Prelude to Electile Dysfunction, 2008 Edition

This post is actually a first-draft of a short essay I've written for Equity, newsletter for the Institute for Global Education, a local social activist organization of which I'm a board member. - DB

The USA is now less than a year away from choosing a new president and a new administration to run the federal government. As primary season draws near, I'm recognizing some of the same nauseous symptoms that afflicted me around this time back in 1999, when the conventional wisdom predicted that either Al Gore or George W. Bush were going to be the likely nominees for their respective parties. Though I and many others at the time saw little meaningful difference between an eventual Gore and Bush (or a Bore or a Gush) presidency, we all know how that turned out. Now the same CW from the same sources indicates that we are heading toward a showdown between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. I'm holding out hope that this cycle is not quite as rigidly predestined as was the case in 2000, but it's getting hard to ignore my gut feeling that 2008 is not going to represent the dramatic break from a downward political trajectory that I began hoping for shortly after the reality of the 2004 election settled in.

A lot of us have understandably come to view the Bush administration as a uniquely malevolent and regressive influence on our culture. Wars in the Middle East, the mainstreaming of torture into our laws and rhetoric, the promotion of corrupt and incompetent cronies to key positions, exploitive economic and cultural practices and the simple elevation of smug, self-satisfied and fear-based ideologies that fool none except those who operate under their sway are all hallmarks that will taint my memories of this decade. Bush, Cheney and company will always serve as the chief figureheads of this dark period of American history, surrounded by a cast of lesser but no less disreputable characters who acted, enabled and dissembled on behalf of them and the military/corporate/globalist stakeholders who've reaped the biggest benefits of these calamitous years. As the constitutionally-appointed termination of their reign draws nearer, a countdown to the celebratory moment of January 20, 2009 has commenced. But what do we realistically have to look forward to at that time beyond the ability to say that "Bush no longer occupies the White House?"

I don't aspire to punditry or prophecy in writing this. Though I will most likely pay some attention, despite my better instincts, to the "horse race" aspects of the 2008 race, I don't feel ready to put much stock in the notion that everything's going to get better if/when the right person takes the next oath of office. The divisions, triviality, greed and paranoia that characterize our popular culture seem deeply entrenched and a new president will have to contend with doubters, detractors and the collective strength of big money interests who want to ensure that the status quo is maintained, however the window-dressing is rearranged.

Listening to the Democratic candidates' debate in Philadelphia the other night, I was appalled at the asinine quality of discourse offered by moderators Tim Russert and Brian Williams. Russert was self-aggrandizing in the worst way, doing whatever he thought was needed to create a trip-up or a stumbling statement from some of the "front-runners," driving complex problems into simplistic either/or sloganeering that candidates (and our society) are then expected to choose from. Williams facilitated over a "lightning round" where each person on the stage was expected to cram their answer to various problems into the confines of a 30-second statement. This game-show format quickly degenerated into a theater of the absurd where Dennis Kucinich was asked if he believes in UFOs and Barack Obama was queried on his choice for a Halloween costume. What idiocy! I would expect better lines of inquiry in a debate for positions on the Student Council at my local high school, yet this is what our leading journalists attempt to "edutain" us with. And don't even get me started with what's happening on the Republican side of the ledger - it's sad enough having to consider that there's still a substantial portion of the electorate looking to them for guidance and leadership on the issues of our times.

The temptation to assign responsibility for ensuring the prevalence of justice and peace in our lives to "the powers that be" leads to little but disappointment, even in those rare cases when the candidate we support gets elected! We each have an important role and task in being the change we want to see in the world. Politics, in the end, can become a huge distraction, or a convenient scapegoat for justifying our own apathy, cynicism and self-indulgence. (I'm preaching to myself here as I write this!) The "Bush years" have been pretty tough for a lot of us to endure as we see so many regrettable developments going on around us. We've vigiled, protested, voiced our opposition in numerous ways, only to see many of our fellow citizens get ever more deeply entrenched in mistrust, suspicion and ill-placed faith in leaders who are so clearly misguided and committed to violence. It's discouraging to have to put up with all this when the alternatives seem to make much more sense to us. What seems to be needed at this time is a resurgence of creativity, an acknowledgment of our individual and collective responsibility to build a stronger peace-focus in our community and a renewed sense of inspiration that our efforts make a positive difference in our world. That implies a need for risk-taking, exchanging honest, considerate feedback and on-going reflection.

Enough, for now, with focusing on the national political scene. I suppose we will all have more to say about it in the months ahead, though it's still unclear what kind of input Michigan voters will have on even determining who the two big-party candidates will be with all the controversy surrounding our state primary date. The wheels will turn as they will and we each have our part to play in that process. But before, during and after the transitions that will take place in Washington DC in early 2009, our lives here in West Michigan (and wherever else the Equity newsletter reaches) still require commitment, passion and the courage to shape our culture according to principles of justice, peace and sustainability. At least, that's what members and friends of IGE have committed to. Your involvement, support and life-commitment are important to us - we want to hear from you and hope you continue to draw encouragement from what the Institute stands for.