OT Commentary from today's Trib

This short little piece, stolen from the Chicago Tribune,
is as eloquent and concise an explanation of what REALLY
divides Red from Blue as I've read lately.

And Blow Me, Timaaaaaay, In Advance.


Two Dreams About the Future
By Jeremy Rifkin.
Published December 3, 2004

A powerful new political experiment is unfolding across the Atlantic
that might provide a new frame of reference for all those Americans who
find themselves increasingly at odds with the direction America is
heading. Twenty-five nations, representing 455 million people, have
joined together to create a United States of Europe. The European
Union's gross domestic product now rivals the United States', making it
the world's other great superpower. The EU is already the world's
leading exporter and largest internal trading market, and the euro is
stronger than the dollar. Moreover, much of Europe enjoys a longer life
span and greater literacy, and has less poverty and crime, less blight
and sprawl, longer vacations and shorter commutes to work than we do in
the U.S. When one considers what makes a people great and what
constitutes a better way of life, Europe is now beginning to surpass
America.

Equally important, a new European Dream is emerging that in many ways is
the mirror opposite of the American Dream. While the American Dream
emphasizes unrestrained economic growth, personal wealth and the pursuit
of individual self-interest, the European Dream focuses more on
sustainable development, quality of life and the nurturing of community.
We Americans live (and die) by the work ethic and the dictates of
efficiency. Europeans place more attention on balancing work and
leisure. America has always seen itself as a great melting pot.
Europeans, instead, prefer to preserve their rich multicultural
diversity. Americans place a premium on property rights and civil
rights. Europeans favor social rights and universal human rights.
Americans put their faith in God and country. Europeans put their faith
in social welfare and civil society. We believe in maintaining an
unrivaled military presence in the world. Europeans, by contrast,
emphasize cooperation and consensus over go-it-alone approaches to
foreign policy. The European Dream is the first attempt at creating a
global consciousness for a shrinking world.

All of this does not suggest that Europe has suddenly become a utopia.
Its problems are complex and its weaknesses are glaringly transparent.
The point, however, is not whether Europeans are living up to the dream
they have for themselves. We have never fully lived up to the American
Dream. Rather, what's crucial is that Europe is articulating a bold new
vision for the future of humanity that differs in many of its most
fundamental aspects from America's.

I suspect that what really divides the American people is that while a
slim majority still uncritically believe in the American Dream, almost
as many Americans no longer do and would likely find the European Dream
more attractive. It's interesting to note that a majority of people who
voted for President Bush say that they cast their ballot for him because
he reflects their core moral values. Although political pundits were
quick to jump on value issues ranging from human embryo research to gay
marriage, what's clear is that, on a deeper level, Bush supporters saw
the president as the keeper of the American Dream, our most cherished
and deeply felt moral value and the social glue that has long united the
country. The American Dream, with its emphasis on individual
opportunity, the pursuit of self-interest and personal success in an
unfettered marketplace, faith in God and love of country and belief in a
strong military presence in the world, is what brought droves of
Americans to the polls to re-elect the president.

On the other hand, many of the voters who cast their ballot for Sen.
John Kerry are the Americans who have growing doubts about the American
Dream. First, there are the millions of Americans who have worked hard,
sacrificed and still have been unable to move on up in a society
increasingly weighted to the interest of America's wealthiest families.
The U.S. currently ranks a dismal 24th among industrial nations in
income inequality--the disparity between the very rich at the top and
the multitude of working poor at the bottom; only Mexico and Russia rank
lower among the industrialized nations. Then there are the many other
Americans who have made good on the American Dream only to find that its
overemphasis on individual self-interest and material success is far too
limited to fulfill their deeper needs and aspirations. They realize that
even the most self-reliant American can no longer go it alone in a world
where a SARS epidemic, a computer virus, a terrorist attack, a stock
market scandal or global warming make everyone potentially vulnerable
and reliant on each other. These Americans are in search of a broader
global vision reflecting their involvement in an increasingly
interconnected and interdependent world.

Together, these two groups of disheartened Americans represent a new
kind of disenfranchised minority--one no longer completely wedded to the
American Dream, until recently regarded as the most fundamental shared
value of the American people. According to a recent survey, barely 51
percent of Americans still believe in the American Dream (the same
percentage as people who voted for Bush), and a third of Americans say
they no longer believe in the American Dream at all.

Of course, the conventional wisdom is that it would be political suicide
for any candidate for elected office in the United States to even hint
that the European Dream might embrace a more meaningful set of values.
Yet, it's obvious that Americans are deeply polarized over their vision
of the future. No amount of political rhetoric is likely to lead to a
reconciliation of two camps that are so diametrically opposite. The next
four years are likely to only further the divide as Americans begin to
part company over a dream that half the country still holds to and the
other half has already begun to partially abandon in the search for a
more globally expansive vision of humanity's future. Perhaps our friends
in Europe have something to teach us.

