It's a Wonderful Life

Every Christmas brings a flood of new Christmas music and movies. But it’s the old songs and old movies that dominate the airwaves. Soon Americans will be indulging their favorite Christmas fantasy, a visit to the little town of Bedford Falls U.S.A., home to the evil Mr. Potter and the virtuous George Bailey. “It’s a Wonderful Life” starring James Stewart and Lionel Barrymore is generally accepted as the most popular Christmas movie ever. Filmed in 1946 it’s a David vs. Goliath story. The rich skinflint Mr. Potter would like to take over the entire town of Bedford Falls. What stands in his way is a modest building & loan company owned & managed by George Bailey. George has devoted his entire life to helping his fellow citizens, but Mr. Potter turns a foolish mistake by George’s absent-minded uncle to his advantage and threatens to bankrupt the company and send George to jail. In the end, virtue and honesty win out over evil & treachery.

The enduring popularity of this film has to do with America’s love and empathy for the honest and hardworking underdog. Sadly, their support for the little guy exists only in their minds and in the movies. Why is it, if Americans often feel like David pitted against Goliath, that they allow this state of affairs to persist? The answer can be found in the ballot box.

On October 19th, 2000, George W. Bush was addressing a well-heeled crowd of Republican supporters at a fund-raising dinner. “This is an impressive crowd”, he said “the haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base”. According to the 2000 U.S. census, the poorest state in the Union was Mississippi. It voted overwhelming for Bush in 2000 (and again in 2004). What on earth was George W. going to do for these people and why did they vote for him? The answer to the former is easy, nothing. The latter is more complicated and a little scary.

First let’s go back to 1946 and the little town of Bedford Falls. It was a good time to be an American; the war was over and the country was on the verge of a great economic boom. But the deprivation of the Great Depression was still fresh in people’s minds. Their main concern was job security and for this they turned to labor unions. Unions negotiated decent wages, healthcare and job security. Like them or loath them, unions gave rise to the modern middle class in America. But union membership started falling around 1980, coincident with the Reagan Administration. From a high of about 30% of workers, it’s now less than 10%. Interestingly, this did not happen in other industrialized countries. Why only in America? The answer of course is political.

Not only do politicians lie but the lying is non-partisan, both sides do it. Republicans, however, have more incentive to misrepresent their agenda than the Democrats who campaign on social issues that mainly benefit the poor & the middle class. Most Americans have little time for politics and economics. To attract those who are referred to euphemistically as “low information voters”, politicians, especially Republicans, appeal to their patriotism, religion, family values and their fears and prejudices. Come election time they might promise an end to abortion or a marriage amendment forbidding same-sex marriage, but what they deliver are tax cuts for the rich and lowering of the estate tax. Americans often vote for policies that are not in their own self-interest, because politicians seldom reveal their hidden agendas.

The election of Barack Obama in 2008 was seen as a watershed event in American Politics. But the echoes of the swearing-in ceremony had barely faded away before the right-wing sound machine was in full throat with half-truths, innuendo, and outright lies. “Obama was born in Kenya”; “Barack Hussein Obama is a Muslim educated in Indonesia at a Madrassa”. Over 90% of talk radio in the U.S. ranges from right-of-centre to the crazies on the fringes. One entire news network, Fox News, is devoted to espousing the views of the Republican Party. Most Christian religions in the U.S. favor conservative politicians over progressives. According to the Pew research center, a clear majority of Americans regard the Republican Party as the protector of religious and family values. Even the supposedly non-partisan Catholic Church has a strict litmus test - abortion. If you are pro-choice, you will not get their support.

In hindsight, Obama’s election victory was an aberration. It turns out the killer smile and inspiring oratory were not what charmed the electorate. It was the fact he was NOT George W. Bush. After eight long years that ended with a catastrophic failure of the U.S. financial system, many Americans reluctantly came to the realization that Dubya was incompetent. Who knew? Obama had the misfortune to inherit the fetid pile of problems left by his predecessor. But America has a short memory. Not only are they now his problems but they are his fault. Republicans, with help from conservatives in Congress and the media have convinced the public of that even as America and the world are still reeling from the failures of the Bush years.

