Commentary: Have we reached a fork in the road?
We've used and abused other humans and our environment, living extremely comfortably. For decades it's been clear that our luck was running out – and should.
Less clear is the nature of the reckoning. Materially, would the pie (world economy) grow, allowing our extreme economic advantage (being 6% of the population, controlling 60% of the resources) to decline in relative terms, nonviolently, and without causing us real suffering? Would technology, ingenuity, and some self-discipline mute environmental disruption?
One way forward starts with facing the situation realistically and trying to deal with it: protect ourselves from violence, retain what we can of our lifestyle, but recognize that we cannot rule like lords forever. Face the urgent climate-change danger and try to take the lead in mitigating it. This path would dent our pride and necessitate sacrifices, but hopefully not unbearable ones.
The other is doubling down. Telling the world to bug off, that we'll hold on tight, usurp what we can of the world's growing wealth, and leave others to clean up our environmental and political messes.
Be not some shining example of democracy, but a pariah among nations.
We seem to be stumbling down that second path, mapless. Planless.
Take our border. It's not the “emergency” Mr. Trump claims, but a humanitarian crisis. Certain Central American nations are almost uninhabitable, which is partly our fault. Traffickers mislead folks about their chances for asylum here, while Trump's huffing and puffing draws greater attention to the border. As people reach New Mexico's remote Bootheel, we're asking too much of Border Patrol folks. People have died. We must add personnel and infrastructure there, try to help repair the damage in Central America, and warn people they have little chance of gaining asylum.
The border patrol agent on Wednesday's Sunshine Week panel at Zuhl Library noted that, whereas bringing undocumented people into the U.S. used to be a “mom-and-pop operation” costing $300 a head, traffickers (cooperating with drug cartels) now charge Central Americans $7,000 to $9,000 and get them to the U.S. border in five days. They also mislead their passengers, leave folks in unreasonably dangerous places, rape women, and otherwise act inhumanely.
Trump's proposal to wreck our economy further and screw up the southwestern environment to build a huge wall is absurd.
But following Trump and his enablers could increase the need for a wall!
Our country is a bastion of privilege.
In South Africa, decades after apartheid ended, millions of blacks live in abject poverty in shacks without water or power, while whites, 8% of the population, still own 73% of the land, including vast, beautiful farms. Occasionally, a white farm family gets murdered, perhaps with extra brutality. Some well-armed whites are preparing seriously for civil war.
U.S. citizens could become those folks, following Trump. Climate-change is harming many nations' ability to grow food. (Our Southwest may become too arid to support agriculture or humans.) As hunger increases the rage and violence of people in “shithole countries” we've helped keep back, desperation could cause much greater illegal immigration. If we remain arrogant, will some armed border-crossers start killing seemingly rich ranching families for the fun of it – and for revenge?
Sorry if that's bleak. Fortunately, we can correct our course. We will get past Trump, but must realize he's more symptom than cause. We must watch all our political and business “leaders” closely.