A Rising Tide

By Judith Gayle | Political Waves

Civilization is defined by larger-than-life moments. Read a history book and you will find a vast collection of individual events that illuminate both the frailty and magnificence of humankind, and while these occurrences might appear to have happened organically, sprouting like mushrooms from rich loam, the opposite is usually true. Moments when everything suddenly takes on new direction have most likely taken purchase in rocky soil, watered by the tears and blood of those who dreamed of justice or equality or freedom from oppression, those who have taken actions, however small, to push their cause forward. It is cumulative action that eventually shifts perception and allows breakthrough.

We point to the launching of the American Revolution and the birth of the Declaration of Independence without taking into account the years of agitation and upheaval that authored it. The French and Indian War brought unwelcomed British scrutiny to the colonies and a heavy load of taxation. Simmering resentment gave rise to American nationalism. The Boston Tea Party might be called the moment when the rebellion turned to revolution, but that was only the beginning. It took a full eight years to secure our independence, winning out over a financially-challenged Empire with too many irons in the fire. It was 13 years before we had a Constitution. Evolution takes time.

We look at the volley shot at Fort Sumter as the beginning of an internal struggle that would kill more Americans than both 20th Century world wars without understanding it to be the culmination of decades of fractious politics. Lincoln articulated the slavery issue that divided the states in his inaugural address that year. Sumter occurred only a few days later. Variously called the War of Aggression against the South, or the War Between the States — by the Confederacy, of course — our Civil War was settled with the Emancipation Proclamation, which gave freedom to 4 million African-American slaves, most of them held captive in the South.

The moment that abolition became a central theme of the war, the days of slave-holding were numbered. The forward motion of such an event cannot be denied, no matter who wins a war. It forecasts the inevitable, so deeply seeded within our consciousness that it takes on life of its own. If the South had won the Civil War, that proclamation would have been the point around which rebellion would have coalesced to breath new life into the hope for freedom and a new revolt.

A hundred and fifty years later, Tennessee is rewriting its history books to leave slavery out of civil war history: as if. The primary cause of our internal schism was a question of morality, an examination of human suffering and victimization. We are at a similar juncture in this century, our population divided not so much by economics, as by a toxic philosophy that depends on a carefully-groomed sense of victimization and bigotry. But no matter the cost, heart wins these battles, and human rights are always at the crux of defining moments, sprung from the determined spirit of an oppressed people. The moments that go down in history grab our imaginations, but they are always part of a larger narrative and the culmination of years of effort.

There are tinderbox moments, like the day that Rosa Parks took back her human dignity on an Alabama bus, and turning points like the Sunday morning a Klan member served a god of hatred by blowing up a church basement in Birmingham, murdering four little black girls as unintended sacrifice. The first of these was an “about time” moment, the latter an “enough is enough” moment. These events resonated throughout the nation, bringing awareness of civil disparities and ruthlessness unbecoming a nation that, however imperfectly, guaranteed Constitutional freedom. The Birmingham bombings crossed the Rubicon, making even side-line racists uncomfortable and remorseful.

Evolution is furthered by these moments that inspire a movement for change. They are explosions of discontent, fueled by long-simmering resentments and unchallenged conflict. These junctures are almost always painful, sometimes horrific and only occasionally quiet and nearly unnoticeable. One notable example was the dreadful self-immolation of a despondent Tunisian fruit vendor, bullied by corrupt town officials. His act got only local notice at first, but quickly sparked the birth of determination and resolve within a nation, a region, and ultimately the world to end the systemic corruption of government. It provided us all a common thread of outrage. Who hasn’t been bullied by authority? It’s a universal theme. Will it have a universal result? If it does have world-wide effect, as we suppose it must, then it’s evolutionary: an example of a rising tide lifting all boats.

Our resolve is inspired during the periods that follow a tinderbox moment, furthered by a growing awareness of the problem made obvious to us. This is a tricky process — a birthing process, if you will — that needs time and attention, nurture and activism. The inevitability of forward progress comes when the truth of deservedness enters public consciousness: when we no longer collectively question the “if,” but only the “when.”

And so it is now with gender equity. California’s recent court decision restoring gay marriage is one of those moments that verifies the inevitability of what we liberals see as a human right. The end of Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, established under Clinton, turned the corner on legitimizing gay rights, even if it only scratched the surface. And while Obama still has hesitations on marriage equality, he unequivocally backed the end of hypocrisy in the military. Meanwhile, his opinion on marriage is, to quote the White House, “evolving.”

That defines it, doesn’t it. This topic, of all the old social encumbrances, requires an evolution of thought process, banishing ancient bias and mythologies. And now, each new skirmish seems destined to draw attention to the radical-right’s irrational homophobia, almost always countered in the news by wedding pictures of beaming same-sex newlyweds that can’t help but make us smile. Ya know what? Happy, normal, speaks for itself. Marriage equality is inevitable, and the joke’s on the fundies, who look small and petty in their ignorance. The majority, and certainly the younger generation, think this conversation is a waste of time. The Defense of Marriage Act will find its way into the shredder soon. It’s inevitable.

