In the last 20 years, the American political climate has undergone a change even Al Gore could not have predicted. 1997 had us poised at the dawn of a new millennium, full of hope and the dream of a super-technological future that would bring peace and prosperity. We were the kings of the world, as Jack Dawson in Cameron’s Titanic put it.
Compare the feeling of the 1997 climate – one of anticipation and promise – to the climate today, and Americans are no longer the Jack Dawson who stood on the bow of the ship with his arms thrown wide, but the Jack Dawson who clung to the railing on the stern as the broken aft section began to sink. “Uncertainty” and “hostility” are the terms that come to the minds of the American people when considering the current political climate, according the APA’s Stress in America: Coping with Change, 2017. Like the fated Titanic, the United States has ignored the warnings, and now our nation is divided. While each side of the ship that was the United States heaves hatred at the other, Americans are failing to realize that – unless we work together to mend what has been broken – we will all sink. Tragically, our quest for equality is the iceberg that will doom us.
Kurt Vonnegut’s short story from 1962, Harrison Bergeron, is proving prophetic, and one is left wondering how long it will be until the United States elects its first Handicapper General to shepherd us to the fiction that is equality. Every morning brings news of another event that rips open old wounds and causes tempers to flare; and it is these heavy tidings that have made our nation’s future murky and uncertain while our present is strained and hostile. Though Americans are more connected than ever due to the technology at our fingertips, an ugly divide threatens to ruin us, and, ignoring the warnings of icebergs ahead, we continue to strive for an equality that can never be.
People are not equal, and they never will be; however, instead of celebrating those differences and capitalizing on them to create strength through diversity, Americans have instead used our differences to draw lines of intolerance in the sand. The only equality that exists is that both sides are equally guilty: we have all made mistakes, harbored hatred in our hearts, stereotyped, overreacted, and refused to listen. Sure, we are equal, but only equal in guilt.
Hey, Lydia! I absolutely love your writing style – the imagery is amazing. I laughed at the idea of America as Jack clinging to the rail. And you’re right – there is a palpable tension in the air. I’d argue that it has existed since the 2016 election kicked off in earnest.
I disagree wholeheartedly with the point of this post, though. It’s not our quest for equality which is tearing us apart. If that were the case, why is it not tearing apart other developed countries with similar histories to ours which are on that same path toward equality that we are? Take Great Britain for example. They have a history of imperialism, slavery, and systemic inequality, and they have made incremental steps toward remedying these things, and their effects, right alongside our own country. Why are they not experiencing the tension we are?
The most problematic assertion in this article for me is when you reference “the fiction that is equality.” Claiming that equality is fiction is to imply that some are inherently better or worse than others, which I vehemently disagree with. Sure – there are externalities we experience as humans born into different situations – but our inherent worth is not decided by these things. This is what equality means. Humans are all equal in their inherent value and deserve equal rights and opportunities to pursue greatness. Your argument here conflates differences with human value. No one fighting to maximize equality claims that there are no differences between us. In fact, I think the opposite can be said. Pro-equality arguments tend to emphasize the celebration of differences alongside the treatment of those differences as all having *equal* value. I am white, and my co-worker may be black. That is a difference between us, but that difference in no way should dictate the way we are viewed. It doesn’t make either of us worth more than the other.
I also disagree with the notion that the current climate of our country can be boiled down to one thing. We are a melting pot democratic nation of 325 million. There are several reasons we have arrived where we are, including: corruption and distrust in government, the unstable nature of democracy itself, partisan polarization (especially in the media), the decline of the US education system, automation, globalization… To claim that the downfall of a long-established, developed nation can be pinpointed at one item is to grossly underestimate the complexities of our reality.
Great blog and so very true. We must start to celebrate our differences and to forgive each other. The media reports are only stirring the pot and bringing about more hurt feelings.
I love the analogy you use in this! I was able to relate to everything you are saying and I totally agree with Teresa about celebrating our differences. Once we can all get over the fact that we are all not the same, we do things differently based on who we are as an individual and start accepting others for who they are, we (as the human race) could have the potential to do great things.