This weekend was ugly, but entirely predictable. Tomorrow is Election Day in Missouri and a number of other states. It is a complete understatement to say that emotions are running high, or that voters are “passionate”. The truth is that the dominant emotion is anger.
Everyone, it seems, is angry. There has been widespread debate about who is to blame for that anger and the violence that we see. As for the violence, the responsibility for each violent action belongs to the individual committing the act. We all must take personal responsibility for our actions, and we cannot blame what we do wrong on someone else.
Some say that the candidates are responsible for the anger we are witnessing. I think the anger was there long before the campaigns started. Both the left and the right are angry, and so are a lot of the people stuck in the middle. We are all pretty much sick and tired of the status quo.
When Michael Brown was shot in Ferguson that did not create the anger that we witnessed, nor was it the root cause for the violence that followed. The anger in Ferguson and Baltimore were there long before the confrontation between Brown and Wilson. The problems in those communities and throughout our society have developed over many years, and what we saw and are seeing is simply the inevitable result of failing to address them.
The anger on the right did not spring forth the moment Donald Trump declared his candidacy. Conservatives have been watching the changes in our society with increasing alarm and frustration for many years. Just like those on the left, they feel they have been voicing their concerns for many years but their voices have fallen on deaf ears.
Both sides are right.
If you are a young person born and raised in Ferguson or Baltimore or Chicago you have probably been screwed. If you grew up in a violent neighborhood with a broken or dysfunctional family and attended failing schools and now can’t find a job you are probably going to be angry. If you are then constantly harassed by a police force that needs to fine citizens in order to have enough revenue to run a failing city then you might reach your limit.
The small municipalities in North St. Louis or south Chicago have been mismanaged so badly and for so long it is hard to figure out how they can ever be fixed. They have no tax base because businesses and residents who can afford to move elsewhere already have. The corruption and desperate measures that inevitably follow take away the last bit of respect for authority and we end up with what we are all witnessing.
There are good people in those communities, and we see them in the form of church leaders and responsible civic leaders peacefully protesting and calling for change. But they cannot eliminate the anger and frustration or stop the violence. It is too late for that. The good people know that the answer is to strengthen families and churches and neighborhoods, and to improve education and bring back jobs. But all of that takes time, and patience is practically nonexistent.
Into this void come the opportunists and charlatans. They take advantage of these negative emotions and tell the crowds that there are others to blame for their trouble. It is the white people and the rich people and the Republicans and conservatives who are stealing their future. You know their names. You know their rhetoric. These young angry mobs are hungry for the message that it is someone else’s fault.
The problem is, there is a tiny kernel of truth in the propaganda. Children are not responsible for the breakdown of their families. They are not responsible for their failing schools. They are not responsible for the corrupt and mismanaged cities they grow up in. It is someone else’s fault, just not the nameless and faceless ones they are given as scapegoats.
And so they take aim at the targets they are directed at. They claim that every Caucasian is a racist trying to keep them down. They claim that every person with a little wealth has somehow stolen that money; they must have made their wealth on the backs of poor people by exploiting them. They claim Black Lives Matter, which is true, but reject the idea that All Lives Matter. They take on wealth inequality and demand that capitalism be rejected in favor of something more equitable. They show disdain for a Constitution written by old white men as out of date and unfair. They demand change.
The liberals living in the suburbs feel compassion, but they also feel guilt. They see the kernel of truth and buy the message. They accept guilt for the situation and demand that we adopt the advice of the charlatans and change the system so everyone is equal.
The conservatives then observe, rightly so, that they are under attack. It is hard not to notice the riots in Ferguson and Baltimore. It is hard to ignore the Black Lives matter protesters or protesters shutting down Mizzou, or the silence from the left about the multiple daily murders in Chicago. Politicians step in and call for guns to be taken away from rural hunters who have never been to Chicago or Ferguson.
Capitalism is under assault, the constitution is under assault, and conservatives are being blamed for everything wrong in society. They are told that they will have to accept abortion on demand and gay marriage and that if they are asked to bake a cake and they refuse they will go to jail. Likewise, they are told that they will be required to buy government mandated health insurance policies.
