Just finished a great (though long) read, "
No Ordinary Time," by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Subtitled, "Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The home front in World War II." I was born at the exact time that the book begins, May 1940. I have vague personal recollections of the war time, mostly the awareness of separation from my parents and living with my paternal grandmother. In addition, of course I learned about some of the historical matters in school while they were still pretty fresh. What I did not recall was how much our country was still cursed by the legacy of slavery (this was pre-Brown vs. Board of Education) and how pervasive racial, ethnic and religious bigotry was in the land of the free and home of the brave.
Since finishing the book, which I heartily recommend, I have been pondering the current state of affairs of our nation vis a vis the world and how successive administrations have squandered all the good will and esteem in which we were universally held at the end of the war. At that time, we were the most powerful nation on earth, militarily, economically, and our education and health delivery systems were second to none. We had a reputation for opposing evil and supporting the weak.
Contrast that with the present situation. While still strong militarily, at least in arms if not troops, we have become a 2nd rate economy and are in hock up to our eyeballs to foreign investors. Our education, health and transportation systems are in shambles and we are held hostage to the oil cartels. Our international reputation and standing has been significantly eroded because of our support of oppressive regimes such as Pakistan and Columbia, the overthrow of democratically elected governments such as Allende in Chile, the slaughter of millions of Asians in Southeast Asia in the Viet Nam war and now, the unprovoked invasion and 5 year occupation of a sovereign nation, headed by a third-rate, effectively powerless dictator. We don't pick fights with tough opponents or countries that can fight back, but we have no qualms about smashing a fly with a sledge hammer, just because we can. In place of the former universal admiration and goodwill we enjoyed at the end of the war, we now face universal scorn and fear.
It's too simplistic to place the blame on the presidents who are or were sitting at the time of these disgraceful acts. But just who is responsible? Who acts for we the people in a way that makes me want to turn away in shame?
George Bernard Shaw said "It is said that every people has the Government it deserves. It is more to the point that every Government has the electorate it deserves; for the orators of the front bench can edify or debauch an ignorant electorate at will. Thus our democracy moves in a vicious circle of reciprocal worthiness and unworthiness."
So, as
Pogo (an old cartoon character) used to say, "We have met the enemy, and it's us." The Government is us. We elect it, we respond to its actions favorably or unfavorably, and they respond in kind. So to change the government or how the government acts, we have to change ourselves. A government that does not abide the will of the majority is short lived in a democracy or oppressive in an autocracy.
I would like to see the pendulum swing back the other way, and have our country once again admired and admirable. If that doesn't occur in my lifetime, it won't really matter to me, but it would be nice for my kids and grandkids.
