Even Optimists Have Bad Days
Like most humans I am generally an optimist. Also like most humans sometimes it's really hard to be an optimist. That's kind of what happened here.
This post should have been easy to write but turned out to be much more difficult because of events in the world as I was writing. It changed my whole outlook and direction so this is my third effort at it. It still isn't exactly right but the famous saying, "don't let perfect be the enemy of the good" comes to mind. This is far from perfect but hopefully will be good enough to make my point. I also hope you will see why this has been so difficult in the end.
American Myths Vs American Reality
My original intent was to simply comment on a recent survey done by the Wall Street Journal. The survey found that “Patriotism, religious faith, having children and other priorities that helped define the national character for generations are receding in importance to Americans.” This survey should raise a lot of questions for us. It certainly did for me, chief of which is why is it that many of us have stopped believing in things that we have held as absolute truths for so many years?
My intent was to link this decline in beliefs to the nature of myths. Seemed simple to me.
One definition of a myth is “a symbolic narrative, usually of unknown origin and at least partly traditional, that ostensibly relates actual events and that is especially associated with religious belief.” Maybe a more succinct definition is that we humans hate uncertainty and/or the unknown so when in doubt - we make shit up! I also wanted to make the point that myths sometime provide us with answers that are also preposterous - yet we believe them (more or less.)
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| This for Example |
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| or this |
I tried to make the point that every society (or government) has foundational myths, something the people all have in common if nothing else. For example:
England has King Arthur, Robin Hood, Magna Carta
France has Druids, Celtic gods, Notre Dame
Germany has Heroic legends, Theodoric the Great, Hitler (just kidding!)
United States, not quite as old or colorful but just as powerful, has these . . .
Flowing from these, here are some other of the most iconic American myths: Patriotism - (shared with almost every other country) is the love and devotion that we have for our country. There’s also American Exceptionalism - whatever we do, we do it best. In fact, nobody else comes close. Also, and related to the exceptionalism, there’s what I call the Marlboro Man myth - “We don’t need no stinking help from the government - or anyone else.” I am not denigrating them (well, maybe a little) nor saying that one should not believe in them, I am simply saying that much that we believe in is wrapped in myths; very important myths but myths nonetheless.
So the question remained: why are many of us turning away from them now?
My explanation was that ever since discovering that the earth goes around the sun and not the other way around, many myths have been put to rest by science and evidence. So maybe Americans are paying attention to how things really work in our country and they no longer match many of our myths ergo we lose faith in them (or at least doubt them.)
Then I came up with several examples of things that I think are making people lose their faith in our "myths."
For example, since WWII, watching our youth go marching off to war after war after war (or in my case, doing some marching myself) at the instigation of politicians to "defend freedom." Necessary? Perhaps but worthy of a myth? Perhaps not.
Korea - Vietnam - Granada - Panama - Gulf War - Bosnia/Kosovo - Afghanistan - Iraq - Somalia - Syria/Isis
Total Deaths: 102,037 (Not counting many other deaths in other various freedom defending efforts continuing to this day)
I think this might have an effect on how people think about patriotism and their government. And having more kids?
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| The Sentinel of our Myths |
It also occurred to me that the economy these last many years no longer serves a large proportion of the population. It seems like it has intentionally been turned over to corporations and the most comfortable members of the country. (A group in which I ironically find myself a semi-comfortable member in.) Many people are driven to bankruptcy - or worse - by preposterously expensive healthcare, education, childcare, housing and damn near everything else a person actually needs. On a positive note, there are lots of $15/hr jobs.
Kinda makes it hard to believe in American Exceptionalism and the American Dream when very little is exceptional and dreams for many are just nightmares.
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Not exactly an incentive to give your all to the good, old corporation, right? Or again, having more kids.
I wrote a version of all the above and had more examples . . . but then this happened:
Our country suffered yet another mass shooting at a school, the 39th school gun incident this year. (Nashville, 3/27.) Not the worst only the latest - and it's was only freaking March! If you've already forgotten it, don't worry, another one will come along shortly - count on it, this is the USA after all.
Sad note: We didn't have to wait long. There was another mass shooting today, Mon 4/10 - the day after I published this post. Terrible as any shooting is, at least this one wasn't a school.
We were subjected, of course, to more pointless hand wringing with thoughts and prayers by politicians and other apologists for our insane country. The Tennessee state government acted fast though. Did they implement some gun restrictions? Of course not! Instead they expelled some legislators who protested lack of action on same. You've got to be S&@$+^g* me!
And I have been struggling about this post ever since. It seems everything I had written above could have been simply boiled down to this:
There is no longer any point in even getting angry - we just have to accept that we're stuck in a tragic, never-ending Groundhog Day of American stupidity.
(And hopefully this also answers the questions about the Wall Street Journal's survey.)
This is the new ending. It still doesn't express my frustration enough but it will have to do.
Who can we blame? The Founding Fathers? The Constitution? Maybe some but they can’t be blamed for all our problems. We entitled Americans, on the other hand, can be blamed for mythologizing them and putting up with all this crap by continually electing cowards and crooks to office. This is also what happens when you are governed by a document written centuries ago. A document that has to be interpreted for its "original intent" by nine people in black robes who might as well use chicken bones and goat entrails to decipher it. Among their worst proclamations is that corporations are "people." This opened a floodgate of dark money to our avaricious elected leaders and completed the purchase of the government by the wealthiest of us.
But THE worst interpretation, however, was that for the 2nd Amendment. One that has paralyzed us into accepting the death of innocent children as the "price of freedom" in the name of protecting ourselves from that government. A simply mind numbingly stupid proposition.
Here’s the real kicker though: We won't do anything. That's the thing about myths, We NEED to keep believing them. If our country is based on myths then we have to keep believing in them or the wheels will totally come off the cart. That is the great paradox of all myths: we may know they are myths (or lies) but we MUST believe in them because they are all (we think) we have. Myths die hard.
Perhaps that is why so many "leaders" (of all stripes) today are denying human rights, restricting voting rights (to certain people), stifling free speech, banning books, mocking science, holding history hostage - and waving the 2nd Amendment like a bloody banner to make sure every nutjob in the country has access to the gun of their choice. We MUST hang on to those myths to save our country!
There is a scene in the movie The Matrix where taking the “red pill” will release you to live in the real - but difficult - world while the “blue pill” will keep you safe in your warm cocoon (of myth.)
So perhaps it is their way of denying us the red pill of
truth?
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| Truth or Myth? |
With all that said, call me stupid (join the crowd) but I still believe there is hope for a better future. Not much but some. It won't happen by trying to return to some mythical past though. Nope, we have to embrace a very uncertain future. That probably won't happen with us old farts in charge; change is apparently too painful for us. Fortunately, however, it's right in the wheelhouse of most younger people who are very good at change (like I once was?)
I am reminded of a saying by the famous physicist Max Planck who said, "Science advances one funeral at time." Perhaps societies progress by the same process, one generation's funeral at a time and I guess mine's next to leave the stage (perhaps not universally missed?)
To my younger readers I can only say, sorry, but you're up.
In the end, I would gladly take either pill if it would let me live in a country where common sense and a little compassion ruled our lives and not myths.
Happy spring, friends, better days (and kinder posts) are ahead.
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