Who Are We – What Have We Become?

by Jack Lee

“Clearly, a civilization that feels guilty for everything it is and does will lack the energy and conviction to defend itself.”  ― Jean-François Revel

The above quote reminds me of Obama’s apology tour, but it’s also a reflection of how many of us have come think.  Well, I had to throw that out here because the topic is our culture and I’m pretty sure we’re not the same people that cast out the British, fought a Civil War or tamed the Wild West.   We’ve evolved, and the question is, into what?  

This year’s election is the perfect opportunity to reflect on our culture.  Because elections say a lot about the culture.   They reflect our values, our politics and our in many ways our future…for better or worse.   Elections bring to the foreground that has been brewing in the background.   

But, before we get into the topic let’s focus on exactly what I mean by culture, so we’re all on the same page.   Culture is defined as: the beliefs, customs, arts, science, etc. of a particular society that has its own way of thinking, behaving, or working.  It exists in a time and place,  often insulated or protected by its national borders and promoted through a universal understanding facilitated by a common language.

So, first up, let me ask you… how’s our borders doing?  Are we protecting our “culture?”  It’s the job of the federal government to do that and it’s important enough to be outlined in the Constitution.   As to facilitating understanding thru a common language, well we might be slipping a bit, because as of 2014 37,000,000 of us speak Spanish in the home.    Immigration was designed to protect our idealism, our culture’s values, so they are not overwhelmed by the values found in other countries.  This is not a new concept, it’s as old as borders and it’s universal to every nation around the world.

Has our uniting core values changed much since our country was founded by our ancestors?   I like to think the best of their idealism hasn’t, specifically those would be the principles and idealism as detailed in the Constitution and Bill of Rights.  Those values have stood the test of time or I wouldn’t be writing this.

So what has changed?  Well, at least a third of Americans (on the left) seem to think we don’t need real secure borders and letting millions of immigrants suddenly becoming citizens by sidestepping our laws and without regard to learning or respecting our cultural ideals is some how okay.   And that same group of lefties believes wealth shifting and blatant acts of socialism is preferred to hard work and capitalism.   Its evident to me when so few of us are supporting so many, some ideals that we all inherited are slipping away.   Look around, we’ve not seen this country more divided since the Civil War!  There’s class warfare, revisionist history, gridlock in Congress, race baiting in the White House and a growing disparity between the haves and have not.  Poll numbers show most people don’t trust the government and this includes many former Obama supporters…they were devotees too!  Surely something has seriously gone wrong when even the most mesmerized Obama supporter is no longer happy?

Ultimately, all this political division and revisionism translates to something bad for the culture.  We’re more distrustful, alienated, fearful and concerned about the future than ever.   Having less control over our daily lives because of big government intrusion will do that to people.

It’s a confusing situation to say the least and this has me wondering exactly what is an American today, what is our culture?   A 100 years ago one could have defined it easily.  We would have said, this is a nation immigrants united in common goals and a common understanding of the idealism that spawned our great success and liberty.  Today, well, I just don’t know.   Do that many of us really appreciate or understand that idealism?  Heck, many of us can’t even tell you who the Vice President is or find the Capital on the map.

Who could argue that we’re not as free as we once were when we have so many rules and regulations!  We have so many codes, ordinances, rules, laws, etc., that virtually any one of us could be found guilty of something wrong or illegal if we dared  look hard enough.   Speaking of crime, on a per capita basis, we’re experiencing much higher crime now than even during Prohibition Days.  There’s been times when we’ve had higher homicide rates in some American cities than the deaths on the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan combined!   The Wild West was never as wild as some of our inner cities!

America has always had it’s poor and probably always will, but the desperation, depravity, despair and debauchery found in many American ghettos rival that in the slums of India, that’s new and it’s shocking when we have so much wealth at our disposal.  Something’s wrong when we can allow that in America.

Sometimes to see who we are, we have to look through the eyes of a newcomer:  “People were very focused on competition and duties and the speed of different social exchanges and interactions,” he said. In Ecuador, more importance is given to relationships.   A doctoral student at Gonzaga, Cabezas sees this cultural difference spiral into nearly every interaction.  American culture focuses on the individual, while Ecuadorian culture is collectivist.  This, he said, is both good and bad. The emphasis on individualism can lead to a certain cultural cluelessness among Americans.

Another example comes from Khalid Alanazi from Saudi Arabia.  When he arrived in the United States, he expected to see swaggering gangsters. Gun-toting isolationists ready to fight a foreigner at the drop of a hat.  “My view changed completely since my feet touched the U.S. ground. Rather than seeing gangsters, I saw nice, smiling people,” he said. Still, he notices marked differences between the Saudi and American cultures.  Good thing he didn’t start his visit in Detroit or Oakland, he may have gone home still thinking of us as gangsters!

Life today is as challenging as it’s ever been, only in different ways.   Our culture is impacted by a tangle of politically correct rules.  We’ve also so lost our edge on being tough, independent and self reliant, in part because we were too eager to trade away some of our initiative and our freedom for the security of safety nets (socialism).   Over time, a very short time, we’ve just created a whole class of poor people totally dependent on big government for their daily bread.  That’s dangerous, if not downright stupid.

Milton writes, “How oft, in nations gone corrupt,
And by their own devices brought down to servitude,
That man chooses bondage before liberty.
Bondage with ease before strenuous liberty.”

Is this our culture…accepting bondage with ease?  I hope not, but I know a vast number of us are perfectly content to play the welfare system and live on a government handout.  But, what about our economy,  it’s still thriving, right?  Isn’t that a good indicator that all is still well?

In a free enterprise system it’s all about besting the competition in order to keep the doors open and the wheels turning. This requires leadership, sacrifice, innovation and investment before there’s a big payoff.   It’s often said success comes from equal amounts of inspiration and perspiration.   These have been common qualities found throughout American history until now.   However, bureaucratic red tape, our new welfare class and stifling taxation may put those good ol days behind us, and I’m not talking about the days of child labor or slave labor.   Just the times when American’s were more self reliant and solved things before a Czar needed to be hired to do it.

Today’s entrepreneurs seem like a dying breed, but if they’re not dying out, then they are certainly be overwhelmed by two other kinds of people, the bureaucrats and the takers.  Neither value traditional work ethics, but they do value socialism – the antithesis of free enterprise.

This is why I ask, what kind of culture are we?  Do we still have what it takes to stay #1?  Do we even have the vision and courage to make those course corrections to protect and preserve the idealism that built this great nation or are we in the age of the dumbed-down, the instant-gratification culture?

You should know, time does not favor a democracy.  The average life span of a democracy is about 200 years and when it finally goes under it collapses into chaos like ancient Rome.  And with that cheery thought, let’s jump back to where we started…our elections.   Elections determine the life span of our unique form of democracy.   That’s it, plain and simple folks.  You can vote smart, you can vote for what is good for the nation and we will continue on our merry way.  Or you can  vote as a partisan hack, for your own self-interests…and some day you’ll say, “Hey, where’s my welfare check?” and it will never arrive.  Not ever.

In summary, who we are and where we’re going is not as predictable as I first thought.  There’s a lot of good here and a lot of bad.  We’re a complex culture, and despite the bad that captures the headlines, we still have reason to remain optimistic.  Our potential remains viable, our assets considerable, but it all rests on the vote.   The game is far from over… let’s see how this next election goes, maybe we’ll get more clues after Nov. 4th?