Commentary
Today is Yesterday's Tomorrow (and Tomorrow's Yesterday)
By Patricio Figueroa Jr. 
The great poet and philosopher George Santayana is
credited with writing "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to
repeat it" ("The Life of Reason: Reason in Common Sense"). Nothing captures the
essence of the American political landscape like this ageless quote. Once
again, America is faced with mass unemployment, involvement in war, fiscal
upheaval, extremism and loud cries for reform.
On October 31st, 1936, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, running for his second term, delivered a speech at New York City's
Madison Square Garden that eerily captured the current political and economic
mosaic as precisely as if it were written for our times. If not for the dates
and some terms, this speech represents today, which is yesterday's tomorrow.
Here are excerpts of the published text of FDR's speech:
The problem of the electorate is far deeper, far more
vital than the continuance in the Presidency of any individual. For the greater
issue goes beyond units of humanity; it goes to humanity itself ... In 1932
(2008) the issue was the restoration of American democracy; and the American
people were in a mood to win. They did win. In 1936 (2008) the issue is the
preservation of their victory. Again they are in a mood to win. Again they will
win ...
"What was our hope in 1932? Above all other things the
American people wanted peace. They wanted peace of mind instead of gnawing fear
... First, they sought escape from the personal terror which had stalked them
for three years. They wanted the peace that comes from security in their homes:
safety for their savings, permanence in their jobs, a fair profit from their
enterprise ... And, finally, they sought peace with other Nations -- peace in a
world of unrest. The Nation knows that I hate war, and I know that the Nation
hates war ... Tonight I call the roll -- the roll of honor of those who stood
with us in 1932 (2008) and still stand with us today. … Written on
it are the names of farmers whose acres yielded only bitterness, business men
whose books were portents of disaster, home owners who were faced with
eviction, frugal citizens whose savings were insecure ...
"For ... years this Nation was afflicted with
hear-nothing, see-nothing, do-nothing Government. The Nation looked to
Government but the Government looked away. Nine mocking years with the golden
calf and three long years of the scourge! Nine crazy years at the ticker and
three long years in the breadlines! Nine mad years of mirage and three long
years of despair! Powerful influences strive today to restore that kind of
government with its doctrine that that Government is best which is most
indifferent ... For nearly four (two) years you have had an Administration
which instead of twirling its thumbs has rolled up its sleeves ... "
Today, as in the 1930s, we struggle as Big Business -- be
that the pharmaceutical companies the airlines, the petroleum industry or the
health insurance companies -- writes legislation as if the Congress were there
for its whims, instead of representing the American people. It is no wonder, as
FDR said, that: "They had begun to consider the Government of the United
States as a mere appendage to their own affairs. We know now that Government by
organized money is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob ... "
Never before in our history have these forces been so united against the
well-being of the average American as they are today.
"Here is an amazing paradox! The very employers and
politicians and publishers (radio and television personalities) who talk most
loudly of class antagonism and the destruction of the American system now
undermine that system by this attempt to coerce the votes of the wage earners
of this country. ... But they are guilty of more than deceit. When they imply
that the reserves thus created against both these policies will be stolen by
some future Congress, diverted to some wholly foreign purpose, they attack the
integrity and honor of American Government itself. Those who suggest that are
already aliens to the spirit of American democracy. Let them emigrate and try
their lot under some foreign flag in which they have more confidence."
Our nation's recent experience in enacting health care
reform parallels the problems faced by FDR. Last summer's orchestrated
disruptions of town hall meetings, in which large mobs were mobilized by "big
money" to drown out the voices of average Americans suffering without health
care, are now seen as disparate acts by selfish, misinformed people. For these
people, their genetic intolerance for change and reform is only exceeded by
their political DNA. They can't understand how it came to be that an African
American, an ancestor of those once considered chattel, is now not only our
president but the leader of the free world. For too many, a person's skin
color, if different from their own, disqualifies him from holding office.
It is apparent that we have not achieved the post-racial
America many thought we would. This is one of those intractable cultural issues
in America. The question remains: How come some white Americans cannot get over
their obsession with skin color? Or, for that matter, gender, ethnicity or
disability?
So today, with health care reform the law of the land,
those on the other side are defeated, deflated and rebuked. Now they resort to
violence, intimidation, anti-government actions and the raising of militias. It
seems that, for some, a rifle is an indispensable symbol of their manhood.
Anti-government fervor has always run high in this country, but of late we have
more to fear from domestic terrorists and those who pollute the airwaves with
hate and fear than from al-Qaida. More Timothy McVeighs are not the answer.
Black Americans are not the problem. People with disabilities do not personify
what's wrong. And immigrants are not at fault. After all, we are all immigrants
or descendants of immigrants.
The government we elected is not socialist; it is true to
the values of our founders. Even those who do not accept it are afforded the
right to speak their mind, regardless of how moronic, self-injurious and
un-American the rhetoric gets. We are a divided nation -- not by choice, but
because some think they are bestowed with a divine right to know what is best
for all of us, such as returning to the failed policies and practices that
brought the economy of the U.S. -- and that of the world -- to the brink of
default, as well as to moral bankruptcy. Those people refuse to accept that
there are inequities that threaten the values on which this country was founded
-- values such as social justice, tolerance, acceptance of others, working
together for a cause, that lead to an improved quality of life.
Those who speak out for true political representation in
Washington have every right to create a populist movement. But they should be
aware that populist movements have given rise to Nazism, Fascism and oppressive
Communism. They should be conscious of the proverb written in Latin by Dutch
scholar Desiderius Erasmus (1466?–1536): "Better the Devil you know than
the Devil you don't." Sometimes, leaders arise who purport to know what is best
for the masses. As imperfect as our system is, millions outside of it wish to
become part of it. Once we destroy it, we may never be able to restore it. Is
that the legacy we want to leave to our children and grandchildren? Financial
debt can always be renegotiated, refinanced or repaid. But when you become
morally bankrupt, there is no way to refinance that. Not even divine
intervention can restore that.
As we look back at last summer's town hall scenes, fueled
with much corporate money and misguided masses of people, we should remember
what FDR said so eloquently: "We know now that Government by organized money
is just as dangerous as Government by organized mob." We must not allow
ourselves to be ruled by mobs or corporate money.
Let's move forward with complete confidence that "today is
yesterday's tomorrow," and we shall emerge from this experience wiser and with
our principles and values intact.
Patricio Figueroa Jr., an author, an artist, and is the
publisher of Independence Today. He lives in New York state with his wife and
daughter. |
