The Most Important Debate in U.S. Society is not Red vs. Blue, Democrat vs. Republican or Liberal vs. Conservative

Posted by ikabod Crane on 07.27.2007

In my one year anniversary column, find out what the key debate in U.S. society is. Also, find out why centrism is always relevant.

Despair Rising

Wednesday July 18 was not a good day for me. First, at lunch I bought a bottle of diet soda. After lunch, I put the bottle in the recycling bin that was intended for cans, plastic bottles and glass bottles. I then looked down as saw that recyclables were mixed with putrid trash. I was pissed because the trash receptacle was all of two feet from the recyclable slot. Either some poor custodian was going to have to root through filth, or these recyclables were headed to the landfill. Both options were bad, and of course, minus laziness both were preventable. It just proved that the efforts of society can be frustrated by a few careless individuals.

After work, I stopped to eat at a fast food joint. As I waited in line 2 women with 3 children were in front of me. The kids were out of control and climbing on everything in a risky fashion. The reason for their poor behavior became evident as the two mothers idea of parenting consisted in twisting their kids' arms, cussing and smacking the hell out of their children. The 3 children were decked out in name brand clothes as their moms were in desperate need of basic hygiene. The funding of expensive clothes while beating their children suggested seriously misplaced love. My brief glimpse suggested that their idea of how to care was to shower their kids with stuff rather than instilling good habits.

I was fairly depressed after this display. However, as I was ordering food the manager walked up to the cashier in what was an attempt to train him. She was upset that he had accepted a $50 bill earlier in his shift and said angrily, "Why you no take $50 bill?!" My immediate reaction was, "What does that even mean?" When I added it all up, I figured we had 2 bad parents, 3 kids being raised in a deplorable manner and a woman stuck in a fast food job in part because her school and family had failed to pass on even a rudimentary knowledge of English. If I have any readers left after my Frasier Crane moment of social revulsion, I'd like to discuss the relevance this has for contemporary social realities.

Concern vs. Apathy

Those of us interested in foreign affairs, domestic policy, the economy, ecological issues and of course politics often embroil ourselves in heated discussions. These debates can and often do degenerate into personal insults that produce political enemies. This sort of dialogue can cloud what those with different ideas on public policy have in common.

Namely, those involved in the political debates have a vision for what they would like the future of society to be. If last Wednesday proved anything to me, it is the fact that most people are apathetic. For me, the debate between different political points of view is of secondary importance to the contest between concern and apathy.
If I and a debate opponent have different views on health care or foreign policy, we can at least agree that we desire something better for society. So long as we keep that goal in mind, dialogue can often be productive. On the other hand, if I try to discuss public policy with the sort of teachers that push students through school who can hardly read or write, I am likely to encounter blank stares at best.

This does not mean that those who are apathetic are to be ignored. In fact, the striving toward a better society demands bringing greater numbers of the society into the conversation. With more people caring about the future, fewer instances of laziness undermining the positive efforts of society will occur. Ignoring the apathetic is in its own way a form of apathy. The apathetic can lead to despair, but I contend that despair must be resisted.

Despair vs. Hope

In the U.S. at least, it is easy to find cause for despair. In spite of our societal wealth, education levels are far from consistent. Many conservative complain of cultural laziness. As an instructor myself, I have to agree that this is reality in more students than I had expected when I entered the profession. Many liberals complain that economically depressed areas have stacked the deck against most of their inhabitants to the point of creating a virtual caste system in the U.S. Overhearing a fast food worker butcher the English language makes one wonder what the level of discourse was in her neighborhood and school system. It is hard to see the American Dream becoming a reality for more than a remarkable few who are raised in such circumstances. Despair about circumstances and bad habits is well founded.

However, if one gives into despair it is easy to miss all of the causes for hope in U.S. society. Many teachers do instill valuable knowledge and habits in their students. Many U.S. citizens are involved in charitable causes and civic organizations. A tremendous numbers of U.S. citizens do small things every day that demonstrate hope for the future. In my neighborhood alone, I can run across three composting units during a short walk. The seeds of hope are present; concerned citizens need merely learn how to see in order to resist despair.

Centrism Has a Place

Politics has been described as the art of compromise. I like this definition, but I prefer the idea that dialogue can lead to people learning new things as alternative points of view are considered. I like the idea that a diversity of opinions protects against one ideology being carried out to an extreme. After all, too much of a good thing is often a bad thing. So, here we have it. Dialogue can be productive so long as two things remain in the minds of those engaged in dialogue: first, mutual recognition of the goal of a better society protects against insults replacing civic discourse second, no one aside from a dictator can expect to get everything one wants so compromise has to remain as a real option. If those two rules are in place, multi-partisan talks and societal involvement can lead to a great synergy. This synergy is what makes centrism dynamic. History is a process and each moment apprehends the past and sets a foundation for a future. If this process of history is dynamic, novel solutions can emerge to vexing problems.

1 Year of Columns

My column is now 52 weeks old now. Between my column and my contributions to 411 political round tables, I have been lucky enough to participate at 411mania. I have learned from my readers and from the other 411 political writers. Jason Easley told me that my column was finding its voice quite a few months ago. I am happy with where the column is headed and look forward to a second year here at 411mania.com.