Lost In Middle America 01: Old Glory, New Faith

Lafayette - a.k.a. "Patriot City USA" - a small mid-western Ohio village that, in my humble opinion, owes up to this proudly displayed boast that has over time steered me from cynical indifference regarding such public propaganda towards a direct and heartfelt sense of what it means to me to be an American citizen, something that the hustle and bustle of everyday life tends to challenge quite fervently these days in the ObamAmerica heartland. Lafayette is the epitome of small town USA; a village endowed with hard working folks doing their best to plow through these common economic woes to retain and strengthen what they feel is best in our American fabric of ideals: family, community, prosperity, heritage, faith, and politics. It's a good place to call home, and during four years of residence here I've come appreciate it all the more for several reasons. This rural village setting [where each business is locally owned and everyone knows everyone else in a population of some 300 odd souls] has its appeal to me, as does my woodsy backyard sanctuary and the surrounding patchwork woodlands that offer their own unique form of social intercourse for us animal lovers, hunters, and nature loving voyeurs. Of course there are some minor setbacks - there isn't a tavern [Sunday beer sales were only approved a few years back], and at times the good fellow struggling with the gas depot has no gas or toilette paper for those desperate moments of slack supplication, however I still get by in spite of such hardship. And crime, apart from occasional random country youths tossing tombstones in the cemetery or committing a weekend drunken pillage of Clum's grocery to cop more beer and smokes, is seldom an issue.

Far from perfect in its prejudices, far more tolerant than the citizenry would credit themselves being, this is rural union country, the rightwing shoulder of support, where if you want a good job you register Republican ["but we didn't tell you that…"], and the gunshots I hear from my back porch are not the random, feared, and flagrant woes of crack-town meltdown from our sister city, Lima, eight miles up the road but rather the steady report of readiness which I neighborly support. I'm not Republican, I don't own a gun or hunt, and I couldn't even apply for a village job that was only a half mile up the road because I reside outside of the city limits, but I certainly don't feel threatened by the culture of my neighbors because I believe people have the right to say what goes on in a community and have the right to own a firearm providing they take responsibility for both. Small town American values are well-honored and preserved in heart here in grassroots fashion, without being presumptuous and, I feel, well worth noting in the face of growing cynicism towards a political system that is deeply challenged with preserving its public integrity with a balance of individual value and worth to the people it is here to serve. In spite of the anxiety ridden state we face with an unpopular war, rising unemployment, and the specter of an uncertain future I have found that the community in its expression and in its dialogue has, in spite of some differences of opinion, instilled in me a deeper sense of what it means to me to be American, and I wouldn't trade those differences for anything.

In what more cynical minds would deem overt Americana sentimentalism, the patriotic spirit of the village flies Memorial Day to Labor Day, respectively, up and down the streets in red, white, and blue glory. It began to sink in on me one day as I drove through town, drifting to Muddy Waters, a sense of something transcendent and necessary in the flag, in contrast to all the verbal foreplay that undermines our pursuit of liberty - the beauty of people acting with meaningful intent to make a poetic statement of value as much for themselves and for the sake of the rest of the community. I felt good about what the flag symbolizes and recognizes by simply being there, presently amplified and honored, as it should be, and this was quite a surprise since I would seldom consider myself a Patriot, let alone ponder what it really means to be American in the truest sense of the word. Even though what I felt was pride in my country it was coupled with a sad dismay over our abuses of our own freedom that had quenched much of my own patriotic zeal. I knew I was not alone but the flag instilled in me hope in its quiet but profound simplicity. It's easy to lose heart with all the political badgering, propaganda, and buggery that marks these days with dismay, but there is something definitely soul-felt and inspiring in what the American flag represents that transcends all the banality and ideological carnage that plagues our democratic system with gross abuses of power and promise.

I love the flag and the iconic American symbols of liberty and justice - the dollar bill, the eagle, the Mosaic law, to name a few, because they serve to draw me towards higher goals than what is in evidence, but yet hoped for to find deeper expression in my life - prosperity, freedom, independence, justice, and faith - just as important to the life of the community of citizens. However the healthy mythical power our symbols of heritage used to hold is becoming gradually unhinged by the mechanics of the system, which would rather enslave us to party lines, social class, and charlatans preaching a gospel of divisive aims and intent, splitting the will of the people, choking democratic promise and fruition of the commonwealth in the soul of our nation. Let me just say that on the surface it appears our leadership is not doing enough on behalf of the people, too much emphasis being placed on the past, the status quo, and systematic inflexibility - such much so that the honest, genuine wholesale changes we need to make as a self-governing and progressive society for the benefit of all come too late or are quenched in the competition of global-economic interest and its relatively poor management. And on the flipside we have to ask ourselves if we are doing enough with the freedom and rights we do have to make our country a better place to live rather than leaving it all up to our leadership, and the truth is we can do more if we set our hearts and minds to it.

