No One Won the Cold War
Remember the Cold War propaganda we saw as kids (I say “we”, referring to my fellow Gen-X-ers)? We were shown footage of Russian bread lines as evidence of Communism’s blight. That particular message struck a chord with us because, presumably, WE had never had to wait in line for bread.
And so, my fellow middle-classers may also be anticipating my argument with “Tracey, I know where you’re going with this. People weren’t forced to wait in that mob for deep discounts’. Maybe you’re thinking, simply, “shut up, Tracey”. I refuse.
I read today that Cubans, in the era of Who concert stampedes and soccer hooliganism, had a different way of cue-ing for concerts: Show up at the venue ahead of the event and receive consecutive place-numbers from the individuals who waited a short time after their fore bearers, relieving them of their cue-ing. Repeat this action on the individuals arriving after you. Then, arrive at the event to find people respectfully upholding those line assignments. No cutting, no pushing. That was in the 70s
Americans followed this model, roughly, and only in response to concert stampede tragedies of the 70s and 80s. But we see the same behavior now in the marketplace. Is there a better way for us to practice the Golden Rule species-wide that doesn’t require tragedy to piece-meal us back into social awareness?
From Wikipedia (ah, communist encyclopedia):” Herd mentality implies a fear-based reaction to peer pressure which makes individuals act in order to avoid feeling “left behind” from the group.” and, since we are still mostly animals, Evolutionary biologist W.D. Hamilton’s theory that the fearful animal herd appears to “act as a unit in moving together, but its function emerges from the uncoordinated behavior of self-seeking individuals” tells us why it is unconscionable for us to prosecute any one, or five individuals in the WalMart trampling. It was mob rule. What governs the mob in this case, since there were presumably no lions chasing these humans into the store?
Maybe our current marketplace is the savanna. Maybe our lions are trickle-down economics. Maybe our mob is ruled by the fear of being left behind in our economy’s oasis, the house and all the trimmings: where arrival is marked by one’s personal material appointments…
I say this all from a position of economic comfort, so I’m not just belly-aching, in case any of you with your own oases think I’m just being silly. I didn’t force you to read this.
Does the free market work on a social level? Apparently it’s parent company, the economic free market, didn’t. Are there good capitalistic Samaritans? Of course there are: my father, a Reaganite, made good money in the go-go Nineties and has a great philanthropic heart. Can we trust everyone at the top to be like my dad? The short answer: no. Religious organizations, non-profits, etc. just can’t fill the gap left by our system in it’s current state. People are being left behind.
If we are only animals, these stories suffice. They are chapters in the history of a failed species and a doomed planet. But, if we have hope, and if there’s a shortage of bread, let’s all wait in line, patiently–realizing that everyone deserves a slice. Better yet–let’s form a circle.