What's Wrong With Us?

by Doug Collins

What's wrong with America? Of course that's what a lot of fellow progressives ask, feeling disheartened by Bush's victory in the last election. How can progressives--or those of other under-represented political beliefs--ever have a positive effect on society if the Democrats can't even mount an effective challenge to the Bush administration? The Bush administration can concoct a war through misinformation, violate international law (and any standard of ethics) by staging an unprovoked invasion, use brutal and illegal means for "softening up" Iraqi prisoners and anyone it deems an "enemy combatant," take the whole nation into debt like there's no tomorrow by spending billions on a botched and unwinnable war, and still have Bush emerge as a re-elected "candidate with moral values".

I've heard people blame the mainstream media, I've heard people blame right-wing Christians, and I've heard people blame Kerry's "message" as not being effective enough. With all that finger-pointing, it might be hard to ever determine what has really gone wrong.

So how about instead let's point the finger at ourselves, at us Americans in general. What's wrong with us? We're usually overweight, we're addicted to gasoline and soda pop, we watch TV entirely too much, we get tired just walking a couple blocks, we complain a lot but never do anything about it, we spend too much drudge time at work and not enough enjoyable time with family, we spend more money than we make (a lot of it on our chronic health problems), we have few or no close friends and increasingly live alone, we have rarely or never visited inside our neighbors' houses, we are so worried about having body odor or bad breath that we dare not stand close to someone, we're often obsessed with sex and at the same time feel starved for it, we complain about our wages but we buy all sorts of junk products that inevitably disappoint us, we hem and haw if an acquaintance asks us for help, and "grin and bear it" instead of asking for help when we really need it. We too often experience dismal, boring, lonely lives and then try to fool ourselves into feeling comfortably superior by telling ourselves flattering lies such as "we're the most advanced country on earth."

Certainly some, most, or even all of these problems apply to you, just as they do to me. Of course they do, because we as Americans have become experts at ignoring the gaping defects in our own lifestyle, and blaming our problems on something or someone else, lying to ourselves in order to feel better.

Yes, I'll probably never be elected President by being so honest, but somebody has got to do it! When we take an honest look at ourselves, we are in a really foul state, not just nationally, but also individually. Progressives are no better in this respect than are fans of Bush. Because of our modern American lifestyle, it's no wonder that most people have a lot of anger and resentment built up inside of them. Recent American politics is just an exercise of how to target this anger: should I direct it toward Bush, or toward the other countries of the world? Because we are experts at blaming distant others, it's no surprise that Bush could better rally the support of the many Americans who are ready to blame the rest of the world for our own woes, blame anything distant and unknown in order to avoid taking a good close look at ourselves. The biggest harmful illusion that Americans suffer from is that "we are the best, and we cannot be blamed for anything."

When we Americans finally, grudgingly, look at our personal illnesses of spirit and soul, then it's possible to see how disease in our institutions--such as our mass media or our political system--is related to our own sad state. It's then possible to see that the real answer is not Kerry, Kucinich, or any other hopeful alternative for President, that the answer is not refining the "message" of the Democrats, or of any other party for that matter. The answer, of course, lies much closer to ourselves, closer to the sick, unsustainable way that we typically live. Until we start changing the way that we live, we will never have positive political change in the US.

What are some simple ways that we could start changing for the better? Drive less and walk more, work less and live more, meet our neighbors, eat healthier food, stop watching so much TV and instead do something more active or stimulating, go out of our way to help acquaintances in need, stop buying useless consumer junk that never makes us happy, etc. Just turn around the problems I mentioned earlier. We don't need a guide. Our problems are right under our noses. All we need to do is look.

And instead of blaming others, let's hold off. Instead of blaming other countries for 9/11, let's consider our own country's actions that may have led up to it. Instead of blaming right-wing Christians for Bush's re-election, let's admit that right-wing Christians may be doing something correctly. After all, they've at least got a community through their churches, a friendly social support network, something that is so extraordinarily unknown to many progressives and to Americans in general.

Let's do the above, and then someday in the future let's enjoy voting for the person we really like, instead of against the person we don't.