Copyright © 2004, Chicago Tribune

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
This short little piece, stolen from the Chicago Tribune,
is as eloquent and concise an explanation of what REALLY
divides Red from Blue as I've read lately.

"Stolen" is right. You just violated copyright law.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

rw wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
This short little piece, stolen from the Chicago Tribune,
is as eloquent and concise an explanation of what REALLY
divides Red from Blue as I've read lately.

"Stolen" is right. You just violated copyright law.

So sue me, you ****ing putz.

--
Ken Fortenberry

rw wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
This short little piece, stolen from the Chicago Tribune,
is as eloquent and concise an explanation of what REALLY
divides Red from Blue as I've read lately.

"Stolen" is right. You just violated copyright law.

So sue me, you ****ing putz.

--
Ken Fortenberry

rw wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
This short little piece, stolen from the Chicago Tribune,
is as eloquent and concise an explanation of what REALLY
divides Red from Blue as I've read lately.

"Stolen" is right. You just violated copyright law.

So sue me, you ****ing putz.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
This short little piece, stolen from the Chicago Tribune,
is as eloquent and concise an explanation of what REALLY
divides Red from Blue as I've read lately.

And Blow Me, Timaaaaaay, In Advance.

Timaaaaaay don't swing that way (not that there's anything wrong with
that.) ;-)

snip
Americans put their faith in God and country. Europeans put their
faith in social welfare and civil society.

Yep. we're in agreement so far. . .

We believe in maintaining
an unrivaled military presence in the world. Europeans, by contrast,
emphasize cooperation and consensus over go-it-alone approaches to
foreign policy.

.. . .when their pockets are being lined with oil-for-$$ maybe. The U.S
didn't go it alone as a preference.

The European Dream is the first attempt at creating a
global consciousness for a shrinking world.

Oh, puhleese! I suppose the United Nations is going to be there to lead
the way? Global unconsciousness is more like it.
--
TL,
Tim
---------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj/

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
This short little piece, stolen from the Chicago Tribune,
is as eloquent and concise an explanation of what REALLY
divides Red from Blue as I've read lately.

And Blow Me, Timaaaaaay, In Advance.

Timaaaaaay don't swing that way (not that there's anything wrong with
that.) ;-)

snip
Americans put their faith in God and country. Europeans put their
faith in social welfare and civil society.

Yep. we're in agreement so far. . .

We believe in maintaining
an unrivaled military presence in the world. Europeans, by contrast,
emphasize cooperation and consensus over go-it-alone approaches to
foreign policy.

.. . .when their pockets are being lined with oil-for-$$ maybe. The U.S
didn't go it alone as a preference.

The European Dream is the first attempt at creating a
global consciousness for a shrinking world.

Oh, puhleese! I suppose the United Nations is going to be there to lead
the way? Global unconsciousness is more like it.
--
TL,
Tim
---------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj/

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
This short little piece, stolen from the Chicago Tribune,
is as eloquent and concise an explanation of what REALLY
divides Red from Blue as I've read lately.

And Blow Me, Timaaaaaay, In Advance.

Timaaaaaay don't swing that way (not that there's anything wrong with
that.) ;-)

snip
Americans put their faith in God and country. Europeans put their
faith in social welfare and civil society.

Yep. we're in agreement so far. . .

We believe in maintaining
an unrivaled military presence in the world. Europeans, by contrast,
emphasize cooperation and consensus over go-it-alone approaches to
foreign policy.

.. . .when their pockets are being lined with oil-for-$$ maybe. The U.S
didn't go it alone as a preference.

The European Dream is the first attempt at creating a
global consciousness for a shrinking world.

Oh, puhleese! I suppose the United Nations is going to be there to lead
the way? Global unconsciousness is more like it.
--
TL,
Tim
---------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj/

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
rw wrote:

Ken Fortenberry wrote:

This short little piece, stolen from the Chicago Tribune,
is as eloquent and concise an explanation of what REALLY
divides Red from Blue as I've read lately.


"Stolen" is right. You just violated copyright law.


So sue me, you ****ing putz.


I've heard that you've started a new career as a writer (although I
haven't seen any evidence of it). If you ever succeed in getting
something published, I assume you won't mind if someone broadcasts it
all over the Web.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
rw wrote:

Ken Fortenberry wrote:

This short little piece, stolen from the Chicago Tribune,
is as eloquent and concise an explanation of what REALLY
divides Red from Blue as I've read lately.


"Stolen" is right. You just violated copyright law.


So sue me, you ****ing putz.


I've heard that you've started a new career as a writer (although I
haven't seen any evidence of it). If you ever succeed in getting
something published, I assume you won't mind if someone broadcasts it
all over the Web.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.