?United? States? : a rant

(Note: this is somewhat in response to a thread on facebook dealing with people referring to healthcare reform as "That nazi policy" and likening Obama to Hitler)

I do think that the US is a great country. One of our defining traits has been the ability to have liberty and diversity at the same time. Our worst moments as a country have been when we have been bitterly divided against each other to the point of no longer seeing what unites us (eg The Civil War). Our best moments have been when we acknowledge that while we may not agree, we are all in this together (eg 9/11). I am not so idealistic as to think that even in our most united moments absolutely everyone agrees about any given idea, policy, or endeavor. But it has been our ability to disagree but still work together that has put us ahead of any other country as a beacon of democracy. My current frustration has been the deepening and ongoing polarization of America. What started as red states vs. blue states has evolved to a point where there seems to be very little middle ground. Whether it is supreme court justice nominees, or plans to improve sectors of our society that really need it, or an effort to shore up an ailing economy- everything is presented in bulleted talking points and gross dichotomies. The population at large seems too lazy to think for themselves and so they let pundits and talking heads form their opinions. The media seems to use this tension to fuel its 24 hour news cycle. After all, it draws more viewers to show a town-hall brawl than to show people working side by side to accomplish something. Why we have allowed it to become about viewership and not about unbiased information is a whole ‘nother rant.
One of my greatest hopes with Obama as president was for some relief from that polarization, and frankly I have been disappointed- especially by the lack of effort put forth by both Democrats and Republicans to work across party lines. It seems like Democrats are playing a game of “tit for tat” payback after 8 years of Republican rule, and Republicans are playing at nursing their “I’m going to take my ball and go home” sore loser status. I want to say to all of them (and us) GROW UP! Put aside the petty partisan politics, and I might add the harmful vituperative rhetoric both sides are using, and GET TO WORK! Nothing is being accomplished and we are squandering both a glorious history and a shining future to stroke our egos. I am aware that I am asking that we stop doing politics as usual- and that may be asking too much. But it sure doesn’t seem like our current method is working.
As far as the Hitler analogies go- you can make those analogies with lots of leaders throughout history- some good and some bad. Most politicians gain favor, get elected or appointed and then use their power for good or ill. To equate anyone with Hitler or the Nazis is to say they are the worst of all people with an agenda of absolute evil. So, while I agree Obama has come into power riding a wave of popularity and has now set out to advance an agenda of egalitarianism- I don’t find the comparison to be equivocal and by using Hitler as the standard, you unnecessarily incite fear-mongering. It tends to shut down the conversation because it elicits so many strong emotions. And as I said earlier- I believe our greatest strength lies in talking, listening and working with each other despite our disagreements, rather than simply dividing into opposing sides and hurling insults at each other. And I remain thankful because we have the privilege to live in a place where we have the liberty to disagree frankly and openly while we still share a common foundation of freedom for all.

Sometimes you just have to say

I heard the news about director John Hughes sudden death yesterday- and I was suddenly transpoted back to watching a spate of movies that defined my micro-generation. I say micro-generation, because as generational theory goes, we are the first wave of the Gen X crowd, but being at the front part of that, we were still heavily under the boomer shadow, and at a loss for our identity. And cue John Hughes. As my cohort reached high school, he began to make films that represented our crew. Instead of watching the Big Chill crowd relive their glory years, we were finally given our own titles- the Breakfast Club, the Neo maxi zoom dweebs, the Duckies, the Brat Pack.

I won't go as far as to call John Hughes some incredible filmaker- some academy award winning postmodern genius- but he was true to life. And while reflecting what was going on in everyday American teenagers lives, or their high schools, or in their fantasies, he was also wickedly funny- both in a over the top Long-Duc-Dong way, and in a subtle, school secretary sniffing white-out kind of way. He also had a knack for exposing the increasing stratification and fracturalization that was going on in high schools everywhere. Whether he pointed out the injustices, like in Weird Science, or celebrated the things that could bridge those cliqueish chasms, like in Breakfast Club- he was acutely aware of how that social catergorization dynamic was the one thing all teenagers were experiencing. Unlike previous generations, where the football captain could also be the valedictorian, and think about a career in the military, while he rebuilds his mustang in the garage- Hughes understood the demands that were being placed on teens to declare an allegiance to one category and how everyone was labeled according to their group. You didn't cross the lines, however invisible and undefined they were. You were either a computer geek, a weirdo, a motorhead, a popular kid, a brain, a sporto, or a blood. (see Eddy McClurgs description to how popular Ferris is to Ed Rooney). And yet, he also gave us hope that we weren't bound forever in those roles.
Thus, he cast Molly Ringwald as the upperclass princess (Breakfast Club), the middle class suburban invisible kid (Sixteen candles) and the blue collar urban punk kid (Pretty in Pink). Anthony Michael Hall was a brainy geek (Breakfast club) a science geek (Weird Science) and an ultimately sucessful king of geeks (Sixteen Candles)- okay, so he's always a geek- oh well. But, he creates situations and scenes where the underlying teenage angst trumps the classifications, and as Suzanne Vega sings in one of the signature tracks on Pretty in Pink "I think that somehow, somewhere inside of us, we must be similar, if not the same". Which brings me to my last eulogy for Hughes- his understanding that music can also speak louder than dialogue. Also, that he would take relative unknown artists and use them to produce a soundtrack that was as reflective and evocative as the film itself.
Just remember if you don't stop and look around sometimes, life will pass you by. Thanks John.