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Light A Candle |
August 2002: For most of the last year, and certainly since 9/11, our society and much of the world have been gripped in a state of anomic malaise. In Africa, nations are plagued with the debilitating and scourging effects of aids which is reeking havoc on their societies; devastating famine and drought; and endemic poverty which is bequeathing to unborn generations lives of despair and worthlessness. The once economically viable societies in Latin/South America are facing economic and political crises of varying degrees of magnitude. The Japanese nation is still mired in a recession, which it cannot seem to shake. European societies are seeing the rise of the far right and its strong appeal to xenophobia and the hatred and demise of immigrants and refugees, and the cowardice of some governments that are covertly making concessions to stave off confronting major political crises in their societies, at a time when their economies are tethering. India and Pakistan are each playing brinkmanship with nuclear weapons, the use of which will have unintended negative consequences for our global society. The Middle East is caught in the throes of the Israeli /Palestinian conflict with each side trying to annihilate the other while trying to leverage the label of "perennial victim". In the Caribbean the mini- states are withering under the effects of economical global irrelevance as they fight to re establish some potency under reinvigorated forms of regional economic and social integration; but looming disintegrating and centrifugal ethnic conflict is a real probability in two nations- Guyana and Trinidad/Tobago.
And in our own society we are fighting the War on Terrorism with an economy in varying stages of a recession, and a slow recovery probably on the horizon. And this is why three social events were disturbing to me: first the release of the preliminary analyses of the recent (2000) census showed that despite the economic boom of the last decade, structured social inequality is still a problem in our society, and as the New York Times reported: " amid the longest peace time expansion ever, median income actually dropped and poverty rose in a handful of surprising places" Further economists and demographers across the nation are indicating that the middle class made little headway; the poor , minorities and immigrants none; and that the small percentage already at the apex of our society, economically, were the greatest benefactors.
Next came the flurry of disclosures-Enron, Global Crossings and WorldCom for example- that members of this same elite had apparently committed shady deals, if not outright fraud, with the money of small investors, many with their pensions invested in their organizations by state pension systems. With the disclosures coming fast and furious the stock market, investor confidence, and even faith in our political and economic systems are shaken, for the members of the political elites in the Congress are beholden to the economic elite, at minimum through the influence of well heeled lobbyists, and campaign contributions going to both of the major parties as well as members of the executive branch of government. With a close and hotly disputed Presidential election just behind us (fortunately positively impacted by the centripetal events of 9/11), one should not underestimate the delegitimizing effects of this event on our body politic.
And finally the decision from our Supreme Court that legally validated in some form the use of vouchers in the educational system, at least as manifested in Cleveland, Ohio. Many- and I support the use of vouchers in some instances as an option for the poor- hailed this as the third great revolution and indeed President Bush opined that the decision would have more far reaching positive consequences that the noted "Brown v Bd of Education" one, and further buttress his efforts to emancipate the poor and minorities by giving them the wherewithal to equalize their educational life chances from many failing school systems, nationally. Others viewed this as another example of attempts by the elite to further destroy public education rather than exploring efforts at strengthening or changing the formula for funding public education- a perennial debate /controversy in our contemporary society.
The debate surrounding these issues are complex to be sure and the solutions neither easy nor quick, and even I must admit the darkness of hopelessness as vested constituencies tried to gain their own narrow advantage in the marketplace of ideas. It was then that I remembered the saying of a great American: Don't Curse the Darkness Light a Candle. And that saying caused me to pause, ponder and gave me hope, for there is so much that can be done (and is being done at times with little or no sanctioned state support) at the micro level by citizens, aided by their voluntary associations, to try to alleviate the plight of many, here and abroad.
Americans are renowned for their charity and as a nation of volunteers who care. As President Kennedy once challenged us in the 1960's we must be ever more "other directed". The Peace Corps, Teach America, VISTA, the urban corps, Operation Crossroads Africa were some of the many programs, locally and internationally, which helped to alleviate the suffering of so many here and abroad. Churches and other religious organizations- and not only the large ones such as Episcopalians, Catholics and Jewish denominations, but Moslem and other smaller nationally organizations also- do a commendable here, but it must be increased by more giving. Yes, the President is concerned that some organizations may (are) using the shield of religion to finance terrorism- a legitimate one- but we must be even handed here in enforcement, and not target only Moslem prone organizations but those from Jewish, Catholic, Hindu, Greek and Russian orthodox and other religious bodies who also have their "favorite " causes and vested interests, but are more sophisticated in providing support and "camouflaging" the financial sources.
At a time when we are at war it seems not worthwhile to discuss the importance of teaching the inculcation of values and value clarification in our society. But ethics and the values of integrity, honesty, fairplay etc, must be taught at elementary and high schools, colleges, professional schools; stressed in the corporate board rooms and political offices; and all our "national leaders" must be held to high and accountable ethical standards. The insatiable appetite of greed in the corporate boardroom and among our professionals must be replaced by an ethic of civic responsibility a profound concern for the "other".
If dictators in the developing world - many of whom are educated here in our colleges and military institutions and were (are) heavily supported by our Government for geopolitical reasons- were so imbued, these nations would not be so adrift economically and politically. Nor would we be facing the onslaught of scandals invading our religious, political, economic and even educational institutions, threatening to tear apart our social fabric, if we had addressed this issue frontally.
America must continue to aggressively export democracy more than we do capitalism. Capitalism is linked with greed, avarice, unfettered consumerism, inner directedness, the "bottom line", and structured social inequality. Democracy teaches altruism, the need to respect the points of views of others, especially minorities', and to protect their interests. It teaches the effervescence of the human spirit which can be unleashed by unlocking the potential in every citizen.
For example Ford Foundation through its support of micro lending ventures in India, Bangladesh and other parts of the world has provided skills training, credit, jobs and the beginning of some capital formation for people who could not afford it. Locally, our informal credit associations (Susus, Pardners, Boxes etc) have emancipated thousands in Caribbean communities in our nation causing them to invest in their localities and reinvigorate long forsaken sites. The Carnegie Foundation and its emphasis on improving education in Africa and Asia continues to do exemplary and commendable work. This needs to be replicated and exported.
So, as we are beset with our fiscal and other woes, let us remember that America is still the living experiment in an unfinished open democracy, and let us dedicate not to Curse the darkness, but seek, instead, to find ways in which we can light candles for our fellow citizens here, as well as our less fortunate global cousins, in far distant places.