Envisioning the Future
Published on Thursday, November 4, 2004 by CommonDreams.org
"Envisioning the Future"
by Stephen Mitchell
November 2nd was heralded as the most important election of our lifetime, and
as an event that would change the world. I don't perceive a lot of hyperbole
in either of these categorizations. The impact of this election upon the world
is indeed monumental, so I've been trying to envision our future. Take a moment
to join me:
Think- the international community has, to date, largely differentiated between
the American government, which it hates, and the American people. With the results
of this election, envision more animosity being directed toward Americans.
Consider that bin Laden's recent message never mentioned "hatred of our freedoms", but that he did discuss his hatred of our Middle East policy. U.S. foreign policy won't be changing with the second term of this administration, and Osama said that more terrorism will be directed at us because of that. President Bush has stated that he makes us safer. Envision how you'll feel when Osama makes good on his promise of more terror. Who will you hold accountable? Osama? Bush? Or both?
Envision Iraq becoming more Vietnam-like, since we don't have the resources to effectively police, and there is no hope of international support.
Contemplate the John Hopkins report that stated that Iraqi civilian casualties are much higher than what has traditionally been thought- perhaps 100,000 or more. Note that the U.S. military is ramping up for a big attack on Falluja at this very moment. Envision how much hatred we earn in the killing and maiming and the painful disruption of innocent lives that accrues as a result of this occupation.
On the environment, envision how much worse U.S. policy can get. The President should disband the EPA, since he's so hopelessly curtailed the agency from fulfilling its mission. Mercury is already what's for dinner if you eat American freshwater fish. Wild salmon populations are at risk, so the administration skewers numbers by adding genetically-inferior domestic salmon into the counts. American wilderness and roadless forest areas are being opened up for logging, drilling, and mining. The National Park Service is still underfunded, understaffed, and demoralized. The Superfund has no money, so toxic sites are being left toxic. Envision greenhouse gas emissions continuing to rise, as well as other airborne pollutants, and ever-degrading air quality standards. Envision millions of urban children suffering with asthma, some unable on most days to play outdoors.
Unlike most of the world's other developed countries, envision the world's strongest nation- the world's economic and military superpower- with no public health care system. Envision people in need being turned away, or even dying unnecessarily, simply because they couldn't afford procedures and treatments.
But, maybe the children that have asthma deserve it. And maybe the people that have no health care deserve it. That is, after all, the same sort of "logic" that says the poor are poor because they deserve it, and the rich are rich because they have been heavenly rewarded for their righteousness. Try to envision how Jesus ended on the wrong side of neo-conservative thinking on this issue. Contemplate that perhaps John Kenneth Galbraith nailed the real issue when he said, "The modern conservative is ever in search of a better moral justification for selfishness."
Envision the incredible power of greed. Contemplate that the most powerful people in this administration worship an idol known as the "greenback"- the American dollar. Envision more corporate consolidations and a lot more of whatever is good for the CEOs and shareholders of the American-based multi-nationals.
It is unfortunate that it was not Lincoln or Washington or Jefferson, rather than Benito Mussolini, that once said, "Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power." After all, Mussolini is distasteful, but people might ponder this timely quote had Abe said it. Envision Dick Cheney's invitation-only, back-room meetings with energy concerns, held without the representation of groups concerned with the public interest, becoming the norm in terms of setting policy.
Envision our children learning the true American value- capitalism- as they recite, "I pledge allegiance to the corporations and to the greed for which they stand."
Envision a retreat from the good that Martin Luther King accomplished when Lyndon Johnson signed legislation mandating civil rights. Envision a growing intolerance from the morally upright who defend life at all costs when it comes to abortion yet deny the immorality of the loss of life through either social oppression or war.
Envision either Japan or the Europeans at the forefront of stem cell research. Envision almost any science and related technology being discredited if it doesn't entirely mesh with literal, fundamentalist faith.
