Pogo

We have met the enemy and they is us, Pogo said. How true and how sad. True because if you change and I change and our families, friends and co-workers change, soon our communities would change, then the nation, then the world. Sad because we don’t believe it, or are afraid to try, or don’t think there’s a need to change. In fact, there’s a whole mass of us who not only don’t want to change, but want to go back, to a “better, kinder, gentler time.” Like the 1950’s perhaps? To the heart of the Cold War and Korea? To open racisim and lynching blacks and having quotas for Jews at colleges and having not that many Spanish speakers? Perhaps the 1970’s and the oil shortages, long gas lines, inflation, and Watergate? Besides being unable to do it, going back is not a good idea.

But this is not about going back, tho it is, sort of; it’s about us, our own attitudes, fears, hates, ignorance and superstitions which are the enemy. The enemy’s not out there or over there in Iraq and Afghanistan, where we’re fighting them so we won’t have to fight them here, we’re the enemy and we’re already here. It’s not someone else, either, it’s you and me, we are the enemy.

It’s not the other party, race, sexual persuasion, religion or age group, it’s our own selfish, stubborn, ignorant, outmoded, impractical and unworkable beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. This is good news, because it means just as soon as you and I are willing to take responsibility for what we think, feel and do and its impact on ourselves, others and the planet, we can stop doing it, if we need to, if its not working for us others and the planet. We are the enemy, and we can stop being the enemy anytime we want to. We can stop overeating, overspending, hating, blaming and being afraid. We can stand up for ourselves, brothers, sisters and the flora and fauna we share the planet with and act like the love and loving stewards God created us to be.

Do we need to change? Hell, yes! Let’s get those illegal aliens out; let’s seal off our borders; let’s walk around carrying our passports, and our weapons – we need to strap on our automatic, noise-supressed, extra clip dum dums – nobody will fuck with us then, being armed is the best deterrent to violence; let’s de-regulate business and get the government (that evil force) off our backs! Didn’t that work well for us all during the Bush years? That financial collapse was really a socialist trick, having nothing to do with Wall Street excesses and the million dollar bonuses which are still going on. Let’s eliminate the nanny state and let all those people on food stamps, social security, medicare, and that new horrible Obamacare stand up for themselves and quit making us carry them.

Talk about needing an attitude change…! But that’s the blaming, fear-mongering attitude that seems so prevalent today. What about community? What about our ideals? We do not need to change them to solve our problems. We can take care of ourselves, communities, the nation and the world without all this blaming and fear-mongering. Can’t we? We didn’t ‘win’ the Cold War with Russia, by out russianing or out communisting them. We won by sticking to our ideals of community, trust, compassion, mutual respect and decency. We have to look clear-eyed at what needs changing then, working together without blame and fear-mongering, with respect and compassion, go forward and deal with what needs to fixed and changed.