Parker Palmer is the author of the books, "The Courage to Teach" and "Let Your Life Speak." He has his doctorate in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and is the co-founder of the Center for Courage and Renewal. He brought his wide background of experience to the Commonwealth Club of California, where he spoke recently about America's democratic experience -- how democracy thrives on the tension of conflicting ideas. You can hear his talk on Word for Word.
During that appearance, he was asked about the 2008 presidential election and what thoughts he had about all the excitement the race seems to be generating among young people. Here's what Parker Palmer had to say:
Are we helping young people understand the heartbreaking possibilities of having hope? Will they stay in this messy, conflictual tragic process only if it works out the way they want it to work out? Or will we, the elders, help them understand that heartbreak is part of the process, that it can open you into a larger form of participation and draw you deeper in, even when your candidate doesn't win, your issues don't win, your wishdreams aren't fulfilled. I frankly don't think we're teaching much of that. We don't teach the tragic dimension of life anymore.
What do you think? Are young people able to handle heartbreak when things don't work out their way? Is anyone? Why do people shut down in the political process when their candidate doesn't win? Are people not being taught how to see disappointment as an opportunity? When was the last time we've seen people participating in the political process with the kind of energy people are participating now? Did they know how to handle heartbreak?
_____________________
Larissa Anderson
Producer, Word for Word
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Comments: 6
There is something on the constitutional level that is exciting me. TwiceArizona's governor has stood her ground against washington as came out on top, the nationalguard to the border and illigal immigration. Other states are following suit. The founding father were affraid of federalization and loosing the individual states power.
This is American democracy in truth, something that the past 20 plus years in Washingtonhas tried to do away with. Some kids are smart and interested in politics, the majority aren't interested, voting this year is in vougue. In my opinion, they vote on everything like American Idol, and pay to do it. Stay warm in the oofda rez.
Obama has almost become a cult figure. People fainting and cheering when he blows his nose. He has become the "chicken in every pot" politician. He is really good at telling people what they want to hear. He is very big on ideals and very small on details.
Young folks buy into this very easily. They like the concepts but don't have the experience to understand out the details . I was once like that. 20 years ago. I have since grown up and couldn't vote for Obama or Clinton any more. I guess, working on straight commission, getting married, buying a house, and having a child, (and all in that order), change my political philosophy.
Obama is so bold about getting out of Iraq. He makes it sound so easy. If we left Iraq as fas as he says it would be a complete disaster.. But people want an easy answer.
It sounds so easy to just reverse the high end tax cuts and increase the capital gains tax without knowing it will cripple Wall Street. The people who provide us jobs.
Many of the Obama folks are tired of what the "old Democratic" party has to offer. Obama has been very good (except for The Bartender Ted Kennedy) at being seen with tired old democrats. No Jessie Jacksons, no Al Sharptons, no John Kerrys, no Al Gores, no Jimmy Carters..............
If Hillary gets it, it will be seen whether these folks will fall in line behind Hillary or not. Many will pull the lever for Hillary, but will the volunteer their efforts to the campaign? It's the same dillema for McCain. Sure many will pull the lever on election day, but will they take time out their busy lives to stuff envelopes, do literature drops, work phone banks etc.....
I remember being a Democrat in the mid 80's.......... I thought life would never go on after Michael Dukakis lost.
Obama makes it sound so easy. And it isn't. But people want it to be, so he tells them what they want to hear. I'm not sure if they can accept defeat. They are the generation that has been given a trophy for participation and not for winning. They are the generation that didn't keep score in school sports. They are the generation where self esteem was given and not earned.
I don't know what will happen if Obama folks don't win.
The other great thing is that, as mentioned above, the energy being generated this election year are drawing many new people in to the process. That energy is how this country is going to regenerate itself: this country has some serious problems, but many of those problems have come about because so many people have sat back and "observed" the political process for so long, that a small number of people have been able to buy elected officials, and make all the decisions.
Bear in mind that the President does not "rule" this country. It is a tripartite system, in which the congress and judiciary keep checks on the president (Thank Goodness, or think what George B might have done).
So, once this election is over, it is important for EVERYONE to stay involved in the process: read up on the issues, stay in touch with how your representatives are voting, and let them know your opinions.
Complaining on these webs sites is a start, but will have no direct effect.
You need to contact your elected officials, and let them know you want to take your country back.
Even though many of them are part of the problem, if enough of us voice our concerns they will be forced to listen.
If you haven't heard about it, there is an easy, free way to contact your elected officials: go to www.congress.org, enter your ZIP code in the "Write your officials" box, then click either "Federal" or "State" in the "Write to your __ elected officials..." section, and let them know what you think.
The message will be sent directly to them; they will almost always acknowledge your message, and, if enough people write, they WILL act.
While congress.org does offer some paid services, this one is free, no-obligation, and they don't share your email address.
I personally, would prefer to have someone in there who can accomplish something as someone who will be blocked by his own party on many issues. Bill Clinton encountered this as an "outsider" in his first term and that is partly why the health care bill did not pass then.
Obama will be viewed as an outsider and have the same problem whereas Hillary has been in the Senate going on her second term and has worked effectively with various others to get things accomplished and build many favors to collect. She will hit the ground running on day one!
