Dear President Biden and Vice President Harris,
Your inauguration today was inspiring. Thank you. Given the establishment damage caused by your predecessors and enabling supporters, there is plenty of repair work ahead. Some tasks seem obvious, like a federally-coordinated pandemic response, re-joining the Paris Climate Accord, and re-establishing relations with Asia. However, our country is internally divided. Your election symbolizes a new opportunity, a new hope, perhaps most importantly around efforts you can make to heal our nation. Efforts cannot be partisan for a country seeking to fuse its division. I hope, as a mere citizen, I may offer some suggested priorities to heal our divide.
1. Help Those Left Behind
Inexorable advancements (e.g., in communications, transportation) have been steadily reducing the barriers (and thus protections) of physical geographical location. This “globalization” has rapidly shifted jobs, increased mobility, increased the exposure of diverse cultures and ideas. This is progress, but many Americans feel threatened by these changes and ignored by their government.
To those who lost jobs to overseas competition, immigrants are a symbol of job loss. To the religious, the expansion of female and gay rights are seen as threats. To others, guns symbolize individual rights, which must be protected.
Frustrated, the disenfranchised felt that your predecessor could do no wrong because they simply wanted to disrupt the status quo. Anything that reversed, blocked, or angered those in charge was acceptable…in fact, welcomed.
Disparaging this group is not helpful, but detrimental. Stopping or even slowing change is futile, so we must look to eliminating these fears of change.
2. Open Discourse
The rise and power of social media has ushered in the “age of the anecdote”. Ironically, the increase in data, depth and breadth, has enabled varieties of interpretations, often making it more difficult to determine the “truth”. Thus, single anecdotes from a “trusted friend” is good enough, echoed repeatedly within like-minded social media circles and further amplified by content and ratings-crazed 24-hour privatized media.
This power of loud minorities makes some fear to speak for social media shaming or retribution. And the risks of physical harm, as illustrated by the recent Capital Hill attack, makes others also afraid to speak up.
Functioning society requires cooperation. Cooperation requires understanding. Understanding requires discourse…safe and encouraged discourse.
3. Fake News & Propaganda Machines
Part of what has made America great is its freedom, including the freedom of capitalism. But without social restrictions, America relies heavily on laws as boundaries on businesses. This path has now been pushed to the extreme – if it isn’t illegal, you can do it, and it’s been pushed now into politics…
The rise of news privatization, 24-hour programming, and ratings dependency for advertising revenue has enabled the growth of a propaganda machines on both sides. For example, Fox News and Sinclair Broadcasting are pushing out “news” content much of which is fabricated based on a political agenda. Sinclair is the 2nd largest TV operator in the US, with 193 stations covering 40% of American households. This chilling mashup shows how this vast network distributes centrally controlled messages.
If we can ensure fake juice products do not claim to be “juice,” why can we not ensure that purveyors of fake news are no longer able to label themselves or their output as “news”?
4. Money in Politics
Decisions like Citizens United, where dollars mean as much as votes have grossly skewed the motivation of our government representatives. Instead of working for the people, congresspeople are so dependent on donations to get reelected they cater more to wealthy individual or corporate donors than their own constituents.
Reversing Citizens United would be a huge step in the right direction, and holding politicians accountable for their actions will help gain trust, especially when laws are broken.
5. Education
The relentless privatization of everything tends to broaden the wealth disparity as private businesses are primarily motivated by money. And the word “socialism” seems to have been purposefully hijacked to motivate fighting against any non-privatized (“social”) benefits by…even those who stand to benefit the most!
Ironically, broader education (“caveat emptor”), which is victim of this privatization myth is an important solution. Education funding for all needs to be reemphasized.
A better educated population would also help with understanding the importance of, and what “facts” and “scientific method” mean. For example, one dissenting opinion or single point of doubt does not undermine science. “Scientific proof” is a fallacy. In fact, science is about constantly questioning, even the status quote…BUT acting on general consensus at the time.
6. Shared Cause
Nothing unites better than a shared cause. Building of all kinds of walls have been attempted over the past four years. The flames of anger and hate have been fanned. But we do not need negativity or an “enemy” to unite us. Sadly, the health of our planet does not yet appear to be a shared goal. Hopefully, that will change. There are also other candidate causes such as a functioning legislative branch, fiscal responsibility, protecting our democracy from malicious attack or being bought, and job opportunities for all. But perhaps “uniting” can be a shared cause sufficient enough to be self-fulfilling.