Contemplate the human rights abuses at Abu Graib. Consider that the International Red Cross still has no idea what really happens at Guantanamo. Remember that this administration actively sought to legally negate the Geneva War Conventions, so that torture could be acceptable in the "war on terror". Think about the example of Jose Padilla- and envision an America where due process is no longer a right guaranteed to each and every citizen.
Envision Americans as they are systematically stripped of their right to free speech. Ponder the fact that the right to dissent is already gone. Three Oregon school teachers were recently threatened with arrest and expelled from a Bush rally for simply wearing t-shirts worded, "Protect our civil liberties!" Thousands of other examples have been documented where law-abiding Americans were denied their right to protest within sight of their President. Note that the Patriot Act allows federal agents to search a home or private residence with no judicial oversight. Furthermore note that Attorney General John Ashcroft, in the name of fighting terrorism, favors adding additional restrictive measures on American's personal freedoms.
Benjamin Franklin said, "He who would give up essential liberty for a little safety deserves neither liberty nor safety." Envision an America that is neither free nor safe.
Contemplate that the administration disdains the International Criminal Court (ICC). Chalmers Johnson, in "The Sorrows of Empire", said "the refusal of the U.S. government to join the International Criminal Court is primarily because its actions in support of foreign policies invariably involves the commission of such (international crimes)." Envision such a crime, such as an unprovoked, misrepresented, and illegal war in terms of the standards of international law.
Ponder the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is 72, while Justice John Paul Stevens is 84. Justice Rehnquist is 80 and in failing health. With the difficulties in getting a progressive judge appointed to the court over the past 30 years, now envision the probability of getting a moderate. Envision Roe vs. Wade being overturned, the death of equal opportunity, erosion of civil rights, elimination of additional personal rights, and decisions by the court that uphold exclusivity, intolerance, discrimination, segregation, or even mask hatred.
Now envision how all of this has come to be: Envision an American public that has been steadfastly deceived by its leadership while systematically mis- and under-informed by the major media news outlets. Why? Well, the executives of the media giants do stand to reap great personal and corporate financial rewards due to the economic policies of the very government they are charged with monitoring. How does that impact editorial and news content? Look around to see a Fourth Estate that is conflicted, and where good journalism is getting harder to find.
The consequence of a misinformed American electorate is illustrated in the movie, "The American President", starring Michael Douglas. Douglas plays Andrew Shepherd, a Wisconsin liberal up for re-election but unwilling to engage his Republican rival, Senator Bob Rumson (Richard Dreyfuss), in a character debate. Consequently Shepherd's approval ratings fall as Rumson's rhetoric pummels him. Lewis Rothschild (Michael J. Fox), the President's Domestic Advisor, finally tells Shepherd in a heated debate that, "People want leadership, Mr. President, and Rumson's the only one doing the talking. People want leadership, and in the absence of genuine leadership they'll listen to anyone who walks up to the microphone. They want leadership. They're so desperate for it that they'll swim in a mirage in the desert, and when they find there's no water, they'll drink the sand."
Shepherd looks at Rothschild a moment and replies, "Lewis, we've had beloved Presidents who couldn't find a coherent sentence with two hands and a flash light. They don't drink the sand because they think it's water. They drink the sand because they don't know the difference."
Yesterday, fifty-one percent of the American electorate didn't know the difference.
So envision an America not of further media consolidation, but where the existing media conglomerates have been broken-up. Envision a return to broadcast ownership limited to a maximum of seven radio and seven television stations, as it was in the 1970's. Envision a Federal Communications Commission that actually regulates the airwaves in terms of the best interests of the public, not the media corporates.
It's possible, but it won't be easy. It will take a lot of work. But we've been there, so we only have to find our way back. Envision the route, and let's get to work.
Stephen Mitchell is a lay member of the Church and Society Network: Advocating for Peace with Justice Committee of the Rocky Mountain Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC), and of Golden, Colorado's First UMC. You may contact him at smitchel@goldenfirstumc.org.
Copyright © 2004, Stephen Mitchell. All rights reserved.