We will be known

Parker J Palmer writes (in the context of the USA but so applicable more generally):
40 years ago, Ronald Reagan, with his winning smile, headed our Ship of State toward an iceberg. First, he uttered words that became all the rage with half the country: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the Government, and I’m here to help.” (Ed note: Uh oh, didn’t KRudd make that his campaign mantra?). Second, he began hawking the myth of “trickle-down” economics: “Relieve the very rich of their *unfair* tax burden, and they will create jobs and make everyone richer.”Unfortunately for those of us aboard the Titanic, trickle-down has never worked for the common good—it just makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. https://tinyurl.com/ja9u637k And Reagan’s anti-government rhetoric morphed into the rage of Jan. 6, when white supremacist terrorists, egged on by The Former Guy with his losing scowl, did their worst to bring our government down.Now Republicans have all hands on deck to take us to our Titanic moment ASAP. They keep insisting that the last election involved massive fraud, for which there is zero evidence. And they claim that federal support for financially strapped individuals, families, and businesses equals “socialism,” which it does NOT.Socialism is “an economic and political system where the community or state OWNS the general means of production (i. e. farms, factories, tools, and raw materials).” I dunno about where you live, but we ain’t got none of that in these parts.Of course, the subtext of all of this is white supremacy: “Poor people of color don’t deserve federal support, it will only make them lazier. But the rich have earned it thru hard work. And the fact that people of color will soon be in the majority means that we must impede their ability to vote. Of course, we must also stop educating white Americans about race and poverty, lest they get a clue and start voting against us.”The change of course Reagan plotted 40 years ago has taken us to a moment of peril in American history. It’s long past time for more of us to realize where we are headed, and find nonviolent ways to turn this massive ship around. If we don’t, there’s more than one iceberg ahead: first comes authoritarianism, then comes fascism, then come the deadly deeps. When Mary Oliver says, “We WILL be known” as a mean- and hard-hearted country, she’s suggesting that history is not through with us yet. May all who love democracy get behind every effort to turn our Ship of State toward the light and new life.