We are told that Democracy works best with an informed electorate. It’s not clear that America has ever enjoyed that luxury. Both sides attempt to misinform, but especially the right. While it’s true that many Republicans in Congress are honest and ethical, it’s difficult to convince folks you’re on their side when you’re determined to reduce or eliminate their entitlements, move their jobs to China & India and cut taxes for corporations and the rich. Shading the truth is the best they can do, and America is well on its way down that slippery slope.

When handed the levers of power, Republicans don’t govern so much as campaign. Ronald Reagan won the presidency on the usual conservative platform of lower taxes & smaller government. His “trickle-down” theory of economics (i.e., tax cuts for corporations & the wealthy would trickle down to workers) was thoroughly discredited when he doubled the federal deficit and real income for the rich soared at the same time that it fell for the middle class. Despite all that, he won two terms by dint of his folksy charm & personality. He was, after all a movie actor.

George W. Bush was handed a huge surplus by the outgoing president, Bill Clinton. He quickly turned it into a massive debt. Two wars, a prescription drug plan and tax cuts for the rich were all unfunded. It was the most reckless expansion of government spending in two generations. His term ended with the collapse of American financial markets that very nearly plunged the entire world into a second Great Depression. How could Americans have voted for this irresponsible & incompetent cowboy, not once but twice? The answer is simple; he used propaganda on a scale that would have impressed even Joseph Goebbels. The most egregious use of lies and propaganda was the lead up to the Iraq war. In order to justify that tragic & unprovoked invasion, the Bush Administration actually set up a White House team whose sole purpose was to promote the case for war by whatever means. They began by linking Saddam Hussein to 9/11 using the false assertion that Iraqi intelligence had met in Prague with one of the terrorists. Another strategy was to leak dubious classified information to friendly reporters such as Judith Miller of the New York Times. Then top officials including Vice-president Dick Cheney would show up on the Sunday news shows and validate the story. Having lived & worked in the U.S. for most of the last 12 years, I can attest to the success of their efforts which culminated with Colin Powell’s speech to the United Nations Feb. 5, 2003. It was powerful and well-received by the mainstream media but has since been completely discredited. On my trips back home to Calgary I would have to de-brief myself with real facts. The international media, including Canada, had not been cowed by the Bush administration. But in the U.S., 10 years after 9/11, a clear majority of Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein was involved with the 9/11 attack. Such is the power of persuasion & propaganda.

Today, watching right wing rallies by the Tea Party and their ilk, you see signs portraying Obama as a Nazi or a Fascist. George Orwell has called Fascism “nothing more than an insult that some groups use against their political opponents”. Wow, that nailed it! But the tea party has it backwards. Strictly speaking Fascism is a far right ideology. In his 1935 satirical novel “It can’t Happen here”, Sinclair Lewis wrote: “When Fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross.” Patriotism & Religion, America’s sacred cows.

A footnote: 22 days before the start of the Iraq war the Phil Donahue Show was cancelled by NBC. Phil hosted a popular talk show on TV. His criticism of the rush to war made NBC uneasy, they considered him unpatriotic. He said this about the cancellation. “Dissent is not just unpopular in America it’s bad for business”. Mr. Potter of Bedford Falls could not have said it better.

The United States is the Greatest Nation in the History of the World

This is a phrase often quoted by Americans, even those as dissimilar as Barack Obama & Dick Cheney. Presumptuous to be sure but is it true? If so, how did America achieve greatness and how do we identify those qualities that make a nation great? If you ask the average American you get the standard answers: freedom & democracy, the U.S. Constitution, the rule of law, the bill of rights, etc. But these cornerstones upon which the U.S. was built did not materialize spontaneously. After all, the founding fathers spent most of their lives as citizens of England. America’s heritage was centuries of British history. In addition to history we cannot discount the importance of geography in the America’s ascent to power and greatness. Let’s take look at geography & history in terms of their importance to the success of America.

