Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Spread the Word
It seems obvious in retrospect that people base their opinions largely on their point of view. Tax breaks for rich people seem great to the aristocracy, not so wonderful to working stiffs or the unemployed.
But often times things are more complicated than that. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal program put people to work, gave them hope, and likely avoided class warfare. On the other hand, the Grand Coulee Dam completely wiped out salmon runs on the Columbia River that Spokane and other Indian tribes had depended on as the basis of their economy and culture for thousands of years. From where they stood, the WPA didn't seem so hot.
Presently, grassroots members of Roosevelt's political party, the Democrats--especially those who experienced the Depression and the Civil Rights eras--have come out in support of the human rights campaign for immigrants in America. But immigrants, most notably those who are indigenous to North America, have been around long enough to know better than to trust electoral politics or political parties to look out for their interests.
I expect this time around they'll be more than a little cautious in whose advice and assistance they take, and understandably leery of the potential for treachery and betrayal as they prepare to negotiate with more powerful levels of the dominant society. From their point of view, power is too dangerous in concentrated form; to reduce its potential for lethal consequences, it needs to be spread around.
But often times things are more complicated than that. Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal program put people to work, gave them hope, and likely avoided class warfare. On the other hand, the Grand Coulee Dam completely wiped out salmon runs on the Columbia River that Spokane and other Indian tribes had depended on as the basis of their economy and culture for thousands of years. From where they stood, the WPA didn't seem so hot.
Presently, grassroots members of Roosevelt's political party, the Democrats--especially those who experienced the Depression and the Civil Rights eras--have come out in support of the human rights campaign for immigrants in America. But immigrants, most notably those who are indigenous to North America, have been around long enough to know better than to trust electoral politics or political parties to look out for their interests.
I expect this time around they'll be more than a little cautious in whose advice and assistance they take, and understandably leery of the potential for treachery and betrayal as they prepare to negotiate with more powerful levels of the dominant society. From their point of view, power is too dangerous in concentrated form; to reduce its potential for lethal consequences, it needs to be spread around.
