The Practical Liberal: Perfecting the Workaround
Last week I was out in front of the bungalow, scraping ice from my front walk, when I encountered my neighbors, a gay couple in their 60s, heading out to make signs for the Women’s March set for that Saturday. They asked me if I was going to be participating and I said no and explained my reasons why. They seemed rather nonplussed as they got into their car.
As they pulled away, they actually stopped the car, rolled down the passenger window and asked me the following question:
“If something really bad happens, will you be out with us then?”
I responded: “like what?”
There was no answer.
To fill the awkward silence, I responded quickly: “if something bad happens, for sure, I will be marching with everyone else.”
It was in that moment, that I experienced a bit of clarity about the current state of affairs. My people are very afraid. And so they march. They demonstrate. They rant on social media. And they play right into the narrative that conservatives like to put forth about liberals. That we are all a bunch of crybabies that expect the government to subsidize our social priorities. "YOU LOST!!! GET OVER IT!!! NOW YOU KNOW HOW WE HAVE FELT FOR THE LAST EIGHT YEARS!!!"
Here are a couple of quotes from conservative people with whom I have managed to maintain civil discourse:
[Trump] wants to create an environment here at home where businesses will first stop fleeing this country and then where they are actually encouraged to start building factories and hiring Americans. He wants to raise import tariffs on foreign made goods and put American made products first. Something we have watched erode over the past 15 years.... The US used to be the world leader in manufacturing, technology and jobs, but is no longer. We desperately need that back.
While I support the rights for minorities, women and other religions, I DO NOT support them getting special treatment. Fair and equal treatment, Yes, special treatment NO! I don't go around flaunting the fact that I'm a man, white, Christian, heterosexual and ask for any special treatment in return. Why should they? I don't have a problem with people loving one another and creating families and enjoying the same rights as the rest of us, but they need to quit shoving it in everyone's faces and banding together as "special interests". That is where I and many others draw the line.
Many people who voted for a man I believe to be corrupt, racist and misogynist, did so for two main reasons: 1) to see the economy improve and 2) to secure our borders. I will accept that, notwithstanding my belief that the economy had been doing quite well under the prior administration. However, what is more difficult to accept is all of the tyrannical and wildly unstable features that are part and parcel of our new leader.
But I digress. And in the midst of the forecast of “something really bad happening,” I have decided to focus on possible workarounds. It seems to be a bit more productive then ruminating on the latest "alternative fact" that is being disseminated by our administration.
I choose to begin by acknowledging a "real" fact: my team is in the minority in Congress. Another "real" fact most Americans seem to agree on: the politicians are not getting it done.
Congress used to be the place where things got done. Not so much anymore. Today I heard a candidate for head of the DNC advocate for blocking anything and everything the Republicans might put forth in Congress. Kind of contrary to Michelle Obama's rallying cry "when they go low, we go high."
Early on in the transition period, the hand wringers continued to cry out about the grossly unqualified Cabinet nominations. And one by one, these scary, ill-equipped people are getting confirmed without much push back. The reality is, as one pundit put it, no Republican Senator is going to vote to block a nomination at this point in the game. So for as much opposition and outrage that is being communicated loudly and clearly by my team, in the end, it will have come to naught. These people are going to be in charge of everything we hold dear.
It is disconcerting to say the least, since our whole system of governing depends on the work of politicians, many of whom, it would seem, are not interested in anything more than trying to get reelected.
However, as a member of the “liberal elite,” I believe there is a page out of the conservative playbook that we might be able to make use of.
One bedrock value of conservatism that I have to admit I like, is the notion that you take care of yourself. Conservatives, for the most part, care about guns, small government, the right to life and the free market. As evidenced by our new President’s swift and early actions, they don’t care about poor people, minorities, women’s health care, the arts, education or the environment. All those things cost money and demand regulation.
My belief is that instead of yelling at them to care about these things, we need to come up with creative ideas about how to take care of ourselves and those people and entities we care about.
One workaround I think my team is already utilizing successfully is communication. We must NEVER lose sight of the power of the First Amendment. There is a reason it is the first. Three days into the new administration, the National Park Service, after being censored by the President for disseminating information about climate change, decided to be creative and set up another private account for that very purpose. We must watch closely for any retaliation against federal employees by a President who, at least up until now is acting more like a fascist dictator than the leader of the FREE world.
Just as importantly, however, communication needs to be focused. After the awesome impact of the Women’s March, and even with a Scientists' March in the works, the still unanswered question is: “where do we go from here?”
Which brings me to the most effective workaround I could come up with: money.
I know a huge issue for women is the potential “defunding” of Planned Parenthood. But what exactly does that mean? How much of each clinic’s budget comes from the federal government?
https://www.plannedparenthoodaction.org/blog/how-federal-funding-works-at-planned-parenthood
Turns out it is a Medicaid reimbursement system, not taxpayer dollars going to fund abortions. Seems like actually understanding something is a huge first step in figuring out how to fix it.
After understanding the funding structure, it then seems useful to look at what is happening in a red state where, it could be assumed, support for Planned Parenthood is not vigorous and laws exist or are being proposed to severely limit its services.
