should not be, I wait in vain for them to talk about what it should be.
It's time to start this conversation.
One concept of America has become so pervasive, so taken for granted, that it's crept into the consciousness of every one of us. It's the background state, the unspoken assumption, the dialogue default. Even those of us who, if we thought about it, would disagree with it bone-deep on every issue sometimes make the mistake of assuming its universality. We are the fish, and this vision is the water. It's the ideology of the frontier, of the backcountry settler, and despite the connotations of the word "pioneer," it's an intensely conservative ideology.
This concept, if taken undiluted, will produce a future that looks something like this:
America is a land where one becomes a leader not by means of learning, intellect or refinement but by means of wealth and power. Rather than exercise their democratic power through voting, most Americans prefer to leave the important decisions in the hands of these wealthy and powerful leaders. Some of them, the more charismatic and influential ones, have large, fanatically loyal followings. These men (and it remains that the vast majority of them are men) stand above the law, but Americans accept that, because they celebrate liberty as freedom from any form of regulation or constraint, and they want no such yoke placed upon themselves. Government is minimal, taxes are light, and the populace is heavily armed. However, this liberty does not include freedom of dissent; there's little tolerance for those who stray from cultural or political norms, and any organized opposition is likely to be violently suppressed. This suppression is likely to be carried out, openly in some places, under cover of darkness in others, by armed "loyalist" militias.
There is no expectation of social peace or equal justice. Citizens (i.e., those who conform to cultural and political norms) are expected and encouraged to defend themselves and their property with force and to take it upon themselves to punish wrongdoers. Others (i.e., those who defy norms or belong to disfavored ethnic, cultural or language groups) are simply out of luck: their attempts to defend their own rights will be countered with greater force. Lynch law enjoys a resurgence. The courts treat crimes against property with more severity than violent crime, except when an other commits violence against a citizen.
Huge wealth is owned by a few great capitalists with connections. The majority possesses no wealth at all. There is an enormous underclass of laborers and the unemployed, a small middle class, and a few ultra-rich individuals who live off the income from their property and investments. Income and wealth inequality is by far the highest in the industrialized world. Suburban and exurban sprawl devours the open land, as intense suspicion of strangers drives people to isolate themselves ever further from their neighbors. Work is not valued much (and workers not at all), but wealth is; the most admired individuals are those who find clever ways to get rich quick. Those who work like dogs and have little to show for it are held in contempt almost as much as those who don't work at all.
The national mood is anxious and insecure. Young people marry and have children early. Many don't wait to marry to have children -- in some cases because of reduced life expectancy and poorer adult health due to poverty, in some cases because sex education and family planning are nil. Public education has fallen to pieces; those who can afford it send their children to Christian schools, and those who can't largely do without. Higher education is similarly unsupported by the state. Academics are distrusted and despised, and reason is disdained; force and emotion are their own justifications. Except among those of wealth and rank, literacy has plummeted; most Americans receive their information through radio, TV and video devices rather than the written word. Non-Christian religions (including "non-Christian" Catholicism) are persecuted, as are immigrants and (as ever) African-Americans. Masculinity and femininity are narrowly defined and sharply distinguished, and men have the upper hand over women; domestic violence is widespread and largely taken for granted. The young are exalted, and adults are respected members of society as long as they possess the vigor of youth; but senior citizens who can't provide for themselves are despised and neglected, and without Social Security, a large number of them die lonely and destitute.
Call that one the "Tea Party Future." Awful, isn't it? It's the logical outcome of the regional culture that gave birth to the Tea Party and the logical result of its preferred policies. And yet how often do you hear anyone describing that future and saying, "This is the future we aspire to"? It's important, extremely important, to state clearly and for the record, "When you vote for
these policies, you're choosing
this future."