Meanwhile, our debt continues to increase to unmanageable levels and nobody cares. Even the Republicans that were sent to congress to restore fiscal responsibility ignore the will of their constituents and instead pass massive pork-filled Omnibus bills that do nothing to curb spending. We see Republican leadership that caves on every single issue important to conservatives without so much as an apology.
We are all appalled at the violence in the Middle East and the complete lack of leadership from the White House. We are sick of the authoritarian pen and phone approach to government. We are sick of a porous border and the disdain for the rule of law. Conservatives are angry.
And all of that pre-dates this election cycle.
Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have each recognized and tapped into the anger. Bernie has exploited the anger among liberals by validating the idea that none of these problems are their fault. The problem lies with Wall Street and the 1%. The solution is socialism. Health care is a right, and free college is an expectation for every American. Never mind the millions of college graduates with massive debt and who cannot find jobs that match their education.
In a similar manner Trump has tapped into the blind anger among conservatives. He does a great job of pointing out all of the things that make the conservatives angry, and he is a master at avoiding discussions of the real root causes or the difficult solutions that will be required to actually address them. The solution to our immigration issues is a very big wall that someone else will pay for. Obamacare is bad, so we need to replace it with “something better”, which also involves government covering everyone.
Trump is not spouting policy or discussing the specifics of legislation. He is using simple words to describe the things conservatives are angry about. He does not spend time quoting Buckley or Bastiat. He does not invoke Hayek or Jefferson. For the most part his followers do not know or care who Edmund Burke was. Trump is a pragmatist. His followers are not focused on philosophy; right now they just want someone who will stand up to those destroying our society.
Political campaigns need energy and enthusiasm. Those things do not come from dry discussions of philosophy. Sanders supporters need a Donald Trump as a target for their anger. Trump supporters are fueled by reports of ISIS killings or BLM protests. It is no surprise that there was violence in Chicago this weekend. I am surprised it took this long.
The problem with all of this is that is does not solve anything. It makes us feel good to get angry but it does not move us forward. Once the anger subsides we will be left with the reality that we need to address the root causes of our troubles, and the solutions are neither easy nor simple. They will not fit on a bumper sticker or ball cap.
I would submit that government cannot solve the problems in society. What government can and must do is fix the problems with government. They need to balance the budget and reduce the debt. The need to shrink in size and get out of people’s lives, rather than expanding to try to fix things with solutions that just make things worse. They need to increase transparency and reduce regulation.
The problems in society will be solved by individuals doing the right thing over a long period of time. The answer is for each of us to step up and work hard, to educate our children and to rebuild our families and neighborhoods. We need to learn the philosophies of Burke and Locke and Jefferson and quit waiting to someone else to fix our problems. We need to not just vote, but to vote wisely.
Those are boring solutions. They do not evoke strong emotions like anger. They are not going to get anyone elected this year. And yet… A leader is one who leads. A good leader is one who leads people in the right direction. But a great leader not only leads in the right direction but recognizes when the time is right and steps forward to unite people and change the course of history.
I think it is time for those who would like to lead us to step forward and be great leaders. It is time to let go of the anger and unify people. It is time to stop fanning the flames of divisive emotions and tell people the truth; that government cannot magically fix all of our problems. If any of these candidates are to be great leaders they must recognize that now is the time; in this case we really cannot wait. A great leader will be able to transcend the moment and appeal to the better part of our character.
I hope it happens, but I am not optimistic. Too much is riding on the emotions and momentum of the electorate. Even so, I would call on each of you to be leaders and to reach out to your friends who may disagree with you politically and start to heal these wounds and turn this mess around. We need to have discussions about philosophy and we need to talk about the problems in our own neighborhoods. Let’s all realize that we are the only ones who can actually make a difference.
It’s up to you. For some of us the first step comes tomorrow when you step into the voting booth. Choose wisely. Try to avoid the pied pipers and find a real leader.
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