Once Upon A Time in America

By Judith Gayle | Political Waves

It’s been a week of Shakespearean plot lines and Orwellian fear-speak. If life is but a play and all the men and women merely players, then we’re writing a fine fiction for ourselves, full of sturm and drang, high-blown drama in the tradition of the Grimm Brothers’ darker tales. It would be clearer if the populace had read either Shakespeare or Orwell, of course, but comprehending our national narrative requires familiarity with vocabulary, critical thinking skills and an eye to detail, which are no longer taught in our failing schools nor cherished by our dumbed-down citizenry. Too bad. And just when we could use a first-rate education.

As it is, we’re left with the either/or and us/them — in short, black/white — attitudes that mark our childlike belief in fantasy, in the unreality of magical thinking, both personally and politically. It isn’t literature that informs us, it’s fairy tales. Despite their entertainment value, you’d think we might have noticed that they are invariably less than believable. There’s always some essential piece of the premise that stretches credulity, like believing the Bible is literal truth and scientific thought is optional, or that big business and banks will police themselves. Continuing to believe such things after they’ve been proven wrong is the kind of dangerous delusion we face today. I’m not sure if this is the result of too much Prozac or too little, but we can agree it’s epidemic.

In fairy tales, the child-like characters are pure as the driven snow, while evil characters behave like cartoons drawn by madmen, the meaner the better. Think how many wee ones have nightmares over the Wicked Witch of the West and her flying monkeys (and if you’re thinking of Dick Cheney sending his evil minions out into the night, I’m right there with you). Fearful imaginings that go BOO! in the night were borrowed to terrorize us, and we fell for it. It’s doubtful that these stories can help us solve real 21st century problems, but we stopped doing nuance just when we needed it most.

In these simplistic tales, the unerringly naïve fall prey to wicked schemes and dark devices, ultimately rescued at the very last moment by the pure in heart. It’s a sweet and well-worn plot device, soothing to children, but one increasingly removed from today’s reality. The fair maiden, the witch’s apple, the charming prince? Still prototypes for behavior in this century, or whispers from an obsolete mentality? Any pure hearts out there willing to attempt a rescue of reality?

The Brits are giving it a go, judging by their grilling of all things Murdoch. Appearing in front of a parliamentary committee this week, Rupert seemed dazed and confused except when he was being belligerent. The world’s largest media mogul displayed a kind of King Lear, ego-inflated lunacy that should appeal to the tender-hearted and gullible. He was flanked by personal buffers, number one son, James, and ninja-wife, Wendi, protecting him from bullies and shaving cream. The man who has shaped the decline of our cherished media traditions appeared not to remember who did what or to whom, and if he ever knew, he can’t remember that either. The old man who owns the world isn’t up to par, if we are to believe his performance. This apparent dotage is very convenient, is it not? Let’s hope it isn’t Reaganesque. The end of magical thinking will begin the day someone — ANYONE — is held accountable for his or her actions in the Anglo/American civilized world.

It would be a relief to change the black-and-white morality narrative now, but the collective mentality spins on, giving us new outrages to rail against, new heroes to pull us back into the storyline. Take the commentary of Representative Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, who briefly chided the conservative position of fellow Floridian, Allen West, on his Medicare stance. (Wasserman-Schultz is notable for hair that even Goldilocks would envy, the kind of mythical hair that made the Donald what he is today.) Her comments were bland to the point of boring, but West responded with an e-mail that branded her “vile, despicable and cowardly.” And oh, yes, the black Republican (a fairy tale of sorts, right there) indicated that Wasserman-Schultz is NOT a lady, thus unworthy of respect or dignity. See? Cartoon characters, Tweety and Sylvester and Granma wielding a broom, all because Debbie criticized Allen’s political position on the floor of Congress. You can’t make that up!

Our current American fairy tale offers us characters like West that are fascinating, conflicted and largely unbelievable. For instance, Michele Bachman is the princess that kissed a frog — and then, heeding Gawd’s demand, married him. Obeying the hubby’s direction to get a job as a cold-blooded IRS lawyer, Michele then bloomed. Along the way, she had five children, opened her home to twenty-something troubled teen girls with eating disorders — although there seems to be scant record of this state-sanctioned fostering effort — and worked tirelessly to save fetal tissue from becoming the Holocaust of the Unborn. With evangelical support, Michele became a Representative of the people of Minnesota, while her husband started a Christian counseling service to save helpless straight people from the dark and relentless demon of gayness. Now it appears that Michele is privy to disabling migraines although she says they will not interfere with her mission to return America to its higher calling as servant-state to the (Old Testament-approved) Most High.

