Defying Gravity (part one)
“Chaos begets chaos, instability begets instability.” —J.D. Vance, Hillbilly Ellegy
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I tend to see the glass as half-full rather than half-empty. I don’t, however, see the world through rose-colored glasses. Pollyanna herself would look at the current state of political affairs in the U.S. and in an atypical burst of despair, hurl her famous Glad Game out the nearest window.
The truth is that American trust in government, healthcare, education, the military, the economy, religion, and other foundational institutions and systems has been eroding for decades; their influence and authority melting as slowly but surely as the polar ice caps in Antarctica. So, I can’t help but wonder: Did Americans underestimate the depth of the descent and the cost of turning things around? Did I?
It’s tempting to blame all the mayhem on Donald J. Trump, the country’s 45th and now 47th president of the United States. Certainly, he has provoked and sustained much of the turmoil. However, experts in widely disparate fields generally agree that he is a symptom of a confluence of factors, not the cause of their cumulative effect. Those factors coalesced around the shrinking middle class, a broken healthcare system, unaffordable housing and childcare, gun violence, and almost every other measure of common sense and care for one another.
The combination created chronic distress in the public at large, which continues to be exploited by the media for enormous profit. Add the steadily expanding presidential power on both sides of the aisle, the attack of 9/11, the economic crash in 2008, climate change, and a worldwide pandemic. In that light, the question of how we got here is not hard to answer.
Then down the escalator came the man who rode the wave of our fear and discontent all the way to the White House. “Make America Great Again”(MAGA) was simplistic but seductive. It promised a resurgence of prosperity and a social order for which many Americans longed. However, it conveniently ignored the fact that women, people with disabilities, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and others struggled mightily “back in the day.” Many struggle still, for recognition, respect, equal pay, and more.
MAGA also overlooked the environmental and other catastrophes of years gone by. For example, there was nothing great about Ohio’s Cuyahoga River being so polluted with hazardous waste in 1969 it could be set on fire. Or the contaminated groundwater in Hinkley, California. That disaster of the 1990s led to a multimillion-dollar settlement with Pacific Gas & Electric and a movie about town hero Erin Brokovich. In addition, almost 60,000 American service members died in the Vietnam War, which ended in 1975 after 20 years. Mortgage rates in 1980 were 20%--the highest in U.S. history.
None of it mattered. Trump’s uncanny mix of ego and elitism, impatience and impulsiveness, arrogance and ignorance, fickleness and fabrication, thuggery and thin skin, vulgarity and vindictiveness offered frustrated, angry Americans what many felt the country needed most: rescue and a reset.
In Who Do We Choose To Be? author Margaret J. Wheatley describes an eerily resonant step in the well-researched progression of a country, company, or community in decline:
And then, as is true throughout history, someone comes along and gives our battered selves something to hold onto. His promises do not need to be based in reality; they don’t have to make sense. They only need to offer people the prospect of relief from fear…nothing else matters. Here is where we can feel secure. Here we will be taken care of. Here we feel rescued from the awful chaos.
Unfortunately, Trump and many (not all) of his supporters seem willing, even eager, to discard Constitutionally mandated principles, such as due process and congressional oversight, to ensure their version of success prevails.
However, some on the other side also want to ignore the Rule of Law when it comes to many who entered the U.S. illegally. The vast majority of these undocumented residents are hard-working people, good neighbors and friends. This makes strict adhesion to U.S. immigration policy feel heartless, counterproductive, and wrong.
Be that as it may, ignoring the Rule of Law, even for a good reason, is dangerous and puts the futures of our children and grandchildren at great risk. In addition, where many see our current political situation as filled only with loss of empathy, stability, and more, others see a regrettable, but necessary and long overdue correction to save the country from itself.
Both views can be true at once and both can be examples of loving well, which is as much about how as it is about what and why. This is not to suggest that harsh or forceful tactics don’t have their place. In some cases, they might. Yet even that can be an example of loving well when it’s undertaken without brutality and humiliation. When that line is crossed, the promises and possibilities of “peace through strength” are diluted and distorted. It is weakness disguised as power, which creates resentment and retaliation.
Genuine tough love is culpability and consequences wrapped in compassion and context. Sadly, the lack of imagination and political will for sage and sensible solutions keep us mired in blame and contempt for one another. That, in turn, breeds the kind of lawlessness that resulted recently in the horrific attack on Minnesota lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark. Both were killed in the attack, along with their beautiful golden retriever, Gilbert. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were badly injured. Hostility and hate in any form distract from solving the problem, which guarantees that an issue will arise again as one political party or the other deems useful.
Prayer helps me remember Who is ultimately in control, which offers some peace and perspective. It also reminds me what Fr. Richard Rohr calls the Order/Disorder/Reorder pattern of life. We see the pattern repeatedly in nature, civilizations, religions, and relationships. It’s woven into the fabric of creation and inescapable. Disorder is often messy and unpredictable—think of a difficult divorce, a health crisis, a national tragedy, or even the change of seasons.
Disorder, however, is unmatched in its potential to produce growth and change, which can be transformational in ways that Order and Reorder rarely can. We honor it, and ourselves, when we surrender on some level to the wisdom and clarity found only in the shadows.
That does not mean we don’t challenge authoritarianism, incompetence, or government-sanctioned deception, intimidation, and cruelty. It means that as we do so, we don’t dismiss the possibility that the disruption may serve and strengthen us, others, and our country in ways we don’t yet understand. Loving all three as well as we can during this time is a worthwhile investment while we wait.
I’ll explore ways to do that in part two. For now, I’ll leave you with some thoughts from Mel Robbins, author of The Let Them Theory, in a recent podcast interview with Moira Forbes:
I had no idea just how much…I allowed the outside world and the headlines and everything else to stress me out. That’s not to say it’s not stressful, but there’s a difference between recognizing that things out there are chaotic, overwhelming and stressful and allowing it to penetrate in here [points to chest]. I did not realize the extent to which I was not in control of my energy….True power is knowing that within you is this power to stay centered in who you are as a human being and what you value.
Questions:
Today President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Does this encourage or discourage you?
How do you feel about the Rule of Law? Do the ends ever justify the means?
Are mass deportations of all people who entered the U.S. illegally the best way to address this issue?
