Democracy & the ER

[H2O Man]

“The rich in this country seem to think that they can oppress the poor indefinitely, not recognizing that welfare is one price society pays for social peace.”
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.; Journals; August 21, 1996.

I ended up spending most of last night and the early morning hours in a crowded ER with my youngest daughter. She had been injured in a varsity soccer game, and although she was positive that she was okay, her father insisted on taking her as a precaution. The nurses said that it was good that I did, as she had suffered a head injury. The doctor determined that she was battered and bruised, and needed to take a week off from what is a pretty physical sporting competition. My daughter convinced him to okay her return for their next game, which is on Tuesday.

I had missed the game – rare for me, but there was a school board meeting – but when my wife and daughters got home, I grabbed a book and we loaded into my vehicle, and headed to the nearest hospital. By chance, the book I picked off a shelf was Schlesinger's 1952 to 2000 journals, which his sons had edited and published after the presidential historian's death. I've enjoyed Schlesinger's many books for forty years, particularly those about John and Robert Kennedy.

Emergency Rooms always make me a tad uncomfortable, and so when the lady behind the glass asked if she could help us, I said, “Yes, I'll have the Big Mac extra-value meal with a coke, please.” My daughters find me embarrassing in such circumstances; my hope is that my wife's ignoring me, and explaining the purpose of our visit, will be a learning experience for them. A nurse came and spoke to us briefly, then had us go to the overcrowded waiting room, where there were not enough seats available for us all to sit down.


The majority of the people there reminded me of a description that I read in a book by two Canadian authors in the 1990s. They traveled through parts of New York City, and spoke about the way that several generations of poverty takes a toll on outward appearances. Obviously, I could easily be wrong on this. I was also reminded of reading that the inhabitants of the lower incomes tend to use the ER for non-emergency treatment. In this case, that was definitely not true. Most of those seeking care had serious injuries. I suspect that the lower- and middle income population lead lifestyles with greater risks for injury, than do the wealthy.

There was zero verbal communication between the various families and individuals in the room. In fact, very few people spoke to even those they were with. One fellow, who appeared to be in his early thirties (and who had at least a seriously sprained ankle) tended to stare, almost nonstop, at my younger daughter. Although she is 14, she looks a good bit older than her 17-year old sister. At one point, he dropped the beer bottle cap that he was holding onto like a lucky coin.

As we waited, I opened the book to a section where Schlesinger detailed his concern with President Clinton's “welfare reform.” Schlesinger noted that this “reform” was part of Clinton's pandering to the conservative democrats – Joe Liebermann and the Democratic Leadership Council, which he described as “the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.” As a “Kennedy Democrat” who believed in the FDR social programs, Schlesinger held the DLC in utter contempt.

There was also a fascinating section where Schlesinger details his experience on one of the many panels he was on, where he spoke about the dangers of “unbridled capitalism.” Another panel member attacked him for being (of course!) against free enterprise and pro-socialism. Schlesinger responded by noting that, despite his opponent's claim that there is no such thing as unbridled capitalism, that the influence of corporations, including but not limited to national elections, was the single greatest threat to democracy in America.

In recent days, we hear from corporate shrills like the fellow who attacked Schlesinger that night, attempting to define the people engaged in the Occupy Wall Street movement in similar terms – they hate capitalism, they are engaged in a dangerous form of class warfare, and on and on. This includes both current and former politicians, as well as media talking heads (many of whom are intel operatives). They are, at best, blinded by fear. I believe most are simply liars, without social conscience.

Those engaged in these demonstrations are actually the vanguard of the movement that may rescue our failing economy. They represent the very best chance to breathe new life into the now lifeless democracy; without them, America becomes a rotting corpse for corporate vultures to feast upon.

What is interesting – at least to me – is that the generational poor have yet to become more actively involved in this hopeful movement. Perhaps their hopes and dreams have been crushed by decades of oppression. Their energies may be concentrated on just getting by. That is, of course, what 99% of this nation's citizens do: concentrate on getting by. It is only the obscenely wealthy that has the leisure time needed to concentrate great effort on taking what little that the 99% have.

And why the OWS movement frightens them.

As this democratic movement progresses, it will be essential that the recently middle class reach out to those of the lower economic classes. That will scare the 1% even more. They will go all-out to keep us from accomplishing this. They will react in crueler, harsher ways than simply having a tool like Rep. Peter King go on television, and insult the protesters. But it can be accomplished. Indeed, it must.

[mmonk]

1. Agreed it must.

And this movement cannot fizzle. There will many attempts to make it fizzle and that is when we need to be its wellspring.

[Me.]

2. Democratic Leadership Council... “the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.”

Such an apt description. Vanguard is such a lovely word and the OWSers are the second wave of what I feel will be an ongoing movement, Wisconsin being the first. I am greatly anticipating watching how things wax and wane in this country over the next five years. Change is in the air and the roller coaster is edging upwards. These people are very smart and able to articulate their beliefs and positions clearly and concisely. There is also a seeming inherent kindness about them which they use to good advantage when being aggressively questioned by the likes of George Will. The young man I watched this morning on ABC didn't take umbrage and simply explained why the dissonance Will suggested existed in their beliefs didn't exist. Will had no comeback.

I also am impressed by the fact that in the GA everyone has a veto and unless they can work things out so that all agree, which it turns out they are able to do, nothing gets passed.

It has amused me to hear them often referred to by the pundits and pols as hippies. The only difference between now and the past is that that don't use the word dirty.