The March of the Oligarchs

"A hopeful billboard in Montenegro" in 2016 (STEVO VASILJEVIC / REUTERS)

“America’s real divide isn’t left vs. right. It’s democracy vs. oligarchy.”

(title of essay by Robert Reich in Salon)

It was about twenty-five years ago that I began to notice that global corporations were exerting more influence in both foreign and domestic affairs. I had grown up seeing how demonstrations in the streets by the people had led to more humane legislation, as in the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts (and before that, the passing of child labor laws and workplace safety legislation). I asked myself then, how much longer that legislative model could endure as a safeguard for the people as global corporations assert more power and influence.

The following poem was one of my journalistic poems first posted March26, 2017, during the first 100 days of the current White House administration.  – CK

The March of the Oligarchs

By Charles Kinnaird

When I was a child

I was momentarily confused

The first time my older brother

Brought out his chess set.

The game board

Was exactly like the one we used for checkers,

But the rules were entirely different.

                         -  -  -

Growing up during the Cold War,

We thought the threat

Was coming to an end

When the Berlin Wall fell

And the Soviet Bloc collapsed.

We were giddy

With thoughts of freedom –

Oppression had been lifted;

The “Communist Threat” was fading.

That giddy moment of freedom

Was soon seized by corporations.

They flew under the banner

Of free enterprise,

Thereby flying under the radar

That scans for

Enemies of the state.

Global corporations

Have become the prime movers,

Making governments inconsequential.

Seen as good for the country,

Essential for the economy,

Creator of jobs,

Granter of benefits,

And source of political spending,

Big companies hold Congress hostage.

Legislation may soon bear no more weight

Than nice ideas

Voiced by well-meaning folks

In a Sunday School class.

In today's political arena

The playing field is familiar.

The game board looks the same.

But the rules have changed.

                                              

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From the introductory post to my journalistic poetry series "Bearing Witness to the Times"

The best thing that poets can do is to bear witness to the times – articulate what is happening in the moment; speak to the real-life experiences of your people.  I am setting myself a goal to write a poem each week that reflects what I see and experience in the life of our nation... if I can write one poem a week there will be some chronicle of our sacred/tested/doubtful union.

-

"Making America ________"

We are still in the process of making America, which is why I made the title of this post a fill-in-the-blank. "Make America Great," "Make America Just,"  "Make America Green" "Make America Inclusive." I am sure you have your own desire for filling in the blank of this reading today.

For the desires we hold for this great American experiment, Reinhold Niebuhr has some important words for today. Niebuhr was a twentieth-century theological luminary. You can read a little bit about him at  Reinhold Niebuhr: the theologian politicians read.

Reinhold Niebuhr (RNS photo)

“Nothing that is worth doing can be achieved in our lifetime; therefore we must be saved by hope.

Nothing which is true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history; therefore we must be saved by faith.

Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone; therefore we must be saved by love.

No virtuous act is quite as virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as it is from our standpoint. Therefore we must be saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.”
                                                

(Reinhold Niebuhr, The Irony of American History)

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Who Are We, and What Do We Stand For?

Today's post is a repeat from April 30, 2017. It is my poem to commemorate who we are as a people, and where we stood at that first 100-day mark in a new presidency.  As the president continues to hold campaign-style rallies, we must ask ourselves again, who are we, and what do we stand for?

100 Days

Can the first one hundred days 
Unfold the path before us?

The New Deal reshaped a nation.

The Great Society held out promise

But did not foretell the struggle

And the unraveling that would come.

These one hundred days –

Marked by petty discord,

Wartime posturing,

And confused uncertainty –

May be telling our own story.

While many voices still call out

For justice and equality,

Many others turn a blind eye

To the fascist greed

That shapes the public square.

Sober minds can recall missteps in our past:

A constitution that counted three-fifths of a person

To accommodate slaveholders;

A Supreme Court’s Dred Scott Decision;

A government enforcing the Indian Removal Act.

A country that sings “Let freedom ring”

While shackling slaves

And engaging in genocidal acts

Has been our paradox

Of good and evil.

Taking pains to correct past mistakes,

Our country has made gains

In “liberty and justice for all.”

Now we carefully negotiate our way

Through one hundred days of chaos,

Wondering if those gains will be lost.

“This cannot be us,”

We cry in dismay,

“We are better than this!”

This is, indeed, us.

We are those things we hate

In one another.

Where do we go from here,

Now that our true colors

Are on display?

In the clear light

And in the aftermath of an electoral vote,

Perhaps we see ourselves too clearly,

Or perhaps we do not see at all.

We live with divided allegiances

And shared dreams,

Holding out hope

That our best efforts

May yet correct

Our current missteps.

