Wrightstown Article #12

THE HUMAN CIVIL WAR

by Eric Chaet

At State Senator André Jacques’ listening session, Friday morning (April 14) at the Wrightstown Village Hall, more than one person lamented how few candidates there were for open local offices.

More would run, it seems to me, if, with time to consider the information, this newspaper would announce which offices were open for competition in the next election, and exactly how to get on the ballot.

Town, village, and county clerks could post this information, here — not just on web sites they have created which it pleases them to think the public monitors — along with the names of incumbents running for re-election, salaries, terms, duties.

But the clerks might prefer to keep that information to themselves, until the last minute, so that they don’t have to campaign for re-election themselves. (I’m sure many clerks do the best they can, in all ways, and I respect them.)

As I told Senator Jacques, there is nothing nobler than a politician who serves the public to the best of his or her ability. And nothing more disgraceful than a politician, living off taxes, unwilling to make the effort to serve well, willing to turn neighbor against neighbor to stay in office, or even using the position for personal, economic advantage — or to masquerade as better people than they are.

Of course, the same goes for editors, writers, teachers, medical personnel, and people engaged in selling what people need and don’t need or want, but are induced to believe they need or want.

It’s unlikely you’ll be 100% noble or 100% disgraceful. I suppose even Putin or Bashir al-Assad have redeeming qualities, those bastards. And I don’t suppose anyone is 100% brave, or indefatigable. (I’m not.)

But how much are you willing truly to serve, though you are tired and not paid what you think you should be paid? And how much are you willing just to coast, collect salary, watch the Packers, vacation in Jamaica or some Mexican resort? — and, when you’re challenged, blame someone else?

Of course, town, village, and county executives could instruct the clerks to see to it that the information appeared in this newspaper. But then those executives might face competition for re-election, themselves.

The editor of this newspaper could solicit the information, well in advance of the election. Some might prefer a bit more of that sort of information, and just a wee bit less about high school athletic contests, for example.

It would be nice to learn what some of the adult citizens around here are doing for a living — wonderful work, degrading work, or in between. Who has skills they’d love to share? Who needs what skills — but is in no position to go back to school, to be taught by those without understanding of what they’ve done so far and are doing, or of their limitations? How are people faring in their dealings with various bureaucracies?

There must be several thousand of us we never hear of until they show up in obituaries. I’m not talking about officials of this or that village, town, or county — though we need information about them, too, and the information in their cautious, strategic press releases.

Our school district, at our expense, has run a steady stream of brilliant press releases at us over the years — not always in our best interests, it has often seemed to me.

A steady diet of narrow controversies on this or that issue, however much they need addressing, does not help us get beyond just grumbling about our political fate — how we’re dragged into war, recessions, inflation, etc. How generation after generation of extraordinary children end up in approximately as much trouble as the preceding generation. How subsidies go mainly to those with the most. How claiming “free” benefits we pay for with taxes require us to pay, again and again, for access to websites, and to work at validating our unique selves, and our claims.

Democrats blame Republicans, Republicans blame Democrats, some of us blame both (I do) — but blaming doesn’t change the situation.

We are at war with one another, state-wide, nationally, and internationally. I call it the human civil war. It is irresponsible to busy ourselves with lesser issues while we contribute to that civil war, or out-source its solution to those who busy themselves with lesser issues, and try to get us all riled up about them, at the expense of their opponents.

Acting as though we’re holier than the Democrats or Republicans, but not solving the problem, ourselves, either, is also irresponsible.

Maybe the situation is hopeless. I often think that the only intelligent, strategic thing to do, is to assume that the parties will continue to lead us toward disaster, one against the other, blaming and blaming, and distracting us with this subordinate issue or that — til the disaster of which our current mess is only the prelude, is upon us.

Many more species will go extinct. Most of the specimens of many of the remaining species, including humanity, will die off. The rich will be able to buy what are now considered necessities, whereas the rest will be unable. The poor will try to attack the rich, sometimes briefly succeeding.

It would be impossible to sustain the democratic experiment. The economy of mass production and mass consumption, way beyond what anyone needs, will go wild, like a cancer, and conditions will revert to those described in the Old Testament, or the days of roving bands of ragged humans trying to figure out how to make fire or kill a Wooly Mammoth for Thanksgiving dinner in the cave.

Or we could stop arguing about this or that subordinate issue — there is some truth on both sides, and lots of exaggeration, lying, and — especially — there are a lot of people who say what they can’t know is so, because they are frustrated, or because it’s fun to get in on the conversation and to be thought clever, or because people pay them to do it.

I hesitate to say such things, because I know that, occasionally in my life, I’ve said what I wouldn’t say now, and maybe I’ll figure out, sooner or later, that what I’m saying now isn’t all that wise, either.

I certainly don’t mean that the leaders and those who are led in Russia, China, India, western or central or eastern Europe, mainly European or mainly mestizo Latin America, Canada, Australia, the predominately Islamic Middle Eastern and South Asian nations, or the nations of Africa south of the Sahara — are better than our so-called leaders or than us, who are being “led.”

I said that I appreciated the listening session, but asked that it be noticed that, for most people between school and social security, it was probably scheduled at a time that didn’t allow them to attend, because of their jobs. (Noble jobs or disgraceful jobs, good wages or bad, the best they have been able to do for themselves.)

I said that a lot of what I heard was about protecting property, and that I, too, wanted to protect what little property I have. But it was apparent that those without property were not in attendance.

No, I’m not saying that I’m for those without property splitting up what property owners have. Use a little uncommon sense, please.

I appreciate Village Administrator Coenen’s gift of a blank book, given me at the end of the listening session, and his encouraging me to write more articles. If you want more, what can you pay? My groceries cost money, too.

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