Now, America is not home to just one "American" culture. There are several American cultures, and I'm not even talking about the ones brought to these shores by waves of immigrants (who, truth be told, mostly assimilate into one of the existing American cultures; only the Latin American migrations of the last several decades have been large enough to have any strong culture-shaping effect of their own) or African-American culture (which, it can be argued, is not one single culture but at least two distinct ones, one born in the North and one born in the South). I'm talking specifically of the colonial cultures described by David Hackett Fischer in his book Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America, to which this diary is heavily indebted.
The "Tea Party Future" comes from the culture of the highland South. What about the coastal South? What might a "Plantation Plutocratic Future" look like? Something like this:
America is a land where one becomes a leader by being born into an elite family. Social class and rank are not only openly acknowledged to an unprecedented (in America) degree but rigid and nearly immutable. Voter turnout rates are high, but voters have only members of the executive-financial-political elite to choose from. The concept of a solid and self-sympathetic "middle class" has devolved as the knowledge-professional class has identified and defended its own privileges and interests above those of the service-professional class, which in turn distinguishes itself from the skilled-labor class, which disdains the working poor: unskilled service workers and unskilled labor. The working poor, in turn, disdain the unemployed. Each class expects -- and generally receives -- deference from those below it, as refusal to show such deference can have a negative impact on one's employment situation, and while upward social mobility is highly constrained, downward social mobility is an ever-present risk. But respect is not a two-way street: while some of higher rank condescend to show kindness and decency to those of lower rank, among others the attitude of contempt is common. Rankism is ever-present. The prevailing definition of liberty is having the power to rule over others yet not to be ruled oneself. Such liberty being incompatible with the demands of a class-bound society, the extent of one's freedom has come to be seen as a determiner of one's status rather than as something to which every citizen is entitled. Most people take for granted that their freedom is limited compared with that of their "superiors," and that those who have more freedom must somehow deserve it. The net result is that all civil liberties are subordinate to the interests of the state and the elite (et l'état, c'est l'élite). Protest is seen as impertinent.
Criminal justice is similarly influenced by class. The elite can escape the consequences even of felonies by means of plea deals, while the lower classes receive long prison terms or even death sentences. The severest punishments are given to those who commit crimes against victims of higher status -- including trespassing on their property -- and consequently such transgressions have become rare. Disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct and public intoxication are also punished with disproportionate severity -- except, again, when committed by a member of the elite.
Inequality of wealth and income is high among industrialized countries and is believed to be rising, though the knowledge-professional class has so far largely managed to protect its comfortable standard of living despite being outside the elite. Independent business owners and the self-employed make up a small, struggling minority. Sixty to 70 percent of Americans possess no wealth at all. The ranks of the working poor have grown. Indenture contracts have returned, embraced by workers as an assurance of job security. As the ranks of the destitute have grown, more households receive some form of public assistance, but such assistance is parsimonious at best -- and unavailable to unmarried mothers. Suburban sprawl continues apace, while the elite seclude themselves on vast, remote estates. Hard work is praised, and even the elite put in long hours at work, but in fact the prevailing attitude prioritizes leisure over labor; the purpose of making money is to spend it, preferably on recreation or, especially among the elite, conspicuous consumption. Even among the elite, it's common to take on enormous debt. Only the lower classes, however, are subject to prosecution for taking on debts they can't repay.
The national mood is nostalgic, characterized by a longing for the past and a vague sense of loss. The elite is particularly nagged by the sense that it's missing something in comparison to the ruling elites of the past. There's also a prevailing sense of unease about whether present conditions can be sustained. Women are increasingly likely to marry young and with an eye toward financial security and social advancement, while among the lower classes, fewer couples bother to marry at all. Society is not prudish, and marital infidelity is rampant, but typically only women suffer socially if an affair becomes public knowledge. Americans are dimly aware that rape of female subordinates is a widespread problem but show little inclination to challenge the high-status perpetrators. Literacy is decreasing among the lower classes, yet a university education is considered indispensable among the elite and the knowledge-professional class (advanced education is also valued by the service-professional class, but this class has a harder time obtaining it). Knowledge professionals mostly send their children to public schools, since they tend to live in communities that still support high-quality public education, and supplement their children's education with private tutors; the elite enroll their children in private schools. Other classes send their children to increasingly threadbare public schools. An ecumenical, ritualistic Christianity is the de facto state religion; public prayer is common, and non-Christians and nonbelievers face social discrimination. Being nonwhite continues to be a drag on social status at all levels of society, and foreigners are universally scorned. Senior citizens are respected, but few ever retire: those who are able remain actively employed until the end of their days, so reductions in Social Security benefits have little effect . . . except upon those who need them most.