                                                ~ CK

-

Bearing Witness to the Times: Verdicts and Revolutions

Hosni Mubarak, former president of Egypt, was taken back to a military hospital
 on Thursday after a court session (Photo by Mohamed Hossam, European Press)

"Egyptian Court Clears Way for Hosni Mubarak's Release"

    Verdicts and Revolutions

    The news came over the radio:

    “Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak Found Not Guilty.”

    He has been cleared of any responsibility

    For the deaths of protesters

    During the Arab Spring.

    The ageing and ailing

    Former head-of-state

    Was released from jail

    With little fanfare –

    Memories of the people’s uprising

    Have faded

    With military rule firmly ensconced

    In an ancient land.

I heard the news

On my way to the Golden Temple Café.

A banner in front of the 
Health food store and vegetarian restaurant

Proudly proclaims, “Celebrating 43 Years.”

Forty-three years ago

(That would have been the Nixon administration)

In the Deep South

A Sikh yoga practitioner and restaurateur

Began a quiet revolution

That has lasted to this day.

There have been days

When I took refuge

In that  vegetarian café

Where a simple meal

Of beans and rice

Became a sign of hope

In distressing times.

Today I think of those heady days,

Now six years past,

When Egyptian youth filled the streets.

They were moved by hope

For a better way.

The news of a 'not guilty' verdict

Lets Empire stand

While streets are quiet.

It’s vegetable curry today on the menu.

Around me are happy people

Engaged in health food and conversation,

Reaping the benefits

Of that Sikh entrepreneur

Whose vision of health and wholeness

Has endured

Through many swings

Of the political pendulum.

Here at home

Uncertainty reigns.

Demagogue power holds sway;

Whispers of intrigue and corruption

Continue to erupt.

Is there hope

For a democratic spring?

Or will it fade

Like the Arab Spring?

Or will it find resurgence

After a time of remission?

Still there is a sign of hope –

Vegetable curry on rice

In a vegetarian restaurant

Whose future 43 years ago
In the Deep South

Was anything but certain.

                                                ~ CK

"The bossman," Harinam Singh Khalsa

______________________________

All photos from The Golden Temple Natural Grocery and Cafe are from the store's Facebook page.
(Read a 2014 article in B-Metro here.)

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From my introductory post:

The best thing that poets can do is to bear witness to the times – articulate what is happening in the moment; speak to the real life experiences of your people.  I am setting myself a goal to write a poem each week that reflects what I see and experience in the life of our nation... if I can write one poem a week there will be some chronicle of our sacred/tested/doubtful union.

-

Politics and Religion: What are we to make of it?

Here’s another article from the Religious News Service that has been picked up by papers across the country. It was printed in my hometown paper on Saturday: American politics more religious than American voters, by Nicole Neroulias.The article refers to a book by Mark Chaves of Duke University, American Religion: Contemporary Trends. Using data from the General Social Survey and the National Congregations Study, Chaves notes that while Americans are more religious than Europeans, church attendance has been declining since the 1970s. The author interprets the research findings as showing that Americans are increasingly uncomfortable with the mingling of faith and politics and there is less confidence in religious leaders.

I bring this up because it is in line with the Barna Survey I referred to in Saturay’s post. We have seen a decline in mainline Protestant numbers since the 1960s and Roman Catholics are losing members in the U.S. We have witnessed the rise of mega churches in the Protestant arena, along with the newly touted and hopeful “Emergent Church” movement.  Evangelicals are redoubling their efforts in light of their declining numbers. In various denominations and religious communities, there is much discussion about how to keep churches alive and thriving.

Perhaps Changing Times Calls for New Structures

One thing that is going unstated in all of the efforts of the faithful to define themselves as evangelical, progressive, liberal, conservative, emergent, etc. is that all of our accustomed institutions as we know them took shape in the wake of the Industrial Revolution. Our religious and educational systems have not really changed since the 19th century. In that formation, they were well suited for equipping the populace for conformity, duty, and factory work. As society has changed, and is still in the process of changing, our institutions have not really kept pace.

I think that part of what we are experiencing is that we are living in a vortex of change and it is not really clear how institutions will arise to meet the needs of our society. I for one see the importance of preserving the “mainline Protestant witness” as well as the “Evangelical witness” as well as the historical “liturgical witness” to how Christianity is to be lived out in the world. How all of that will happen will probably not play out the way any of us envision, but it is vital that we keep trying, each in our own way, to flesh out this faith that has been deposited.

I have a hunch that we will see new ways of passing on our religious/spiritual values. The growing numbers of people who describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” and who glean their spirituality from a variety of sources, may give us a clue as to what structures may serve us better in the future. Will we see more enclaves, teaching communities, and online sources while seeing fewer traditional houses of worship?

Our generation may see nothing more than change, disruption and turmoil until society comes up with institutions or structures – educational, political, and religious – that that are more congruent with 21^st century life and understanding. These will be the interesting times. The settled times, the new age, the future hope for a society that works, may lie on the other side of the vortex. Though we cannot yet see what that will be, we must at least find a way to pass the torch to a new generation.






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