The Bachman story is surprising: not the part where she’s obeying the voices in her head, nor the part where she’s bat-shit Christocrat crazy. This woman graduated from Oral Roberts University and helped form the law program at Pat Robertson’s Regents University, whose motto is “Christian Leadership to Change the World”. And I’m surely not shocked at Bachmann’s campaign to eradicate funding of public services even though she’s accepted farm subsidy and state and federal salaries, while her husband’s questionable practice solicits federal money for “professional” services. No, I find the part about the frog surprising. The other MLF dear to the heart of conservatives, Sarah Palin, has hunky Todd to keep her warm at night, but Michele has pudgy, Rove-like Marcus? That’s quite a surprising plot twist, don’t you think? (I don’t mean to be catty. If it was true love I wouldn’t mention it, but Michele has confessed she was once again obeying Gawd when she said yes to Marcus. I suppose that was the Voices again, proving that Michele’s religious delusion is sincere, which is a disturbing prospect.)

I seize on Michele because crazy is ALWAYS fascinating, and despite the disparity in fundraising between Bachmann and front-runner Mitt Romney, it’s conceivable that she could take the Iowa caucus, putting her squarely on the path to presidential candidate. The “tell” came this week when a FOX anchor spoke of Romney as a non-Christian. This question of Mormonism has not been settled in the backwoods of the modern mind. It’s not going to play with the dedicated Pub base who will not be satisfied with anyone less than the Christocratic pure of heart approved by the snake-handling evangelicals, and THEY are the ones who pick the presidential candidate. An aside, Michele may have some competition should Texas governor Rick Perry decide to run; he has the entire state soliciting Jesus as an answer to various social and political challenges. Sounds like a hit with the fundies, don’t you think?

The magical thinking is epidemic. Tax breaks and boons to the wealthy will not trickle down to any class other than its own, for instance. The free market is anything but free, and jobs gone overseas will stay there, as domestic wages drop to subsistence and worker protections disappear across the globe. The national debt will not be paid down by cuts to spending, no matter how severe; it will only limit our ability to borrow, to grow and to stabilize our economy. Multimillions of us working for minimum wage at Wal-Mart will not lead us back into prosperity. Party affiliation, no matter what you’ve heard, is useful only in terms of self-definition.

The crooks and liars are mostly Republican, but not always. The whiners and losers appear to be Democrats, but not always. And it’s not unthinkable that “undecided” voters, courted as royalty, could rewrite history if they can’t choose between so wide a disparity in political philosophies as we suffer today; if you can’t imagine a beloved candidate playing to such a mentality, think of what the president recently proposed giving over on budget cuts, and weep. “We have shown ourselves willing to do the tough stuff,” said Obama late yesterday afternoon. And so goes politics in a complex and near-broken system.

I’d love to say that there is an awakened Democratic presence working toward progressive ends, but it’s our own fault that the Democrats are corporate-bought enablers: we allowed the system to completely occult the better instincts of its host. You don’t hear of a downturn in lobbying money, the downsizing of conservative think-tanks or PAC donations. If the influence peddlers aren’t broke, then America isn’t either, but you won’t hear that from the political class that still wants to scare us out of every cent it can. At least the Dems are torn between the pragmatics of fundraising and the ideals of liberalism; the Pubs only worship the fatted calf, no apologies offered.

In all children’s stories, there is a moment in which the good guy looks like a goner. That’s where we are in this story, that’s what democracy looks like now. It appears that big money and influence have us by the short hairs, regressive philosophy will win the day and magical thinking will only get us into deeper delusions. Republicans, mainstream and radical, insist we play this black/white game until the bitter end. Those of us who want to put the kids’ stuff away are hampered by the system we created. The one shining star in this dark night sky is the sheer delusion of the right wing. I hate to give them credit for anything, but their bitter cartoons have frightened the children, the elders and the middle class that used to consider them friends. Their fairy tales have turned into nightmares and made enemies of the very folks they seek to draw in. It’s this simplistic audience that will bear the brunt of proposed conservative policies.

In the black/white scenarios imagined next, only Armageddon seems credible, only complete dissolution and nihilism fit the fairy tale template; or — forgive the audacity — we can return to nuance and embrace realism, truth, and respect for the principals of democracy. Once upon a time in America, we knew who we were. Those still conscious need to stand up to big money and corporate influence, stand up for decency and the common good, before it disappears from sight. Fairy tales are for children. Time to grow up, pay our bills, take care of our kids and old folks, and behave like adults.