The Perfect Storm

Apologies for not writing anything for a while, but so much has been happening in the world these days that it’s hard to wrap one’s mind on anything. Everything that’s happening has such gravity and weight, that it’s hard to focus on just one issue. The economy, yes, the environment, yes, foreign policy, yes…these are all elements of what I’m seeing as the perfect storm designed to capsize the Obama administration, despite his well-intentioned efforts. It is a monumental mountain to climb and unless we can all get on board and do what’s necessary, the work of our new president will be for naught.

Certainly, Obama’s address to Congress and the public on the 24^th was as important and in many ways symbolic a speech as Bush’s speech to the nation after the 9/11 attacks. It was simple, broad and concise. It spoke to the heart of the problem without sugarcoating the ugly truth of the new world we have awoken to. Our current financial crisis has plunged us into the economic and emotional equivalent of 9/11. They don’t call it a “depression” for just any reason.

But are there solutions? Is there a way out? Certainly, but the answers aren’t pretty. They aren’t easy. And that’s exactly why there is a very good chance that whatever we do will fail. It may sound like pessimism, but well…let me explain.

My apartment building is a microcosm of the world I live in. Missy and I live in a pre-war building in Brooklyn. It used to be low-rent housing but is slowly being gentrified as our neighborhood borders the more affluent Park Slope (where those who couldn’t afford the Upper West Side get banished). So, we have tenants of all kinds, middle-income families, hipsters, and young professionals. We also have families, holdovers from the days of the low-rent housing. Please do not get me wrong, these are nice people from working-class families, there is no judgment on their condition.

One day, as I trudged my recyclables down to the dank, dirty basement, I witnessed my neighbor throwing bottles and cans down the regular garbage chute. I thought about this as I waited for the elevator to bring me down to the dungeon of our building. I asked myself, “why do I even bother, if my neighbor doesn’t even care?” Didn’t care or didn’t know better? That’s a big distinction.

The distinction between apathy and ignorance is a crisis of epic proportions. Why? Because any solution to any of the problems we face, as a race, will endeavor the efforts of everyone…everyone.

Consider this. A recent article reported how 665 million people in India rely on open defecation. That means 665 million people shitting out in the open because they don’t have access to something we Westerners consider our God-given right, a toilet. That means hygiene and water pollution problems. That means bacteria, virus and parasites. That means people (especially women) get sick and taken out of the workforce. That means an economic drain on both the workforce and health care. That also means poor water supply because of both industrial and human effluent. Dirty water means more people getting sick and more bottled water to be processed. More bottled water means more pollution. You see where this is going? And this is happening all over the world. Unicef estimates that 1.2 billion people are affected with 884 million drinking unsafe water.

Now, the question is, do they know better or do they just not care?

We Westerners are quick to condemn the poor to their fate as if it was a choice. But that argument is false if given a moment of scrutiny. Are we to assume that people like to shit out in the open? Of course they don’t. But they have no choice. Still, the paradox remains. If one were to stop shitting out in the open, one would have a better quality of life. But, how can one have a better quality of life if one has no choice but to shit out in the open? The Catch-22 known as the Poverty Trap.

What does this have to do with anything, you may ask. Plenty. See, of we are to tackle the triumvirate problems of the economy, the environment and foreign policy, we must tackle it as one thing. This is Cerberus incarnate.

The only way to tackle our economy is if we re-invent the way the economy works. Our financial system is in tatters and there’s a good reason for it…greed. Not specifically corporate greed, not public greed, just greed. Gordon Gecko was wrong, greed is not good. Financial experts have realized that the only way to healthy economy is if we change the entire financial structure. And that means the rest of the world too. The hard part will be to convince executives to go against their baser instincts, to not be greedy. A tall order, I know, but what choice do we have? There is no short-term answer to the economy. None. That’s a fact. Yes, the stimulus helps, but it's a band-aid to our hemorrhaging economic wounds. To fix what ails us demands discipline, responsibility, a modicum of frugality and realistic sense of one's lifestyle. It demands it from everyone. Everyone.

The only way to tackle the environment is if every country in the world, yes every country (even the developing ones) rolls up their sleeves, switch to renewables, put a price on carbon, stop deforestation, change their current transportation fleet and re-design how everything we buy is made so that there is less waste in the product's manufacture and disposal. That means the U.S., Europe, the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), everyone.

And then there’s the little problem of foreign policy, specifically Afghanistan. Again, the only solution, the ones experts call for, is a concerted effort from every country that borders those two countries (yes, that means Iran) to deal with the problems there. Any policy that does not include foreign assistance is doomed to fail. And if we fail, we face the over-run of Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan by the militant Taliban. Pakistan, you know, where they have nuclear weapons, that Pakistan. If that happens, then the problems of the economy and the environment will seem, well…quaint. Again, to prevent what could potentially be the third world war, everyone has to get on board. Everyone.

Oh and here’s what makes it even more fun. If there’s a mis-step on any one of these negotiations, it affects the other two. If we piss off the Russians while looking for a solution to Afghanistan, we risk losing their help when it comes to bringing them to the table for environmental policy talks. If the Chinese lose faith in the U.S. dollar, then the ground becomes shaky when we talk to them about a new energy policy. We are, truly, in one-world thinking. See, the solution to all these problems is actually quite simple and it's the same solution for all three...unity. The sword that can kill the three-headed dog is that everyone has to get involved. Everyone. Simple, yet seemingly impossible (hence my pessimism).

We stand at a crossroads that we have never seen before. This is new country. We could work hard and pull ourselves out of the deepest hole we’ve ever been in or we don’t. If we don’t then you can find me at the top of my building, behind the barricades, armed and loaded, protecting my water and food supply, because that’s a world we may face.

Overwhelming, I know. But again, there’s hope. And this is where my neighbor and the 665 million Indians come into play. See, everyone reading this, gets it. They realize what’s at stake and they’re already doing their part. They are recycling and doing whatever they can…but it’s the ones living on the fringes of society that need to be reached. They need to be reached because the stark reality is that those people number in the billions. We, the “enlightened one” are actually the ones who live on the fringe.

So what to do? Certainly Obama is doing most of the heavy-lifting, but we all need to do our part, Reach out to those people who may not have a choice or may not know better...give to Unicef, give to the One Campaign, donate your time somewhere. And if you can’t do any of those things, spread the word. Me? I'm gonna talk to my neighbor.