the corruption of politicians and the immorality of the big businessmen who bribed
them. Sound like something we can relate to today?
Well before we get too comfortable and simply relax into cynicism about our national
leaders and the wealthy who give them big cash contributions that get them elected, and then, not surprisingly, expect favored treatment once they are elected, consider this. Although Steffens was sharply critical of politicians and the wealthy who purchase their favors, he was even more critical of another group: us, ordinary citizens, (or specifically our counterparts back in the early 1900s). Why?
Because, he pointed out, the average citizens, who constitute a vast majority of our
nation, stand by and passively allow public officials and those who corrupt them to continue their “business as usual.” He wrote that, while people often complain about the dishonesty and corruption, injustice and inequality they see around them; they do little or nothing to change it. He summed up the problem of citizen inaction this way: “The
misgovernment of the American people is misgovernment by the American people.”
Steffens was no misanthrope. He wrote about the shameful things he witnessed. He
said, “To see if the shameful facts he disclosed would make ordinary citizens take action." It is in that same spirit, and with that same hope, that I present this short but important list of things that we currently should be deeply ashamed of.
Income and Wealth Inequality
Are most of us even aware of the degree of the income inequality that exists in our country? Watch this brief video and you be the judge of whether or not we should allow this level of inequality to continue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPKKQnijnsM&feature=player_embedded
Children and Families Living in Poverty
In my December 2012 Blog I mentioned that 21 % of children in the US are currently
living in poverty (National Center of Children in Poverty) and that the US has the largest
percentage of permanently poor of any country in the industrialized world (OECD report cited by David Berliner in “Our Impoverished View of Educational Reform” 2005). Add to that information the fact that in 2011 the Census Bureau reported that 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty. Should we not be ashamed of this, especially in view of the information presented in the YouTube Video referenced above?
Incarceration Rate of Americans
The United States has had the highest incarceration rate in the world. The U.S. rate is 500 prisoners per 100,000 residents, or about 1.6 million prisoners in 2010, according to the latest available data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics (Source:
http://www.prb.org/Articles/2012/us-incarceration.aspx
Why should this be a concern? As a nation we spend on average $9,644a year to
educate a student and on average $22,600 per year to incarcerate an inmate. It cost us as a nation 50 billion dollars in 2004 alone in incarceration costs. (Source:
http://www.all4ed.org/files/SavingFutures.pdf)
Is there a connection between poverty and the shocking amount of incarceration in America? I’m certain you recognize there is. But follow this link for a short article that
describes how poverty not only leads to increased risk of incarceration, but incarceration
increases the spread of poverty—a vicious cycle that can and must be broken.
(http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2010/10/toxic_persons.html)
I have cited these things that we should certainly feel ashamed about as Americans. So
what are we waiting for? We the people can reduce, if not eliminate, these causes of shame. We are, in fact, the only ones who can accomplish this.
Historian Howard Zinn, author of The People’s History of the United States, has pointed out that “Democracy does not come through [governmental] institutions. These institutions are very often obstacles to democracy… Democracy comes alive when ordinary people get together and create a social movement for change, as they did in the civil rights movement and the antiwar movement (of the 60s) and the woman’s movement.” And, as John W. Gardner pointed out in his book On Leadership,
social change is a slow and untidy process that requires patience and persistence; it is not a task that can be completed by those (politicians and business leaders) who crave quick solutions and immediate gratification.
So, the reality is that it is up to us, ordinary citizens, to rectify the misgovernment of
the American people and purge the shame of our nation. Are we ready to accept that
responsibility? What actions must we take to produce the desired change? Your suggestions are welcome.