A Confluence...

A confluence of ideas reached me late last week and occupied much of my brain space (alongside such other weighty matters as “Is my kid getting along with his friends?”,  “Will me being anxious and not sleeping help those said friendships?” and “Why am I complaining about the heat while already mourning the end of summer?”)

It started with a question from a friend. It’s generally understood that “liberals” believe that we can improve existing systems by making them more representative (more women, people of color, LGBTQIA, etc.). On the other hand, “leftists” believe that the system cannot be saved and must be torn down if we are to make true progress. He asked where I sat on that spectrum, and my reflexive answer was the realist in me says we have to work within existing structures. The likelihood of tearing down an entire established system (such as the healthcare system) seems incredibly unlikely. So, better to work within them and try to make them better with incremental progress (e.g., Obamacare.)

But then, as is often the way, random snippets of information filtered through to me and made me question that assumption. (It’s always the way, no? You buy a car and suddenly see that car everywhere.) You mull over a deep question, and suddenly, every bit of media you consume or person you talk to reflects that.

In no particular order…

Audra Lorde’s quote, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house,” in reference to the systemic problems of sexism within the winning Spanish women’s football team. 

The Rooney rule in the NFL. Designed to hire more Black coaches, the rule has not been successful, and even when Black coaches are hired, they are just as likely to mistreat players.

Tech bros stuck at Burning Man explaining why they love the festival so much (despite getting trench foot) in part because it is a subversion of the norm and allows them to think outside the box and “tear everything down.” Linked to that…Silicon Valley elites building a whole new city outside San Francisco from scratch. Hope it fares better than the whole sea city thing.

A complaint about a female corporate exec who is aggressive and rude to subordinates. I posit that she feels she has to act in this “masculine” way to succeed within the system.

Here’s where I’ve landed. 

Humans are flawed, and we create flawed systems. Who’s to say that the new, utopian city in Solano County won’t have its own set of failures? Would an all-woman-run soccer tournament built from the ground up by the players, for the players solve the corruption and greed so rife in the game? (I’m actually a little more confident that the latter could succeed than the former.)

BUT…

I also think we suffer from limited thinking. This is why travel is so important. We can’t imagine a single-payer healthcare system until we live somewhere where it’s the norm to not be faced with bills after medical treatment. We can’t imagine roads designed for walkers and bikes instead of cars until we visit a city that has done it artfully and successfully. We can’t imagine meaningful gun control until we see a country (a country VERY similar to our own) that experienced two mass shootings and implemented a huge gun buyback program.

Our Overton Window gets moved by these experiences. We can imagine a different reality. I don’t want to lose that sense of possibility. The alternative is cynicism and apathy.