Not fond of that future either? Well, so far, we've only looked at the "Republican futures" -- those with their origins in the South. Time to head north.
In national politics, the most reliably Democratic region of the United States these days is the Northeast, in particular New England. What might a "Puritan Future" look like?
In this future, America is a land in which one becomes a leader sometimes by means of wealth, sometimes by maturity and experience, sometimes by one's talents and sometimes by having a reputation for upstanding character. Individuals possessing a combination of these are most highly regarded. The desire to avoid extreme inequality has led to the elimination of anything that might be construed as an aristocracy; wealth and connections confer no special advantages in the electoral process. Many questions are addressed by referendum. Voter turnout rates are low, but those who do vote tend to be high-information voters, and turnout surges when a controversial question is on the ballot. Taxes, by choice, tend to be relatively high. Liberties are viewed less as rights than as privileges: while some liberties are universal, certain people are entitled to more liberties than others, sometimes liberties can be taken away, and they're generally understood to be subordinate to the interest of the community (though not the state). However, unlike in the past, certain basic economic rights are acknowledged.
Thanks to high rates of literacy and respect for the law, everyday violence and violent crime are much reduced. Instead, the attentions of law enforcement tend to be directed toward crimes against order: disturbing the peace, domestic violence and public intoxication. This attention is sometimes extended to acts of public protest, which are forcefully suppressed if they show any likelihood of getting out of hand. The justice system is efficient but harsh and moralistic. The War on Drugs continues unabated.
Inequality of wealth and income exists, but within a narrower range. Wealth is widely distributed, thanks in part to government redistribution and part to a proliferation of small and independent owner-managed businesses. The estate tax is substantial. The government takes a hard line against unfair business practices, price-gouging and exploitation, and regulates markets closely. The work ethic is strong, and Americans tend to see their labor as an obligation. Residential development is clustered in compact communities centered on government and community buildings and work districts, surrounded by farmland. The downside of these tight-knit communities is sometimes-intense social pressure and an enforcement of conformity through shaming.
Despite improved economic circumstances for many, the national mood is conservative and culturally anxious. America's gains are hard-won, and any change tends to be perceived as social disintegration. Marriage is seen as a civil rather than religious arrangement, and love as its primary raison d'être, so same-sex marriage and other householding arrangements are widely accepted; staying single too long, however, is looked at askance. Domestic violence is not tolerated, and female and male infidelity and promiscuity are looked down upon equally. Sex being seen as an important and necessary part of marriage, sex education in schools is thorough and accurate; out-of-wedlock pregnancy is correspondingly low. Literacy is highly valued, and public education is strongly supported at all levels, including the university level. Evangelical religion has subsided as a national political force; at the national level, spiritual discourse tends to be dominated by the mainline Protestant churches, with Catholicism as runner-up, and intellectual Christianity is ascendant. Senior citizens are profoundly respected, and Social Security is stronger than ever, but with the shift toward veneration of age, young adults continue to complain of limited employment and advancement opportunities.
Although this future has some pluses, it's not ideal, either. In some ways, it represents the right's fears of a socialist takeover combined with unnerving changes in the cultural fabric. For myself, I'm not sure I'm comfortable with the idea of letting my civil liberties be subsumed for the sake of the "common good," which is what we're being asked to do right now by the Obama administration in its defense of the recent practices of the National Security Agency. This future does represent an American perspective, but to be honest, it represents only a small and geographically isolated fraction of America, and I imagine that most Americans would have as hard a time wrapping their minds around it as I do.
