Third World America - Arianna Huffington [33]
In 1969, Pete Hamill published “The Revolt of the White Lower Middle Class” in New York magazine.150 It reads like it could have been published yesterday. “The working-class white man sees injustice and politicking everywhere in this town now,” Hamill wrote, “with himself in the role of victim.” He noted “an increasing lack of personal control over what happens to them.” The result was a “growing talk of revolt.” Hamill concluded, “If the stereotyped black man is becoming the working-class white man’s enemy, the eventual enemy might be the democratic process itself.”
By April 2010, over half the nation—and 92 percent of Tea Partiers—believed that President Obama was moving the country toward socialism.151 Combine our anxiety over the meltdown with today’s downward economic mobility, and you get scapegoating run amok. A Harris Poll in March 2010 showed that, among Republicans, 57 percent believe Obama is a Muslim, 38 percent believe he “is doing many of the things that Hitler did,” and 24 percent believe that the president “may be the Anti-Christ.”152
Even if the poll’s methodology was flawed and the numbers are a fraction of these, this is crazy. But then again, according to psychologist Michael Bader, paranoia is a natural response to the suffering brought on by economic hard times.153 “Paranoid people are trying their best to make sense of and mitigate feelings of helplessness and worthlessness,” Bader writes. “People can’t tolerate feeling helpless and self-hating for very long. It’s too painful … too demoralizing, too frightening. They have to find an antidote. They have to make sense of it all in a way that restores their sense of meaning … their self-esteem, and their belief in the possibility of redemption.” To do so, they often create “a narrative—a set of beliefs about the way the world is and is supposed to be—[that] helps make sense of chaos.” This often involves projecting blame onto others and creating an enemy to go after.
As we head into the 2010 midterm elections, and get more and more reports of extremist behavior and more news bites of the rhetoric of rage, let’s keep in mind that the explanations people give to pollsters and reporters are often a reflection of our growing economic anxiety. While we need the media to stop pouring gasoline on the bonfires of discontent burning across America, we also need to recognize the underlying reasons for this anger and discontent. Americans are afraid that we, as a nation, are losing our way, and to many of us, the nightmare of a Third World America is becoming frighteningly real.
JOHNNY PARKER
It’s funny how life throws you for a loop. One day, my wife and I—who have a beautiful three-year-old daughter—have a nice home, drive two newish cars, and don’t have to choose between paying the bills and buying food. We were financially stable.
I worked full-time in a mental rehabilitation center. It wasn’t the best pay, but it was more than enough for us. We lived simple lives—no extravagant vacations, no splurging at holidays or birthdays. We never had the money to build up savings, but we always had enough.
In April 2007 all that changed. I worked hard at my job, I’d never gotten in trouble, never been late. I got praise from my supervisors. I was working double and triple shifts and taking on new responsibilities, so I asked for a pay raise.
A month later I got called into a meeting with the program director and the director of nursing. I was told I’d done nothing wrong, but they would have to let me go. They would not tell me why, but just said I should file for unemployment.
So I did. The checks were enough to cover the rent, but not utilities and food. We rented out our office and our daughter