a butterfly in my politics
10 may, 1999
by johnmichael patrick monty monteithIf a butterfly flaps its' wings in Africa, could it possibly effect the weather in Seattle? If a tree were cut in a South American rain forest, could that one tree make a holiday in Costa Del Sol a little warmer?
Twist on an old question. Not quite chicken and the egg, but nearly as cliché, to be certain.
The SanityPages has been online the Internet now for four years. (Ancient in web terms.) Since the day it went online there has been this link to 'politics' as I kept meaning to put online my political writings. I have never done so. It was always next month. Or the month after. Or the year after that. My journalism teacher and friend from the American School in London recently sent me a letter asking me when I would start putting some political discussions online. Others of you have probably been secretly praying that I avoid it all together.
Well, today I start.
Perhaps it was the recent 'intelligence failure' that led to the death of three in the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade. Could it have been the nail bombing that occurred in Soho, London, or the two that preceded it? Maybe it was the recent events at Columbine High. More likely it was the fact I only could sleep for a couple of hours last night.
My whole problem with starting the political portion of this web site has been, "where do I start?"
Option 1: Public policy through tragedy.
I could do a lengthy piece on the absurdity of the gun laws in the United States, and how any person in this country can conceivably get all of the weapons they like at any time they like. I would comment on the fact that we do little to nothing to impede the spread of arms. I could link the topic to the evil gun companies that, through the National Rifle Association, control public policy on gun control. How even though the majority of Americans favor very restrictive legislation on guns, that it could never be passed due in large part to the money at the NRA. I would show statistics, and dollar information that would show the enormity of the problem. And then I could subtly (or not so subtly) link it to Columbine. Then I would probably need some sort of witty comeback to the argument that strong anti-gun laws did not help the children in Scotland two years ago, or the people sitting in the gay pub in London. But I would have a witty comeback. I assure you.
Option 2: Internalize external conflicts.
Perhaps a discussion on the Kosovo campaign would better mark the thoughts foremost on American minds. In this one issue stems an endless sea of political discussion. From the comparisons to Nazi Germany, to the war of media being played out in Serbia, China, Britain, and America. Do we start with a light discussion on China hiding from their citizens that NATO apologized for accidentally bombing a Chinese embassy? Or do we go straight to the matter at hand: Is it the job of NATO, or more importantly, America, to be supervisor of the world? And if not America, then who?
Option 3: Humorous asides.
I am starting a whole new trend for this web site, and my first attempt should not immediately rock the boat, should it? I should avoid all discussions of anything truly hard-hitting and offensive. Especially anti-NRA rhetoric. That will certainly get me into trouble. Instead, I should start with a light discussion of the excesses of being American. A particularly exciting discussion with the excesses involved in the soon to be released Star Wars Episode 1, the American obsession with gas guzzling autos, and our need to be able to purchase guns on every street corner. Oops. I meant to avoid that subject, I think.
Option 4: Politics sucks.
I could just whine about how messed up politics is. How everything is corrupt. How everyone is jaded, nobody votes, and nobody cares. How the world is going to hell, and the politicians and attorneys are leading the way. (Can one really have an anti-politician sentence without mentioning the lawyers?)
Option 5: An American Metaphor
What could be more American than a metaphorical discussion on politics of the day through the game of Baseball? If Randy Johnson throws a 100 plus mile per hour fastball down the center of the plate and Sammy Sosa knocks the ball out of the park, will that home run inadvertently effect the Japanese stock market? Did the home run race of 1998 cause the fall of the stock markets on the Pacific Rim?
Having laid out the options on the table, none of them really gets at the heart of what I am trying to convey to you. That somehow there was a day when I had a child's view of the world. What I saw was politics, and the discussion of politics, had at it's heart the goal of improving our world. That through one person attempting to get signatures on an initiative to legalize video poker machines in casinos, or through two people arguing about Clinton's sex scandals over a bottle of wine, that somehow these acts served a greater good. That by having these discussions, by fighting the cause, no matter how small, that by doing what small political thing motivates us, we help to make the world that much better. By writing a ridiculous article on a web site that a handful of people visit on an occasional basis, someone might read this, and that would somehow make a difference.
I suspect I still believe that. No matter how ridiculous the ideal might be. I am jaded. There are times when I think our politics are no good. But, there are others, when I hope there is a greater good. How could anyone after hearing the pleas of the people fleeing Kosovo not believe that the NATO countries are acting on a greater good? Some men from rich developed nations, wearing their expensive suits, drinking some fine wine, and eating foods that I could not pronounce, had a political discussion one day. That discussion lead to NATO intervening in Kosovo. And that decision has saved the lives of thousands of ethnic Albanians. Did a tree falling somewhere in the world, in some small way, influence their decision? Or was it a discussion overheard on a street corner in Manhattan on a busy Thursday afternoon?
I do not believe it all of the time. In fact, I do not believe it often enough. When the sunny day predicted on the television last night turns into a thundershower, I often hope there was a butterfly in Africa responsible. Yet I rarely believe it. But when I do, when I really understand and feel that we can all make a contribution, it is a rare and special moment.
No matter how jaded the world has left you, I hope there is some part of you at some time that believes it, too.