I picked Kentucky. It was eye opening to read about all the attempts being made by that state’s administration to severely restrict, if not deny outright, the availability of abortions. This despite the fact that abortion is legal in all 50 states. In a late breaking development, one of two clinics where abortions had been performed permanently closed its doors, leaving Kentucky with only one provider of abortions. This in a state that also recently enacted a ban on abortions after 20 weeks.
https://www.rt.com/usa/373889-kentucky-last-abortion-provider/
While it is tempting to want to pick up a sign and go protest, I found the last several sentences of this article to be more useful:
Women in the state have asked Kentucky NOW how they can help people who need abortion services travel to Louisville or to other states. The chapter has pointed to nonprofits such as A-Fund, which will help pay for the procedure, and the Kentucky Health Justice Network, which will provide practical support.
This demonstrates how precise direction of money can overcome draconian political decisions. Rather than spending the money on office supplies to make signs and bus/train/plane tickets to travel to a rally, we can direct that money to a women's health clinic in a red state. Or send it to those organizations involved in helping poor women travel to such clinics.
Another example of money overcoming red state politics played out in Indiana. Then Governor Mike Pence attempted to enact legislation designed to discriminate against LGBT individuals, under the guise of a “Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”
That attempt lasted less than a week when a deluge of criticism and threats by major organizations to pull out of Indiana forced a redo:
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/01/indiana-rfra-deal-sets-limited-protections-for-lgbt/70766920/
As indicated in the recap of events: “intense backlash rained down on Indiana after Gov. Mike Pence signed the bill during a private ceremony last week. Conventions have canceled or threatened to move events that bring millions of dollars into the state. Prominent business executives have halted expansion plans or canceled travel to the state. The NCAA, which is holding the men's Final Four in Indianapolis this week, has also expressed concerns about the law.”
The money was going away. And Pence could not allow that to happen.
I see several lessons to be learned from events that occur in red states where administrations are threatening my team’s sense of social justice. The first is that with the kind of unity displayed in the Women’s March (I note that EVERY red state held a march), conservatives are going to be forced to tread carefully on issues that matter to women, minorities, people of lower economic means and all people who support those causes, if they want to retain political power. All they need to do is look at the rise of the Tea Party for proof that when enough people are angry, change happens. But organization and focus are critical to actually effecting change.
The second (and pretty significant) lesson: members of the liberal elite need to take fresh look at where they spend their money and pattern themselves after the Koch brothers. Wealthy celebrities and others need to prioritize their spending here for impoverished, disabled and disenfranchised men, women and children, as opposed to subsidizing enterprises abroad. That’s not to say the needs are not there globally, but those same needs here simply cannot be ignored, especially now that the other team is ready, willing and able to drastically cut funding. Oprah Winfrey spent millions for a girls school in Africa. I bet there are lots of girls here who could benefit from the same kind of Leadership Academy that was established thousands of miles away. This may seem isolationist, but this administration is putting OUR fellow citizens in peril and we need to respond by concentrating on what is going on right here.
I donate $25 a month to a program called Feeding America. I could not believe such a need could exist right here in the greatest country in the world. It makes me feel like I am doing a little bit to help those less fortunate than me. I’m not sure how many average conservatives contribute to charities. I would hope it would be something we could all agree is the right thing to do. But when one party believes that if you are poor and in need, it’s your own fault, maybe such a concept is not as universal as I might think.
As a public employee, I am not as wealthy as most in the “liberal elite.” That said, philanthropy needs to become more focused all around. If Trump’s promise to eliminate funding for the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for Humanities comes to fruition, I have confidence that wealthy liberals will step up and fill the gap. Conservatives don’t care about these things. I live in a blue (for now) state, so I sleep easy knowing that, at least for me personally, these things will continue to be well cared for. I have seen private donors step up to save orchestra groups and other artistic organizations that were in danger of elimination. This can be done and should be done for entities whose mission is to protect education, the environment and health care for everyone.
It is as easy as setting up a GoFundMe account.
I have been amazed at how people all over can come together to support a cause they deem worthy. The power of social media makes donating to help cover expenses for adding a police dog to a city in Louisa, VA, or transporting a bunch of puppies from a kill shelter in the south to safety in the north, as easy as buying a book on Amazon.com. With the power of money harnessed in this way, no school should go without basic essentials, no person should go bankrupt over medical bills, no organization should be denied anything by a Trump administration that a GoFundMe account can cover.
The wealth in this country is staggering. Bernie Sanders refers to it almost daily. For those fortunate enough to be part of the 1%, it’s time to step up and direct funds to offset all the damage a Trump administration is prepared to do, particularly in red states whose administrations will encourage and applaud such efforts. I don’t think any conservative could find such action objectionable.
Workarounds are practical and attainable. These times demand our creativity and focus so that “we the people” do not end up like Vladimir Putin’s people. That’s a real and serious threat coming directly from the man sitting in the White House signing those Executive Orders while he obsesses about #alternativefacts.