Winston Churchill once famously observed that "Americans will always do the Right Thing, only after they have tried Everything Else."
I guess we all know now the true meaning of American Exceptionalism!
Then again, maybe it's a necessary buzz-kill, in that it reminds us that the motivational razor's edge is mighty thin between democracy and authoritarianism.
For a generation who did not directly experience the horrors of World War II, who never had to sacrifice loved ones to preserve our freedom, let alone miss out on the latest Prada bag, Door Dash delivery, or egads, actually learn history, we occasionally NEED reminders of what falling into the abyss looks like.
The January 6th Hearings are a stark reminder that that which we FAIL to hold dear, we're destined to eventually lose.
Too much temptation for one side to seize the keys to the Kingdom, and restore the Monarchy.
Democracy is not our birth right, not the natural order, but rather something to be fought for and held tight, or as Benjamin Franklin once remarked:
"A Democracy, if you can keep it."
But how to add resilience into the system?
Three Keys: Education, Safety Nets and Reconciliation
Let's begin with Reconciliation (aka Towards a More Civil Union).
Light is the best antiseptic, so let's shine a light on the key questions of our times.
What are we fighting over?
What are we divided over as Americans?
What is the common ground we CAN agree upon?
If most of what divides the haves from the have nots is driven by socio-economic status, then what are the key stakes, stakeholders and incentives to drive the right outcomes?
Similarly, what are the reasonable checks and balances that mitigate against gaming the system?
By now, it should be obvious that better messaging is critical to overcoming the forces that divide:
1. The Venal (Fox News)
2. The Corrupt (GOP, Evangelicals)
3. The Conflicted (Corporate Lobbyists)
4. The Evil Dead (Haters, Inc.)
The Reconciliation needs to become a "thing" that is deterministically and memeticly messaged over and over, with a preponderance of facts, factors and clear choices.
It needs a well-funded, enduring bullhorn of a Public Service Announcement (PSA).
This is akin to the way we over-turned the culture of smoking in America through counter-advertising, education, formal labeling and yes, litigation.
In terms of Safety Nets, we have to decide if it's a Right to have:
- A Roof Over One's Head
- A Baseline of Universal Health Care
- A Publicly Funded Education
Me personally, I think it is, but that doesn't mean that that right is free from: A) Personal responsibility; B) Some form of fiscal responsibility; and C) Some payback mechanism, such as a Peace Corps 2.0.
Speaking of Education, this is a battle ground, to be sure, with the public dollars that are critical to funding being leeched out of the system by the wealthier who can afford the best a Private School Education can pay for.
Plus, both left and right have strong opinions what the curriculum should -- and SHOULDN'T -- be.
Teaching Churchill's Truth: A Lesson in Bend Don't Break
My simple calculus on curriculum is based on direct experience.
I went to all public schools from Elementary through Middle School, High School and University, and greatly benefited from the diversity of a wide range of courses, including writing, reading, math, history (American and International), science, speech, foreign languages, shop classes, even home economics, curriculum that have seemingly been winnowed out in public schools.
If we could deliver the above before, there is no reason we can't do it again.
On a cultural level, I benefited from the fact that my schools (especially Middle and High School) featured a diversity of economic, racial, religious and cultural backgrounds among the student population.
This is an experience that forever shaped me by establishing an ability to connect with all types of people.
It also broadened my understanding that everyone has a different story to tell, and we all need fertile soil for those stories to germinate, take root and grow.
It certainly gave me more empathy.
Kids bussing in from the inner city had it a lot tougher than me.
Thus, my bias here is to go back Churchill's notion that Americans will always do the Right Thing, only after they have tried Everything Else," and teach that truth, warts and all, bounded by three quantifiable, foundational goals:
- Broadening Knowledge
- Delivering Direct Experience
- Cultivating Depth of Thinking
By quantifiable, I believe that we manage what we measure, so some form of measurement is desirable.
But that's about it. If we want to add resilience to our system, we have to commit to a rebuilding phase focused on cultivating and delivering a generation that feels part of (and accountable to) something greater than themselves.
Stagflation and Death Spirals
Were the present time that I am writing about to be a movie, this would be the point in the story where Our Hero is hanging on the edge of a cliff.
Social division, multiple waves of the COVID pandemic, a rise in authoritarianism, and resulting proxy wars both at home and abroad, have taken their toll.
We're tired, many are depressed, and more than a few are broken souls.
Exhibit A: The Menace of Gun Violence.
Now, a slowing economy leads many to fear that we're heading towards an abjectly terrifying form of inflation known as Staglation.
What is Stagflation?
Stagflation is when two conditions occur simultaneously.
One, price inflation is high.
(I don't have to explain to anyone what that feels like.)
The other condition is economic slowdown.
When both these conditions occur, the cost of running a business becomes painfully high, so companies cut back, further slowing down the economy, which leads to a vicious cycle.
Coupled with social malaise, this cycle can feel like a Death Spiral.
Stagflation last occurred in the late 70s.
At the time, coupled with the U.S. having lost a war in Vietnam, losing to Japan in manufacturing, the broken trust of Watergate, the doomsday feel of the assassinations of JFK, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King and Peak Crime, meant America felt like its best days were behind it.
It's the single darkest time I personally lived through.
Reasons for Optimism
But here is where comparisons to the Stagflation of the late 70s feels off.
Unlike the bloodbath that was American manufacturing industry, the U.S. is still innovating quite well, and the supply chain shortfalls associated with so much offshoring suggest that we'll see more and more industries at least shift some of their manufacturing back to American soil.
Plus, the catalyst of the pandemic has re-invented where and how people work, opening up new avenues for innovation and job/industry growth.
On a social level, while there is undeniably plenty of racism, and rights we long took for granted seem like they're falling away (see Roe v. Wade), there is also no doubt we've made great social progress, which makes for a more dynamic America...if we can get through these tumultuous times.
This is our moment of bend don't break, and a hopefully stronger Democracy on the other side.
If we can keep it.
