This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
If only the COVID-19 virus infected and killed long-standing social ills instead of exposing them. We could then continue the illusion that our pre-pandemic course as a country and society was sustainable. Alas, the fractures and fissures are now painfully plain to see, and the real questions before us is how we will deal with the dilemma, or not all, and thus only accelerate our decline.
For the inequalities before us can no longer be ignored. History and theory indicate this republic will not last with such dire social strife. Will it all come to arms? We pray and hope it not, especially given the massive firepower laying about now. Will it be FDR redux? The circumstances seem too different to assume. Though the Great Depression was preceded by a period of hedonism and profligacy, not unlike our own, at that time there proved to be an untapped potential for unity in a sense of common purpose. Such sentiments seem far-fetched in the present.
Another key difference between then and now is the degree to which we could regroup and reform our systems mostly in isolation from other nations. Indeed, it is widely acknowledged that efforts to isolate then by tariffs expediated and deepened the Great Depression. Beyond Pres. Trump playing with the edges of the current world order with his bluster and buffoonery, it is still solidly the reality that we live an interdependent and highly connected world. As inviting as a concept of a single, global culture may be to solve all our problems, we are far from that, even if it does seem obvious that we do all largely live in single political economy. And not just a single economic and political order, but a fading unipolar order in which the United States descends from its perch of unbridled and generally unchallenged power since the end of the Cold War.
Thus, not only must we navigate this descent of geopolitical status as best as possible to soften the blow, we also must negotiate a better social contract. The challenge is real, the chasm deep. By which form and by what means this new contract takes shape is very difficult at this point to predict. We must gather our inherent strength and our natural optimism, diving deep to let go of our fears and blinders, and resurrect again the American Promise.
AnthonyMaine
This is an opinion piece that was submitted to the Longmont Observer and does not necessarily represent the opinion of the Longmont Observer. If you have an opinion piece you'd like published, please visit our 'Submit an Opinion' page.