Santorum’s brutal “conservative values” prohibit not only any homosexual act, but also heterosex for pleasure and birth control to boot. He’s in a bubble, as we speak, pushing his repressed vision. He may have the vote of the overtly faithful in the radical base, but many Independents will not join in this paroxysm of religious fervor. Increasingly, Rick and his fellow campaigners sound vindictive and bigoted, swearing to reverse Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, to increase funding for foreign adventurism, to reverse “Obamacare” so that we can all be free to pay more for health coverage and keep those insurance companies flush and shareholders happy. Huh?

The long process of countering the attacks on truth and common sense begun by the Bushies, along with three long years of savage obstructionism by the party of big business, has awakened us to the poverty of our political choices, narrowing the field to Rick Santorum as flavor of the week, and frankly my dears, that’s excellent news. Palin? Beck? Caine? Now Santorum? Oh joy, the clown car is so full and the president’s track record is looking better every day! And let’s not forget the obvious signs of buyers’ remorse from the 2010 election, with recall petitions circulating the Midwest to evict radicals.

For those of us flying the 99% flag, the next push for civil liberty is in matters of financial equity. Am I speaking of the dreaded class war? You bet. Those in the 1% who whine about how the little people are just envious of their wealth must have listened to George Bush tell a frightened and puzzled nation that the Arabs were just jealous of our freedom when they flew planes into the towers. The argument is infantile. Playing the jealousy card is what mothers do with their bullied children, and it usually only soothes a wound once, if that. In truth, few of us are critical of the mega-rich because we want to be them; most of us are furious because they have bought politicians, corrupted the financial process and tilted the playing field so far that we can no longer call this nation a “land of opportunity.” Any number of European countries now offer more upward mobility than we do.

Lacking any decisive financial plan, right-wing presidential hopefuls seem preoccupied with St. Ronnie the Reagan and all that he “accomplished” for our contented 1% and their minions. They don’t mention that Ron couldn’t get elected in this political climate or that our tax burden is the lowest it’s been since the 1950s, and lower than it was under Reagan. Bruce Bartlett, the man who wrote economic policy for both the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations, has questioned tax cut proposals, saying, “I think Republicans misunderstand the premises upon which Reagan’s economic policies were based.” Bartlett urges them to reconsider such a mistake, but the candidates, tone-deaf and ignoring any critique, continue to try to outdo one another in what the economist calls “cookie-cutter economics.”

In a period when economic inequity is driving public anger, the Republicans refuse to acknowledge it. In a moment of enormous economic challenge, they have no plan to address it except to hand more money to the people who screwed us to start with. A group of economics professors told Reuters that the Republican plans “wouldn’t pass an Econ 101 class. The candidates’ economic proposals will explode the deficit, expand income inequality through massive tax breaks to the rich, and hurt the poor and middle classes.” This isn’t good news for the Republicans. And if by chance or Mercury retrograde, they take the White House in 2012, it will quickly become apparent that they are not only a mistake-in-progress but devolution we can no longer afford. Nothing succeeds like success, and failure is seldom given another chance. They have only failure to offer.

Evolution is a process. It comes with moments of clarity, moments of illustration and illumination, moments of heartfelt solidarity. It comes when we can no longer remain the same. Clearly, what is happening in our political arena is less important than what is happening in our collective psyche. Since I wrote my little piece about conservatism last week, I’ve read at least a dozen that point to a frightened and anxious conservative worldview bordering on mental aberration. There is nothing the GOP has done in the last years that can do anything but underscore the findings of such studies and embarrass the genuinely conservative. Looking on, more and more of us are shaking our heads at the bleak outcomes left to us by the Bushies and a party that, as a lefty bumper sticker puts it, is “keeping millions out of work to put one man out of a job.”

With fits and starts then, with angst and confusion, we can trust this rising tide to lift all our boats. Human rights, racial rights, gender rights, economic rights? Our social underpinnings are taking a leap. Ecology, energy, medicine, food? Too much to cope with, you say, or not enough? Law and property and finance? The whole structure is malfunctioning, we need a global fix – a big new idea – but we can handle that, can’t we? Big thoughts don’t scare us, just little ones. Big turning points and transcendent moments await us on all these fronts.

We’re in process, deep in the heart of a transformation that too often seems to leave us breathless and confused, but this is a journey well begun and unstoppable. Think of it as birth pangs. Think of it as a renewal of global civilization in order to save ourselves from obliteration, and think of it as a matter of when, not if. Consider it inevitable. If we know this, deep in our being, and consciously proceed with surety that we will accomplish this next great leap for humankind, then nothing can stop the forward motion that propels us. Be resolved, inspired, heartened. There’s a rising tide and if we set our intention to be — per Neale Donald Walsch —  the next best iteration of our selves, the rest will take care of itself. History is on our side and so are the angels.