GEOGRAPHY

The number one rule in real estate is the mantra location, location, location. I can’t think of a phrase more apt to describe North America in the 17^th century. When the Pilgrims on the Mayflower disembarked on Plymouth Rock back in 1620 little did they know of the immense riches that this land had to offer. (Despite the fact they barely survived the winter, the perseverance of these early settlers insured the future of the United States.) 400 years ago North America was arguably the last and greatest piece of unspoiled real estate left on the planet. A land rich in lumber, minerals, fresh water, wild game of infinite variety, fertile land where the topsoil was measured in feet, not inches, and the climate! To paraphrase Goldilocks; of the three regions of North America, the north (Canada) was too cold, the south (Mexico) was too hot, but the part in between was just right.

Today, Americans are rightly thankful for the wonderful bounty they were blessed with, but don’t rank it very high among the reasons for their perceived greatness.

HISTORY

Before becoming a nation the United States was a colony, a British colony. Most of the inhabitants of the colony were of British ancestry and were influenced in no small part by British history. Many Americans seem to believe that the founding fathers invented democratic government. They discount the extraordinary achievements of the British starting with Magna Carta originally published in 1215, 5½ centuries before the American Declaration of Independence. Magna Carta, including the writ of habeas corpus (allowing appeal against unlawful imprisonment), was probably the most significant influence leading to the rule of constitutional law today in most of the English speaking world. The history of the United States did not start with the War of Independence. Despite their hatred of King George III Americans cannot disown their British heritage.

AMERICAN GREATNESS (or not)

Now, let’s get back to the question of greatness. Of course, the U.S. has had their moments. World War II was perhaps their greatest triumph. Despite the fact that it took an act of war by the Japanese to draw them into the conflict, it’s doubtful the war could have been won without the sacrifice & bravery of the Americans (since dubbed the “greatest generation” by journalist Tom Brokaw). It can also be said however that no country profited from the war as much as the United States. While much of Europe and Asia lay in ruins, America was virtually unscathed. Cities, factories and the underlying infrastructure were untouched by the war, Pearl Harbor notwithstanding. To be fair the Marshall Plan initiated by U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall helped enormously in rebuilding the countries of Europe.

The United States is unquestionably the richest and most powerful nation on earth. It’s also the world’s greatest polluter and consumer of fossil fuels despite the best efforts of China to catch up. It’s the greatest arms dealer the world has ever known, both legal & illegal. America imports more illegal drugs (cocaine, heroin, and the like) than any other nation. The internal strife & violence that plagues Mexico is directly attributable to America’s unquenchable thirst for illicit drugs.

We all know that people from all over the world have flocked to the U.S. over the years in search of a better life. They are attracted primarily by the immense wealth of the U.S. and the promise of well-paying jobs. One might think that citizens of the ‘greatest nation’ would be happy, well educated, healthy, long lived, etc., etc. We might also assume that America would be the number one nation in the world as to quality of live.

But here are a few statistics that belie these notions:

Denmark is the best nation to live in according to a recent UN index which takes into account things like GDP, literacy, life expectancy, etc. Out of 21 countries polled the U.S. was ranked 13^th.

Life Expectancy in years: Japan is #1 at 82.6. The U.S. is # 36 at 78.3 (Just behind Cuba)

Education – from the Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). U.S. Ranking of 15-year olds tested in 30 countries
Science            17^th
Math                24^th
Reading            16^th

Health Care. WHO (World Health Organization) ranked the U.S. health care system 37^th out of 192 developed countries despite spending more per capita than any other nation.

In conclusion, saying that the United States is “the Greatest Nation in the History of the World” is much like saying that “the U.S. Senate is the World’s Greatest Deliberative Body”. (Actually, this too is an oft-repeated refrain among Americans.)