Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
With all the guff going on in Washington these days, it’s rather remarkable that Republicans and Democrats have managed—on occasion—actually to accomplish something positive. Standouts over the last twelve months include the pandemic relief bills and the bipartisan infrastructure framework.
When trying to figure out how they should interact with political parties, social movements face a common challenge: Should they push from without or seek to operate from within?
The question everyone in Capital City is asking these days is—has President Biden over-promised and under-delivered? Part of me simply wants to answer the question with another—what politician hasn’t
We are told we are divided. The narrative of division reinforces white male privilege by setting us against ourselves and not them.
My purpose in this essay is to survey (1) the emerging understanding of social cohesion and its importance, (2) what threatens it in the United States today, and (3) what might prevent a national crack-up.
The Mountain State’s senior senator, Joe Manchin (D), has single-handedly stopped President Biden’s proposed climate action plan in its tracks—along with voting rights, Medicare reform, and securing a safety net under the least fortunate of us.
As I’ll explain, Manchin’s torpedoing the Senate debate and vote on the House-passed version of the bill is contrary to the interests of the people of West Virginia—especially those who can no longer rely on the coal industry for their livelihood.
Progressives feel Manchin went back on his word about supporting a reconciliation package if Congress would first vote on the infrastructure bill. Trust within the Democratic caucuses is nearly non-existent.
Deliberation creates a process for educating ourselves—and each other—into citizenship and gives rise to what Daniel Kemmis has called “neighborliness—to finding within shared space the possibilities for a shared inhabitation.”
Well, it finally happened. An infrastructure bill has found its way onto a president’s desk for signing. Affectionately called the BIF in the halls of Congress and along the K Street corridor where the cognoscenti congregate, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework was truly that—bipartisan.
It may take a bit to integrate better all the moving parts—or, as a friend and colleague says the community needs to slow down to go faster. Will a better alignment and integration be worth it?
Think of it this way. To change the power, you must be the power.
The political systems of Western liberal democracy are failing. Blinkered by their cultures, most politicians and journalists do not see the extent of this failure.
