Most everyone can remember (or knows someone who remembers) JFK's famous line in his inaugural address on January 20, 1961:
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.
This diary is not about that speech. Times have changed. I am not interested in reruns and if ever there was a time to keep our eyes on what is happening now, this is that time.
But those words are so perfect, I think. "Ask Not ..." so catchy and easy to remember, and the meaning immediately penetrates the mind in a way that is very persuasive and not at all threatening or pessimistic.
I wouldn't use those exact words today. Times have changed. The bastardization of our language under Bush and his misAdministration has rendered ugly the word patriotism. And our divisions would make dubious our individual notions of what would "help the country."
Of course, "helping our country" is about helping each other, isn't it? Because I think we're going to need to help each other more than we have in generations.
I've written before about the consequences of not holding this misAdministration accountable after 2006. There have been and will continue to be arguments galore over this, impeachment, no votes for impeachment, investigations, no enforcement of investigations, ad infinitum.
But regardless of those arguments, there will be consequences.
We are already experiencing many separate as well as interrelated domestic crises because of the crimes of this misAdministration. Gulf Coast post-Katrina. Health care. Immigration. Education. Really, you name it, it's on the list. An almost unprecedented amount of crises, all within a global crisis of climate change and resources becoming alarmingly scarce.
I doubt I'll admire the way it's done, but yes, I think this misAdministration will leave the WH, one way or the other, and hopefully we will have a Democratic President and Congress.
Sadly, that is the best case scenario. We used to aim higher. Sigh.
But let's say that happens. The Dems will be inheriting a big giant mess.
I do believe they will work hard to solve problems in this scenario. And let's even get silly and assume they do a good job. They really tackle the tough problems, etc., etc.
Even if that fairytale came true, the most vulnerable of our fellow citizens, those who have been suffering for years and can't hold out much longer, will be falling, in some cases dying. They have already been faling and dying, make no mistake. But that will continue no matter what changes are made in November of 2008.
Of course, the very poor always fall, we all know this. And that will not stop. The very poor are not always very visible, so this can happen practically right in front of us without our even seeing it.
But now we are more vulnerable, too. Anyone who gets sick and doesn't have insurance. Anyone who loses their home. Anyone who is very old or very young. Anyone who doesn't have a job that pays a living wage.
Right now the very rich and the multinational corporations have not only consolidated power, but resources as well. That's not going to go away. The consequence of this is we have less resources to help those who need and deserve help under any kind of reasonable social contract.
Progressives will always work to change this, in each generation, I have no doubt about that. I am not pessimistic about that.
But in the meantime, I think we need to look out for another a little more than we've done up until now.
I don't mean as a community or a society. I am speaking of individuals here. Me. You. You. You.
I'm speaking of paying attention and showing respect. And understanding why those two acts should occur.
In our workplaces. When we shop. When we go to a house of worship. When we deal with others whose stories we may not know as well as we'd assume. Wherever and whenever we interact with others.
When times are flush, we can take more rudeness and still keep our cool. When we're in the center of a boat it's not so turbulent.
Out on the edges, well tolerance starts to fade.
It might be good to be aware of that as much as we are aware of any other political issue. Just as a human being, that we're living in hard times and perhaps that person right next to us is more on the edge of security and survival than we'd guess. Good folks usually don't complain much, it isn't seemly.
I think we're going to need each other in the coming months and years. As we face the consequences of the evil wrought by this misAdministration, there are folks who are going to suffer more and those who will suffer less.
Wouldn't it be a hoot if the ones who suffer less would help those who are suffering more?
Ask what we can do for each other. It's not a strategy, it's a state of mind.