NMod Vigilance List (Updated 2/10)
The New Moderate’s Vigilance List
What do we moderates have to worry about? Plenty. After all, if you’re a moderate, trouble comes at you from both sides. Here’s my admittedly personal but nevertheless instructive list of things we need to be concerned about, in numerical order. I revise this list regularly as our priorities shift. Last revision: February 2010.
1. The Great Recession. Sometimes we can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it could just be an onrushing train. Experts talk about V-shaped, W-shaped, L-shaped and even square root-shaped recoveries, so it’s obvious that nobody knows when the nightmare will be over. Unlike the Great Depression, our current financial malaise has actually widened the rift between affluent “haves” and dejected “have-nots” — an ominous precursor to class warfare (see #13). Trend: In a holding pattern.
2. Plutocracy. Now that we’ve glimpsed the unsightly innards of Wall Street and government-by-lobby, we can no longer deny that the U.S. is a plutocracy. Simply stated, that means too few people command too much power and wealth. We’re a nominally liberal democratic republic ruled by a small, self-entitled, self-perpetuating elite. When even a certified progressive like President Obama bows to investment banks and the pharmaceutical industry, you know we’re in trouble. Trend: increasing.
3. Reckless Federal Spending. Just making its debut on the list, and here it is at #3! Yes, the colossal American deficit is officially a crisis now. Everyone is aware of the problem, but nobody is taking it seriously enough. Obama’s proposed spending freeze doesn’t come close. We need to slash military spending and foreign aid. (In an economic crisis, the needs of Americans must come first. The military is powerless to defeat terrorism, anyway.) We need to stop making sweetheart deals with investment banks. (Reimbursing Goldman Sachs with taxpayer money for its bad investments was a crime against the people.) We’re so seriously indebted to China that we’ve essentially become its vassal state, and our benefactor is starting to throw its weight around. Trend: Seriously increasing.
4. Cultural degeneracy. Movies, TV, pop music, video games and high art have combined to forge a warped culture that worships all the most loathsome and idiotic idols. Do I believe in having fun? Absolutely. (This isn’t The New Puritan, after all.) But we also need to restore respect and affection for the nobler virtues, or we’ll crumble, as the Romans did, from internal and external assaults that we’re too weak to withstand. Do I sound like an alarmist? You bet. Trend: Increasing.
5. Islamist terrorism. With the attack at Ft. Hood and the escalation of our war in Afghanistan, this is no longer a back-burner issue. We can’t fight terrorists forever, though… moderate Muslims need to speak out against the extremists and create a sweeping reform movement — pronto! Trend: Moving toward the top of the Vigilance List.
6. Polarization. Partisan squabbling, racial tension, cultural divides, red states vs. blue states, pro-lifers vs. pro-choicers, atheists vs. fundamentalists… so what else is new? A deep and disturbing problem, especially as it continues to crystallize around high-profile public figures like Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and even our moderate-liberal president. Trend: Increasing, if possible.
7. The angry white Religious Right. As our culture abandons its white Christian underpinnings, we’re seeing more and more resentment bubbling up from the traditionalists. I can understand their anguish, but we don’t want it to rage out of control in the form of crackpot fringe movements (like the teabaggers, birthers and worse). Trend: Cooling off after an unsettling spurt last summer.
8. Unfettered illegal immigration. Call me a “nativist” if you like, but I don’t think the mass incursion of undocumented Hispanic immigrants bodes well for our national health. Given the disparity in birth rates betweeen the native-born and Hispanic immigrant populations, the U.S. will increasingly take on the attributes of a Latin American nation. That means a less-educated populace and an ever-widening gap between rich and poor, with the added element of cultural friction between Anglos and Latinos. Why are we just rolling over? (On the plus side, at least we might get into the salubrious habit of taking siestas.) Trend: Stabilizing.
9. Outsourcing and downsizing. Sure, let’s export all our manufacturing and white-collar jobs to help the struggling populations of developing nations. How altruistic of our big corporations! Meanwhile, all those jobless Americans won’t have the money to buy all those imported goods. We need to reward companies for keeping their jobs in the U.S. Trend: Still increasing.
10. Creeping socialism. If the U.S. is a plutocracy, why do we need to worry about socialism? Because we still have no vocal, influential middle to ward off the demons from both extremes of the political spectrum. The Crash of 2008 has opened the doors to left-wing proposals that, if implemented, could transform the U.S. into a Scandinavian-style nanny state and shift far too much power into the hands of the government. Republicans and right-wing populists are vocal (and intransigent) enough to fight back, but we still need to be vigilant. Trend: Flat, for now.
11. Racism. And I mean black racism as well as white racism. The U.S. is far too race-conscious as a society, and we’re much too inclined to close ranks with our skin-brothers when trouble is brewing. Sure, it’s human nature to instinctively favor our own group, but it’s time to override our instincts and favor impartial justice instead. End of sermon. Trend: Stabilizing after an uncomfortably hot summer.
12. Political correctness. The hysterical liberal guard dogs of public discourse are starting to lose their stranglehold on the mass of Americans. We’re growing tired of the double standards that protect some favored groups when it’s perfectly OK to declare open season on others. Still, we need to watch out for the muffling of wayward opinions on radio, in print and especially in academia. Trend: Stable, more or less.
13. Class warfare. We ain’t seen nothin’ yet. The old American class hierarchy with its nearly invisible boundaries is splitting, like some great ice sheet, into upper and lower castes as mid-status jobs trickle away. Educated elites will continue to marry among themselves and produce increasingly elite offspring with formidable SAT scores. The two castes will despise each other, naturally. Trend: Just beginning to rear its head.
14. Manmade global warming. When we have to navigate the streets of New York and London by gondola, maybe the skeptics will finally believe. Unfortunately, this subject appears to be owned by zealots with a vested interest in promoting their faith. (Witness the recently exposed cover-up of “inconvenient” data that contradicted global warming.) We need to hear unbiased, purely scientific opinions on the subject, if such a thing is possible. Trend: Less urgent for the moment, but the glaciers are still melting.
