Here,
Post 9-11
Orson Welles once said he hated watching television as much
as he hated peanuts, but he couldn't stop eating peanuts.
Watching the presidential campaign unfold it's a feeling many
of know better than we'd like to.
Disgusted by whichever candidate we distrust, exasperated
by those who speak for or believe them, it's easy to pull
back into ourselves and imagine somehow that we're not exactly
participants in all this, just bemused observers, though of
course we're not. Yes, the election is playing out as just
what it is, the big television show. In fact the whole
campaign so far has been about television. All the issues
that have dominated come from television ads and televised
responses and how each new one affects the score. Its the
ultimate "reality-based" television show. And we
love shows like that because they're all about humiliation
and shame, and we're far more interested in seeing who the
loser is, because we know the Survivor's going to be the most
ruthless and least truthful player. So basically we stay tuned,
even fixate on the contestants, because we're dying to see
who's going to get nailed next. Bad of course but true, and
it's only starting in earnest for this election cycle.
Three years ago one perfect September morning, our world shifted
hard. And even as, with time, we come to understand better
the changed reality we share, there's much that's hard to
see, even for those of us whose lives weren't personally ripped
open by the events of 9-11. Here in our part of God's country
we've been luckier than in some places. We feel safer
and we are safer than many Americans; it's something we're
grateful for and the relative safety of our homes and our
region isn't lost on most of us. But apart from the financial
insecurity over these years that's reflected in the savings
some of us have and how they haven't grown, we've been pretty
insulated. Yes, we see changes, the weakness in the broader
economy, the rise in real estate values and the problems that's
caused for people seeking new and affordable homes. We've
had a road closure at the Ashokan Reservoir that's effectively
moved 1,500 people ten minutes drive time further from civilization
than they thought they lived. It's unfortunate but it isn't
likely to change. We're not looking to minimize that problem
but so far that's been the worst of the local downside and
we're making our adjustments.
To some degree even these problems are at least partially
offset by trends that are basically positive, and that we
see in the strengths and resiliency of our communities, our
schools, our collective life, and our institutions. There's
the continuing shift, clearly accelerated by 9-11, from part-time
to full time residents. There are signs of an increasing sophistication
in the way that we track and assess the effectiveness and
the accountability of local government. Even our county legislature
is showing shows signs of responsiveness and maturity few
of us ever really expected to see anytime soon. And yes, that's
partly a reflection of a changing demographic but it's also
a reflection of the higher expectations people have now. We
think the truth, odd as it might sound, is that what's frightening
about the future for many parts of the country are likely
to play out here in ways that are basically positive, certainly
economically positive. And so we think the future, here in
our mountains, is as close to solid as it can be, given the
world we live in now as opposed to the one we lived in just
a few years ago.
Having said that though, we also have to step back and look
at the broader changes our nation's going through, because
whatever society we're building here in the Catskills, we're
Americans first. And the big shift we're in the midst of,
at least unless the national direction changes, is the shift
into The Permanent War, sometimes called The War On Terror.
We're right to be afraid of millions of people who want to
kill us. We're right to try and protect ourselves as effectively
as we can, and we'd be negligent not to look at every means
available and every solution possible, wars included. But
we also have to remember that every solution's bought at a
price and whether we as country can afford what's being sold
isn't so clear. The permanent war is a package deal, at the
heart of the package is fear, and few things sell as well.
In fact the harder it's sold the more we're willing to buy,
and if we're afraid enough, any price is fine. This war's
even got its own home shopping network, which you can tune
in on any number of television news channels to be properly
and regularly terrorized. We're not saying the permanent
war is the end of the world, but it's clearly one of the choices
ahead, though it won't appear on any ballot. And we're not
saying the choice is black and white, some parts of the economy
will do well, and some people will benefit. What's $4 a gallon
for heating oil, if in return, we feel safer? When we're at
war people don't fly unless they really have to, and given
our proximity New York City, the tourism and lodging industries
may do very well. But as we say, everything comes at
a price.
As teenagers, many of us read George Orwell's "1984",
a chillingly prescient novel about a country ruled by fear
and slogans and terrorized by television, its constitution
gutted and its history changed daily to serve its leaders.
He may have missed the date by 20 years, but if there ever
was a time to read it again, it's now.