America, the last Western frontier, has always seemed to afford opportunity for the motivated individual for wealth beyond riches, while at the same time has proven to be generous and responsible for promoting peace and goodwill, for the most part at least until the Cold War era. Yet there has always been a shadow cast upon our best efforts. It cannot be ignored that the wealth of our infancy was generated primarily through slavery and industrial exploitation [fundamentally unchanged] while at the same time forming a deeply rooted public religious ethos molded into the culture at large which when it's all said and done has been quite a legacy to the rest of the world. It took some time for this noble experiment to explore its humanity and with it the challenge to live up to its ideals of liberty and equal rights extended to African Americans and women, and we are no less challenged today to grow in understanding and our capacity to love [if not to love, then to respect], whether one chooses to so for the sake of God or merely for the sake of another human being not that much different from ourselves when it comes right down to it. To be free is to have the courage to be humble, and with humility comes sacrifice, and with sacrifice, honor, be it from God or a neighbor. The value of freedom is no better served than here. That's what the flag says to me - it's not just merely a memorial to sacrifice and historical colonial origin, an abstract fragment of the past, nor an object of mere pride, more than that it is a sanctified symbol of hope and desire that is now, appreciated and embraced, and the realization that as an American citizen I have to do my part to make it a reality.

Many people only embrace one side of the ideal of liberty, what they stand to get out of it personally and lose sight of their neighbor, or worse, envy him, and life becomes a rat race in competition with our fellow man in which success and wealth sets few limits upon the human condition in our consumption. There is nothing wrong with a healthy spirit of competition and motivation to succeed, but many of us are really selfishly in love with being Americans individually that we tend to forget what America actually should be, in principle, for all - when policy of action and commitment to the whole comes at the expense of our own self-centered interests. This is clearly illustrated in the cold, calculated realm of corporate empiricism that has sold our people out for cheap labor south of the border and overseas, and here domestically where the worker is unvalued and generally taken for granted as a commodity. We are flesh and blood, not mere statistics on a spreadsheet valued only for our return on a dollar. And it is an indignant blow in the face of responsible, hard working Americans to allow the cheap labor force of illegals to not only take our jobs but burden our social services without giving something back to us, the people, who are giving them a free ride with embittered reluctance when it appears the only people benefiting from it are the industrialists and free-market pigs.

An honest social reform policy - a tightening of our border security, tighter limits set on immigration, and the naturalization of the illegals already present would not only widen the tax base, but would level the playing field. All of our prejudices against the foreigner who wants a taste of the same liberty and opportunities we all too often take for granted in the first place ignore the fact that all of us originated from foreign soil and peoples equally persecuted with intolerance in our past - Italians, Germans, Irish, Jews, Poles, Negroes, etc. - many ethnic groups begin as bottom feeders in our society and this is true all through our short history as a nation. I admire the courage and sacrifice many of these illegals display in making the trek across the border at great risk and I think this characteristic is an untapped benefit and resource to the nation. Say what you want to about Mexicans, but they work hard and they tip well, in fact, consistently better than any ethnic group I encountered during my days as a pizza delivery driver. Rather than make the most out of what seems like a positive opportunity our leadership is dragging ass and selling everyone out by allowing the huge agri-corporation exploit this cheap labor, along with the industrialists and service industry without any accountability. The problem is not the illegals but what we are doing with them in response to the ethos of equality and liberty as core American values.

Deportation is counterproductive when border enforcement becomes more lax and bows to NAFTA, rather incredulous in a post 9-11 culture. There has to be a better way. Why not naturalize and tax them for money that would go towards border security, raise tariffs on Mexican imports, especially the ones that come from American manufacturers. Nobody deserves to have it both ways. If you're an illegal immigrant you've lied, cheated, or squatted your way into our society, which is a crime. But we're not going to imprison you if you have proven to be an otherwise law-abiding citizen. Instead we will give you the option either paying a one-time tax and you can go on your way, or by performing public service, depending on each individual situation. Then you turn the labor towards rebuilding and expanding infrastructure, also offer military incentives to immigrants, expand education multi-culturally, and promote diversity and understanding.

