I have addressed my concerns to the American people for two reasons. I believe we have entered a period of severe, successive and interacting crises. Serious threats involving economic instability, a disintegrating social order, and the deterioration of physical infrastructure have clearly emerged. Disruptions promise to be long-lasting.
Most of all, the bitter divisiveness and disunity current among Americans will limit our ability to respond effectively to the dangers before us. Indeed, our ability to govern ourselves is already impaired.
This is not simply the result of recent political conflict. Many of you are aware that social and economic disorder has been escalating for decades.
We now find ourselves with a pervasive loss of respect for civility and moral responsibility, (both public and private), a frightening loss of social stability, and a broad deterioration of economic well-being for all ordinary Americans.
We stand at an extraordinary turning point. Do we want the United States to be preserved as a constitutional republic? Are we personally prepared to rise above our differences to make this possible?
There are pragmatic solutions to these questions, but they will require us to rise to the challenge. I have never said it would be easy. I have said I do not think we have a choice.
We face a formidable array of complex crises. The problems are profound, diverse, and mutually reinforcing. Some will impose themselves suddenly, others gradually, but all will ultimately converge to impact our lives. What is most extraordinary is the multitude and diversity of crises emerging into view simultaneously: social and economic, moral and material.
I will offer several examples.
Political instability has constrained civil dialog. Undisciplined verbal hostility cripples the possibility for constructive collaboration.
Massive indebtedness – government, corporate, and private – is suffocating the economy and threatens resolve itself in another banking collapse and a significant devaluation of the dollar.
The banking and monetary systems have been abused, favoring the financial elite rather than the American people. This has nothing to do with free markets. Indeed, it is a direct threat to free markets.
The financial world is dominated by self-serving individuals who appear incapable of recognizing that their foolishness threatens the well-being of everyone, including themselves.
Deteriorating infrastructure, which we depend on every day, includes bridges, municipal water and sewage systems, and the electrical grid. These cannot be upgraded or repaired by governments that are hobbled by indebtedness and shrinking revenues.
The rapid development of advanced technologies has vastly increased the complexity of the world around us. Systemic complexity is now far beyond the capacity of even the most intelligent human minds to understand or control.
Furthermore, technology has advanced far more rapidly than the ethical maturity of decision-makers. A commitment to moral responsibility is severely lacking.
The degradation of the natural environment, which provides us with clean air and water, is the consequence of population pressures and the long-term build-up of toxic chemistry derived from motor vehicles, household products, and industrial pollution.
Most significantly, the loss of ethical integrity and moral responsibility on so massive a scale is overwhelming the values and norms upon which civilization depends. And. this weakens our ability to respond to every challenge.
However, I suggest to you that we have a hidden and unexpected opportunity here. A disruption so severe and disturbing has the potential to alter our perspective. It will challenge our assumptions and our courage.
Such conditions have the potential to awaken us finally to the requirements of responsibility, cooperation, and maturity. It will be necessary to think differently, both to survive and to build a positive future. How well do we actually know our neighbors?
Is the United States worth saving as a constitutional republic? Is it worth the effort to collaborate with those who see things differently, but who share our loyalty and commitment to this great nation?
Local problem-solving will become essential. Safety and food security will depend on a diversity of local knowledge, skills and experience – regardless of politics or religion or the color of our skin.
If we can build dependable local communities we can also begin to talk – to identify shared needs and shared values, and to develop a shared vision of the future that we can respect and believe in.
Tom
Please look for the next post on or about October 23.