So what else is there?
The other Northern cultural tradition is that of the Delaware Valley Quakers. Its capital is Philadelphia. It represents a much, much larger swath of America than people generally realize or give it credit for. Following its ideology would produce a "Friendly Future" that looked something like this:
America is a land where one becomes a leader by demonstrating personal virtue and merit. Many such leaders are wealthy businesspeople, but they tend to be not interchangeable capitalists but rather entrepreneurs and founders of businesses, people who built their companies around ideas or inventions that they had a personal stake in; alternatively, they may be administrators who began as professionals or skilled workers and rose through the ranks to the top of the companies they worked for. Voters are actively and constantly involved in the political process, with moderate but stable election turnout. Federal government is small, but local government is highly empowered and responsive. Military spending has been cut back dramatically. The concept of liberty extends to all mankind, and the most important liberty is freedom of conscience, in all its forms. The Bill of Rights is held in highest esteem and has been fortified with attention to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It's generally understood that every liberty one claims for oneself must also be extended to others.
America has embraced a libertarian idea of order, but it's not a Wild West sort of libertarianism; rather, it's an idea of order in which one must never intrude upon the tranquility of another person. The function of the law is literally to keep the peace. Law enforcement officers are trained to defuse conflict. The severest criminal penalties are reserved for acts of both physical and psychological violence, such as rape and hate crimes. Yet capital punishment has been abolished, and the criminal justice system has been redesigned with the principal goals of prevention and rehabilitation. Discrimination against ex-convicts is prohibited.
Wealth and income inequality is low, though wealth tends to be concentrated in urban areas. The estate tax is substantial. Both public and private charity are strongly supported. Recognizing that wealth inequality is undesirable and that industry is often an engine that generates it, reforms are being considered that will further increase the minimum wage and cap executive pay at a multiple of employee wages. A steep luxury-level income tax is also being considered to encourage the executive-financial elite to limit its own compensation. Americans wholeheartedly embrace both the work ethic and business ethics; "dishonest dealing" carries severe regulatory penalties, as do schemes designed to entice consumers into debt. There are more mechanisms by which debt can be forgiven. With increased investment, metropolitan cities are being redeveloped and renewed as industrial centers. Outside urban areas, residential development is encouraged to follow a pattern in which homes on large lots are clustered together rather than isolated from one another.
The national mood is nonetheless somewhat anxious, because Americans are aware that not everyone approves of the changes that have taken place, and it's a struggle to maintain them. Also, despite the nation's best efforts, economic pressures continue to push the nation away from the egalitarian ideal it's worked so hard to reach. But marriage, seen as a "loving agreement," is available to straight and gay partners alike and is understood as an institution in which married partners are equals; women enjoy full status and equal rights. Sexual exploitation is abhorred. Family planning is valued. There's a culture of modesty, but it's voluntary and extends to both sexes. Public education is well-supported and progressive, the nation having finally revolted against the drill-and-kill "rigor" of No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top, and there's been a restoration of vocational training in high school. Americans have begun to take a more rational, progressive and enlightened attitude toward spirituality, accepting (if not always embracing) religious freedom and pluralism. Senior citizens are embraced as nurturing mentors to the young, and America in turn has honored and cared for its seniors by reinforcing Social Security.
Perfect? Nah. But not bad at all, either.
My point is not to illustrate the ideal future. Rather, it's to demonstrate that every one of these visions of the future is a quintessentially American vision, with tens of millions of Americans who already believe in it. There is not just one American way of looking at things; there is not just one American Way. Competition is not any more inherently American than cooperation, nor evangelicalism than Quakerism, nor inequality than equality, nor airheaded aliteracy than intellectual rigor. The Puritan way is as American as the Tea Party way. There are many American traditions, and we can choose among them. We simply have to be aware of them and make others aware of them. We need to talk about them.
And if we don't like any of them, we can always make our own. But that takes more work.