Ultimately what we do for the immigrants we do for ourselves, and their presence is ever increasing no matter where you live. Locally there is a strong core of Indian businessmen and women, some migrating in from Canada, who are beginning to monopolize the convenience store and hospitality niches, as everyone is well aware of. On a personal level I find them a bit curious, more so as I've been undertaking a comprehensive exploration of their culture in conjunction with my growing interest in Buddhist thought. As businessmen they are shrewd, hard working and family oriented, while some are arrogant, others are sensitive; a majority Indian men like white women [who can blame them] and hit on my servers all the time, and they like to request a clean meat-free blade run through their vegetarian pizza. If they seem a bit high-strung it's because they probably have a lot going on, you know, like some of us and are dogged multi-taskers. But I think I'm probably more often guilty than not of thinking of them in terms of our differences in spite of what I understand of their culture and my choice to explore it rather than in our similarities when there is some conflict of character that arises. Culturally we differ, but fundamentally we are the same. They take a lot of crap from people in there stores for being Indian by blacks and whites and there's local resentment from my local gas depot where the owner was casting blame on all the damn Indians running everything while his dream has slowly and with a courageous struggle faded into debt and mortgage. He's frustrated and the Indian businessman is an easy target especially since he is prospering, but what he can't seem to see past his country boy sensibilities is this:

The Indian [who probably already had some wealth before landing here] has cheaper gas because he can buy more, he has a good location to do business, and he has what you need and a ton of crap you don't - hash pipes, underwear, ghetto wear, a Taj Mahal of impulse persuations, crack pipes, decent beer selection, stimulants, nicotine, bootleg CDs and movies, etc. Going to the convenience store these days is like going to a Spencer Gifts store - it has allure and exploits its environment and local culture with nothing more than indifferent capitalistic interest. Did I mention location? That is probably his biggest adversary since just about everybody in Lafayette works elsewhere so we tend to shop when we're out and we're loyal to our pocketbook when we can pay .10 or .15 cents less a gallon somewhere else for mere capital sake. I suppose we have failed him, even when the post office went in and increased his traffic flow by not shelling over a few more nickels to our neighbor doing his own thing rather than suck up to the "save money live better" Wal-Mantra, but then who can blame us in the current tightening-of-our-wallets crunch?

When I first began to frequent Clum's it was a six or seven aisle grocery stocked with basic staples and essentials offering fresh meats and cheese, milk, beer, movie rentals, the lottery, etc. Then the lottery flew the coop, and after that even with the post office added he began to systematically downsize over the past year, and now the post office has moved up the road and around the corner to another local business. The Indians went to him to inquire about the business and their opinion of him was that he was not a very wise businessman and they made no offer. His story is like thousands of others, small business owners who, for one reason or another, lag behind the competition and consequently take the loss whether they like it or not. He can bitch about the tax breaks some foreign business owners get and exploit [a potential urban myth in need of some research to validate], but if the shoe were on the other foot don't think he wouldn't be doing the same in order to get ahead. I suppose any number of things could be accounted to the struggle of Clum's to survive the winter chill, now heated by a single space heater [which makes a powerful statement], but I feel the hometown spirit grieved, passing ghostward now, snowdrift in the wind.

It appears to me that my own personal renewal to our higher aspirations personally and as a nation is better served not by material wealth or in our political investments, personalities, and vehicles, nor from our sense of entitlement, but by our simple symbols for freedom and what they speak to us. Unfortunately, in our compulsive society freedom becomes an abstract means to justify our selfish blind ambitions. This is no better emphasized by the glut of divorce all to common in our culture, when we fail to stand by those we have chosen, for better or worse, to love and serve when we no longer attain the satisfaction or value we feel is due and lose heart. Nobody knows and puts this ethic into practice better than the soldier thrown to the field - he may in his heart resent the order to kill or to place himself in harm's way in defiance to the sting of death or injury to himself or another, but he knows there are men who want to kill him, and there are people he is responsible for - a wife, a child, his fellow soldier, his mother and father, a brother or sister - some motivation beyond the order that has nothing to do with material riches to get the job done and go home and taste the fruits of his labor, both the bitter and sweet. And here in the lives of our veterans, the flag finds rich expression in funerary rites, half-mast humility, and great honor to the men and women who gave their lives ultimately and without question for liberty for all. However the sacrifice of the few for the many does not give benefactors of peace carte blanche to pursue their own interests without making any sacrifice themselves for the sake of all.

