"The problems of the world, Roosevelt concluded, were 'caused as much by those
who fear change as by those who seek revolution…In government, in science,
in industry, in the arts, inaction and apathy are the most potent foes.'
Two obstacles, perversely complementary in their asymmetry, impeded progress.
One was 'the lack of cohesion on the part of the liberal thinkers themselves,'
who shared a common vision but disagreed on the methods of realizing it.
The other was 'the solidarity of the opposition to a new outlook,
[which] welds together the satisfied and the fearful.'"
Excerpts from a speech by a younger, pre-Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, on May 8, 1926, at the prestigious
Milton Academy outside Boston as described in David Kennedy’s Freedom from Fear,
The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945 (Oxford University Press, 2001)
The United States was about to be slammed by the greatest economic calamity in modern history, the Great Depression, exacerbated by an unforgiving dust bowl that swallowed southwestern farms whole. Even the killer Spanish Flu (1918-20) – 675 thousand Americans died – did not bring the United States to a shuddering halt. The roaring 20’s and the rise of organized crime to circumvent prohibition were soon engulfed by the devolution of the entire country, a change that could have ended the country… but did not.
As FDR struggled with how to reignite a decimated economy, after Herbert Hoover’s laissez faire – just let the capital markets solve the problem (which they obviously did not) – reaction to the 1929 market crash only made terrible into truly horrible. Even FDR’s initial government incentives, new social legislation and nice speeches were not enough. FDR felt forced to implement his New Deal, legislation which came as close to socialism as this country ever experienced; the federal government moved into the realm of hiring workers directly under his many programs. Most of that “make-work” was focused on infrastructure. Highways, levees, dams (with massive power generating capacity), bridges, power grids, etc.
Little did we realize that that infrastructure not only pushed enough money into the workforce to save economic lives but literally created the electrical power generating capacity that enabled the United States to build the ships, planes, tanks, trucks, guns and munitions without which the Allies could never have defeated the Nazi menace. And after the war, that infrastructure exploded the United States into incredible economic power.
The above quote seems as if it were given today. But instead of a Depression by itself, we have a killer pandemic added on. It’s as if Roosevelt would have faced the Spanish Flu and the Great Depression at the same time. The Depression was bad enough, but when he felt the pressure to lift his foot off New Deal accelerator pedal, the programs began to falter. The need for massive governmental programs is obvious… but there are lots of folks who will never get that.
Republicans are fighting with each over recognizing the obvious winner of the election. Lots do, but there are elected officials doing everything in their power … not just to suppress their opponents from getting votes… but by negating legitimate votes already cast. In any other country in the world, this effort would be called a “bloodless coup d’état” attempt.
As Texas, joined by 17 other Republican led states, sues those unexpected and swing states that voted for Biden to challenge their election results, many already certified, to delay the electoral vote and reverse the outcome of the election for widespread voter fraud, where no significant credible evidence has been produced, they seem just to be presenting a show to cater to their base. It is a rare case where the US Supreme Court has original jurisdiction (state vs state). These angry plaintiffs already know that the Court, based on their own precedent (e.g., Gore vs Bush, 2000) will not remotely allow Texas to prevail and are even likely to deny “standing” for the case even to be heard at all.
Democrats are battling internally as well. Progressives vs traditionalists. Republicans, successfully misusing the word “socialism” to label large swaths of the Democratic Party, are trying to figure out how to make sure that Biden gets very little done. His ability to govern is dependent on the Senate runoffs in Georgia. The United States, the world, like it or not, are on the verge of massive transitions. Pandemic. Depression. Artificial Intelligence vs job security. Global realignment. Climate change. And as long as our political parties fight within themselves and against each other on these key issues, we all suffer… suffering which does not dissipate the way each political faction believes.
The market will not fix the problem. Government’s laissez faire approach, let the free markets adjust (we actually have loophole capitalism, hardly a free market) decide and get government out of trying to regulate and repair the damage, will not work any better today than it did in Herbert Hoover’s reign (he was replaced by FDR). We need to learn to talk to each other, listen to the other side, and create credible bipartisan solutions to problems. Our rhetoric must change. Disenfranchised rust belt and resource extraction workers need a new voice, and mythology needs to be debunked by success. Of necessity, this literally means Mr Biden is going to have to operate while ignoring the barking dog Trump has promised to become. In time, Trump’s power will fade. Younger voters are rising, and their early voting patterns augur badly for Trump populism. Can we do it? If we don’t…
I’m Peter Dekom, and we either learn how to be the United States or we really need to break apart into component parts that can function properly.
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