The secret to understanding all of the chaos over Health Care Reform isn’t in the particulars of the Democrats’ plan. It isn’t hidden in the details of the Republicans’ plan. It isn’t locked away in some secret backroom meeting. No, the secret to understanding the rage, fear, and anger boiling over can be summed up rather nicely as follows:
A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it. Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Five hundred years ago, everybody knew the Earth was flat, and fifteen minutes ago, you knew that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll know tomorrow.
You remember Tommie Lee Jones’ character telling this to Will Smith’s character in the Movie Men in Black? We all chuckled to ourselves when he said it, because we all knew it was inherently true. Of course, we chuckled because we saw ourselves as the “person” that was smart, and the “people” were everyone else in the movie theatre.
But the truth is, WE, despite our wishful thinking, are just as dumb, panicky, and dangerous as those around us.
In November, we elected a new president that promised change. Now for a lot of people, that prospect of change held a lot of frightening prospects. The election of Barack Obama shook up the worldview of a lot of people. The ticket of Obama-Biden was the first successful ticket on which neither candidate was a white anglo-saxon protestant. Our country has in effect been under the control of white anglo-saxon protestants (males, specifically) since it was founded.
I don’t bring this up as a race issue. Because it isn’t about race per se. It is about the fear of otherness. It is no coincidence that McCain won the majority of white male votes, and the majority of the senior vote, while Obama won the majority of the minority vote and the youth vote. Despite all of our insistence that we aren’t racist, sexist, specist, or whatever “ist” you want to throw into the mix, we want the people in control to look like us. It isn’t even really about race. There is a certain comfort in being surrounded by sameness. For millions of Americans who had spent the last few decades looking at their TVs at a president that reflected themselves back at them, saying the words “President Obama” was as unnatural as saying “President Martian” or “President Legolas.”
Suddenly for many people, the comfort of “we” being in control of “our” country was shattered. Despite the fact that Obama was also American…despite the fact that he had the same educational pedigree as previous presidents…despite the fact that he spoke the same way other educated Americans did…despite the fact that he lived his life in the same relative, stable manner as most Americans…somehow he wasn’t “us.” We looked at the president and didn’t see ourselves anymore.
And for a lot of people, that scared the hell out of them.
Individually, if you ask people about the racial aspect, they will often grow defensive and make comments like “I have black friends” or “my boss is black” or “I hire black people.” But all that means is, as a person dealing with another person, we are capable of seeing past the cosmetic differences. Like the quote above says, “A person is smart.” One on one, face to face, we see pass the differences.
But the gods help us when we are in a group.
In a group, the otherness stands out. That which represents the other comes to represent a reflection of ourselves in the negative. We project onto the “other” the negative qualities we do not see in ourselves. The “other” is untrustworthy. The “other” is dangerous. The “other” has an agenda.
Put on a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt and walk into Walmart. Walk around for a bit. Nobody will really pay much attention to you. Wear that same outfit in an upscale designer shop, and before long the staff will be following you with their eyes to make sure you aren’t a shoplifter.
Do this in reverse. Put on a classy business suit and walk into the same designer shop Then go shop at a Dollar General in the same outfit. Your otherness will directly impact how people treat you.
Which brings us to Heath Care Reform.
Pay attention to the people that are making the most noise at the public meetings. Who are they? They are overwhelmingly white, either retired or close to retirement age. For the first time in decades, they are confronted with a president that is not one of them. And because he is not one of them, they don’t trust him.
So what that the Democratic plans on the table do not include information on Death Panels? He is other, and therefore not to be trusted. Those that look like us tell us he is lying. He is other, and if I have to choose between those that look like me and other, I trust my own.
But there is a second part to the equation as well. For those that do see themselves in Obama, there is a growing sense of uncertainty. That uncertainty comes not from the fear that the change they had hoped for will not come. It comes from the fear that they got it, and it isn’t what they thought it would be.
Fifteen hundred years ago everybody knew the Earth was the center of the universe. Fifteen months ago, we all knew that we needed change in government. The status quo could not be sustained. Many people voted for Obama because they saw the chance to bring a substantial change to the way things were done in Washington. But unfortunately, their idea of change was rooted in their own concept of otherness. Publicly, the call for change was a cry to find solutions to problems that transcended race, gender, and political affiliation. Some talked of a “Post-Racial” America in which our differences would no longer divide us.
But in truth, the change many people wanted was simply to turn the tables on the “other” that had in their minds disenfranchised them for so long. Obama wasn’t actually supposed to change the way the games in Washington were played. He was simply supposed to switch which group benefited. From November 2008 until January 2009, Obama supporters talked of “working across the aisle.” As early as February 2009, they had already started to mumble about “wasting time” negotiating with Republicans. This month, the extreme left has openly, and vehemently, started to attack Obama for “caving in” to Republicans.
Perhaps another part of the
equation is that, for those that supported Obama, there is the
sudden realization that if Health Care reform is successful it will
mean personal accountability. They won’t be able
to point at the “other” and use that as an excuse anymore if
something goes wrong. The president they see
reflects themselves back at them. If the plan
that passes fails to bring down costs and improve access to care,
they will see it as a personal failure. A reflection on
themselves.
And so they allow themselves to get dragged into petty arguments about things that are absolutely untrue. Focusing on these rumors in some ways provides both sides cover in the quest to push responsibility on the other. On one side, these distractions feed into the larger narrative that Obama cannot be trusted because he is not one of us. On the other, these distractions provide a smokescreen that allows those that supported Obama to pass off blame for any potential failure on others.
In order to achieve real reform, however, we must get pass the issue of otherness. Black or white. Rich or poor. Male or female. Catholic or atheist. These are cosmetic differences between Americans. Getting pass the otherness requires putting aside the bizarre accusations and focusing on real discussion. Calling someone a Nazi throws up a wall that prevents communication. Accusing someone of wanting to kill your grandmother is not a way to open a channel to discussion. Dismissing someone as a Dittohead is a convenient means of shifting responsibility for our mutual future and deflecting attention from the very real issues.
Yes, there are significant
philosophical differences between the different
sides. But such differences by their very nature
are fluid and bendable, and once we get beyond the suspicion
brought on by the fear of the other common ground can be
reached.
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Julie Ann Dawson is a blogger, writer, poet, and game
designer. Her work has appeared in The New Jersey Review
of Literature, Lucidity, Black Bough, Gareth Blackmore's
Unusual Tales, and a variety of print and digital media.
She currently operates a small botique press, Bards and Sages
Publishing, that publishes speculative fiction and roleplaying
games. When not exploring fictional worlds with her writing,
she spends her time finding her place in the real
one.