Barrack Obama won my vote in part based on his own emphasis upon, and example of, public service, shadowing Kennedy's famous quote: "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what can you do for your country." Not to take a thing away from military service, which is a rather sublime and extreme example of commitment, but with so much emphasis placed upon it - particularly in the spirit of political competition - it tends to overshadow other forms of public service that are just as necessary as, and perhaps so much more so than profane military strength. Education, literacy, and healthcare should be a public service, as should childcare - what good does military might serve when the moral and physical health of the nation falls by the wayside. In turn every able bodied American who benefits should find the will to give something back on a regular basis besides taxes. Truth is, everybody can do something, but you can't force us to serve and still honor freedom, and it goes without saying that many who do are those who have served our defense because they understand the value of service. Obama stirred in me my own sense of personal responsibility and because he principally represented what I felt was a great American story of opportunity, promise, and new ideas. It was intriguing to me to see a young, educated black man in the oval office who's platform of hope and combating political cynicism has been very much needed. However, he still has to owe up to his part of the bargain and the elevation of his policies unfortunately does not yet do justice to the sentiments upon which he was elected. He has only given the promise of hope and is slowly transfiguring into the same old face, perhaps realizing he is just along for the ride after all. Of course now it's down to business and there's plenty enough to distance him from these deeper issues of resolve, and the merry-go-round has started. The natives are getting restless and impatient and who can blame us?

Who has the greatest responsibility? By the people for the people - is a whole. Government is no different than a church in a fundamental fashion. The pastor is only one office of the church - no more or no less important than the usher, the musician, the nursery worker, the administrator, the secretary, or the guy who scrubs the toilette seats - are not all equally vital to the great commission? But the pastor, at times, forgets just who he serves, chiefly God, and because he has a responsibility to the people to more or less achieve their personal goals in life, not all of them moral, he is subject to the empowerment of the people - as much a blessing as it is a curse. For the flock places, generally in all faiths and variations of assemblies, far too much emphasis on the role of the priest and their dependence upon him to be shown the way, when in effect they shortchange themselves in their dependency upon another individual to do for themselves what they could be doing, all along, under their own power if they only tried. And as long as the system indulges itself in its power and exalts itself, under the presumption it alone is the best means to the desired end, it tends to psychologically render those it serves impotent. There has to be a balance of exchange and power between the servant and the one being served, the goal being a harmony where there is no distinction of title, but rather merely of the need at hand - it's really that simple. And when we succumb to hero worship and place the servant on a pedestal - having the same access to God, or to liberty, to the ideals that constitute the goal of peace and equality, as any other individual, parishioner, or citizen - he is certain to fall and disappoint us, only because we have not engaged in the struggle with a more honest and direct humility with ourselves, not yielding only to our limitations as sucklings in need of carriage beyond the need for a leg up now and then, but yielding to the courage to do for ourselves what we can when we can instead of waiting for somebody else to do it for us. It takes more than a vote, more than a deposit into the offering plate, more than a confession, more than contentment with the status quo, it takes a personal commitment of temperament and duty to serve without counting the cost. Within the church, there is a quality of experience of working together, an experience of God that is not found in solitude, fear, and isolation or in commitment to only the ego, myself as an individual, that is also found in public service that builds relationships and opens possibilities never before imagined. No man stands alone, or if he does, not for long without having to acknowledge something or someone else as necessary and equivalent to his struggle and the struggle of all. For we are one - one body, one nation, and one humanity.

Freedom - individual, social, sexual, political, artistic, economic - implies an inherent responsibility for myself towards the good of all. It is the human poetry of true submission, to afford others the same rights as yourself whether you like them personally or not. On one hand I have to be responsible for my own actions and if I choose not to be then there are consequences of personal moral conscience and legal order to face. I am as free to be stupid as I am wise, but whether I like it or not there is some order to behavior to which I am bound to, universally so only as far as my own safety [because people do stupid things] and the safety and security of others is concerned. On the other hand I have to be responsible to uphold the defense of public moral conscience and legal order not only in myself, but also to the community at large beginning first in the intimacy of family life, extending outward to my neighbor. It keeps us honest and adds value to our experience of life.

Are we so lazy and spoiled? Speaking for myself, this is an openly confessed affirmation of my own lack of doing something, anything, to [as corny as it sounds] make the world a better place. How and where can I serve? Since I have a love and desire for writing and education I feel it's my duty to volunteer for library service [particularly since our politicians have slashed library funding] and to teach people to read and write. What good is being a writer when people are increasingly lacking the necessary skills to read what I write [a gross failure of our public system] or to have the confidence to express themselves with integrity? Education and literacy affords the individual the freedom to make their own choices and be better informed and prepared in regard to every aspect of life, so how can I pass on such opportunity? I may not personally benefit from health-care reform. I may not live to see the end of our war in the Middle East. My job may become obsolete like so many others have as the economy swirls and plunges down the toilette. There are many things I have no direct control over as a citizen of this still great country of promise and hope, but as long as I have faith in the tapestry of our ideals and the reality of what freedom I do have and take responsibility for it I have reason to believe I can make a lasting difference by giving myself to service to others, by letting my neighbor know I care, in spite of myself. I believe the individual as much as a nation reaps what it sows. You want equality? - well, there it is.