I wrote this piece about three
weeks ago, and was a bit hesitant to post it because I was afraid it was too
far out there. Today, March 21, I was listening to the Diane Rehm show on NPR. Much
of what you will be reading was being discussed openly. What is happening in
the Republican primaries? Although there is much reason for optimism in our
country as a whole, there are some troubling signs we overlook at our own
peril.
Some
Historical Background
History is littered with great
nations and empires in which, at some point, circumstances intervened and the system
that had given them their growth and power, became unworkable. Ultimately, they
lost their supremacy: Greece, Egypt, Rome, Great Britain, Germany, all the
colonial powers, and many more.
What our nation has been going
through since 2001, has many in our country feeling vulnerable and angry. One
reason I may be a little more sensitive to these influences, is because I lived,
pastored, and was immersed in the German language and culture for 12 years in West
Berlin and Frankfurt in the 70s and 80s.
One doesn’t need to be a
historian to understand what brought National Socialism into power in 1933.
While the circumstances then might have been different in substance, they seem,
to me, to be similar in kind. Let me explain.
Please don’t hear what I am not saying. We are not in danger of becoming another Germany. Nor am I, even remotely
impugning the motives or the genuine good will of all the candidates running
for president.
What I am saying is that we need to look critically for possible
historical parallels, in order to avoid falling into a similar pattern. My
concern is that what we are experiencing today is eerily similar to the
circumstances surrounding the rise of National Socialism.
Granted,
the political climate after World War I in Germany was different. However, the
features of what we are experiencing today do bear a similarity to the events
of the early 1930s. These components converged to create a climate in which the
message of a strong, decisive unconventional leader, and a political outsider,
became attractive.
·
Once the world’s strongest military power, Germany had been
humiliated by the Versailles Treaty, rendering it militarily impotent,
·
Failing businesses,
·
High unemployment,
·
Runaway inflation,
·
A lower standard of living,
·
The many small factions in the Weimar Parliament could not agree
on any meaningful legislation, rendering it virtually powerless.
How
Does That Pertain To the U.S.?
Since 9/11, our country has
been experiencing a long period of instability and uncertainty. Any nation in
which national leadership is seen to be ineffectual, anger, fear, and
insecurity arises, creating a favorable climate to the siren song of a
strongman. Please allow me to suggest a few of these circumstances.
· We
are still processing and grieving the national tragedy of 9/11. That’s where it
all began. Since then the government is spending hundreds of billions of
dollars to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
·
Our
economy is in the midst of a major shift from an industrial-based to an
information-based economy, creating a period of transition which has changed the
economic status of millions of families forever.
·
“White
America fights like hell to cling”[1] to
a way of life they are afraid will be gone forever.
·
The
cavernous economic divide—unimaginable wealth for a few, and a growing
percentage of the populace is working for less money, part-time, or have
decided to stop looking altogether.
·
Almost
every one suffered negative, some massive, economic consequences from the great
recession.
·
Both
parties, in the House of Representatives and the Senate, have developed factions
rendering the legislative branch almost unworkable.
·
A
loss of international standing, and the danger of losing its influence in international
decisions concerning its sphere of influence.
·
The
rise of international and home-grown terrorism, and an the feeling it brings of
vulnerability both from within and without.
All of the above subjects are
worthy of discussion in themselves. Taken together, however, they have created
a long period of economic and personal uncertainty. Major disparity between
rich and poor, and a huge number of people are without needed marketable
skills. A large segment of the electorate feels as though they are sliding down
a hill from the comfortable middle-class to the working poor with nothing they
can grab to stop their fall. Things are even worse in the African-American
community. For them it feels as though their poverty has become permanent.
We are in a time of transition
between the Industrial Age and the Information Age. In many ways it is similar to
the shift between Feudalism and the Industrial Age. When human suffering was at
its greatest, Karl Marx wrote Das Kapital.
All of these triggers of
trepidation, taken together over a relatively short period of time, have
created a sense of fear and vulnerability in our society. They have generated an
underlying anger and frustration that seems to have rendered a large segment of
our society suckers for the siren song of a “Someone” who promises to “right
the ship”.
So,
What Do We Have?
It seems to me that this
underlying sense of powerlessness and vulnerability is a major factor in
driving our primary process at this point. The electorate has lost faith in the
establishment to solve our problems.
Could this be part of the
attractiveness of Donald Trump? His off-the-cuff bluntness, his decisiveness,
his declarative statements, his strongman image, and generalized promises, seem
to resonate with the voters:
·
“I
will make America great again.”
·
“I’ll
make better deals with other nations.”
·
“The
world no longer respects us.”
·
“I
will rebuild the middle class.”
·
“I
will bring good jobs back again,” etc.
Can you see the parallels? The
pundits are talking about a crisis in the Republican Party, but it seems to me
that our political process, indeed, even our very Republic is in crisis. I
plead with you to look and to think before you make your choice in the ballot
box.
Those of you, who are my
Facebook friends, bathe this election and your vote in prayer. Our future is in
the balance. As I am writing this, I feel like a voice crying in the wilderness
(well I guess I am living in a desert). Only a few people may read this, but I
had to get it off my chest. God bless.