Also, what dirt is going to be thrown at Obama by the swiftboaters? It will be ferocious at any rate and at always the worst time. His association with a realtor are ripe for problems as is some of the things about his church and it's pastor. I don't question Obama's position on either of these and his oath of office will satisfy me but I'm not a swiftboater either!
Perhaps Obama has such charm he can win the election and never get into specifics of things, after all, Regan did. But I doubt it. It will be interesting!
I think we all learn heatbreak on our own. The problem is what to do after your hopes are crushed, and the problem is the alienating disempowering system we grow up under. Almost from birth we are taught to rest our hopes on false images, products, flags and politicians. By virtue of the way these things are sold to us, effective solutions are filtered out and we are left with symptomatic treatment at best. We lose even when we win. What I fear that is being asked of us is that we not give up on politics, that we continue to beg our masters for longer chains and more spacious cells.
The bittersweet hope is that, while those same filters often make this easy to forget; arrest rates, poverty rates, and failing schools are not simply statistics. They represent real people, and they represent not just a failure to provide opportunity, but a failure to assimilate and coopt our desires into channels that are harmless to the overall system. At their worst they take even the option of surender off of the table.
When I hear that "We don't teach the tragic dimension of life anymore" I think of the attemps of the older generation and those in power to raise their children in bubbles and leave them deathly afraid of the world and needing protection from some higher power. It isn't just not taught it is denied.
I can however assure you that in dark corners of media, where people have stopped listening to the party lines and approved messages, where they are not stomped out or drowned out these lessons will pop up. the only thing to do is to encourage and allow questioning.
I'll offer you some of my favorite song lyrics from this generation.
"I Still Love You Julie"
Last night,
A room full, drunk,
Sang along to the songs I never had
The courage to write.
Given the chance
I'd stay in this chorus forever,
Where everything ugly in this world
Is sadly beautiful
In our desperate memories.
No, we're not
Gonna call everyone on their sh*t tonight,
Even though the half of you won't even smile
The next time we pass on the street.
Maybe somehow
This scam will still save us all...
Still save us all...
Still save us all
Then I saw you
Dancing at a punk rock show
And for a moment
We walked the streets that everyone else
Had given up to 4 AM,
'Cause promises
And spray paint marking
Everywhere we went
And every direction
Only going as far
As we let it.
There's so many things
We try to do truthfully.
By the time it's through with us,
It all falls apart.
Maybe somehow
This scam will still save us all.
"What We Worked For"
Lost the confidence to write a song,
So I found three simple chords
And held them together with my weak voice
On an out of tune guitar
My father gave to me.
And may Elvis turn in his grave
And Les Paul kiss my dirty, calloused fingers
And may the likes of this song never make
One f-cking dollar,
leave it for a demo tape
To be played until it's broken,
Then remembered only for what it was.
That we gave them hell
That we gave them hell
That we gave them hell
That we gave them hell
That we gave them hell
That we gave them hell
To my friends and enemies who could of been anything,
Titans and heroes who found survival in cause and effect.
Behind counters,
Behind windows,
Striving just
To be people
With bitter ideals of justice.
Do we only need to keep working because it pays rent?
Sleeping under plastic stars glued to ceiling,
Muscles burning alcohol and nicotine
Every morning.
But we gave them hell
But we gave them hell
But we gave them hell
But we gave them hell
But we gave them hell
But we gave them hell
There's a height beyond skyscrapers,
There's a distance beyond the freeway,
More than pictures in a magazine,
More than tragedy in a rock and roll song.
It's more than the actions you know are safe to make.
It's more than money could ever buy.
Are we living to work and die in American cities?
And working to live and die in American cities,
And dying for what we worked.
"Defeat"
Ash
Cinders
Use it all up, burn it all down, just don't let them take you alive
To live in resistance—that means to give up
Each day's bread for action, each night's sleep for dreams
To hang by a thread in the vacuum
Between what is and what is to be
To lose
Fight after fight, with no rest or respite
And to win back the chance to take risks, to take flight
The stakes that place life beyond price
Yes we walk in darkness
Under ten thousand stars
We embrace our desires
Even as they are torn from our arms
That agony—that is our triumph
That failure—that is our feat
We are nothing and no one, fed on wanting alone
And in wanting we're almost complete
We arrive here embattled, pursued and forlorn
Rich in stories that cannot be told or be borne
There's so much I still want to say, want to do
And I know I won't be here for long
To fight
Loss after loss, cost upon cost
And in the settling dust
The aftermath and despair
To pick up the pieces and set out once again from there
Yes we walked in the darkness
Under ten thousand stars
And awoke lost in deserts
There we trembled and paused
We were dragged by our demons
Through hell and heaven above
We wanted so badly to love life so madly
That wanting was almost enough
And though when we arrived, almost nothing remained
Of the visions that had guided us over horizons
And all destinations seemed foreign and strange
That agony—that is our triumph
That failure—that is our feat
We've raised anchor forever
The world lies in our wake
And that ache
There is nothing so sweet
There should be plenty of that spirit on display on ouside the convention center in Denver later this year.
I tried to find problems with this speech, but had a hard time and could only dig up
1. A lack of emphasis on what prevents people from doing the soul-searching that is needed.
2. As a sociologist I hoped mr. Palmer could provide some insight into what causes people to opress their fellow humans, either as rulers, supporters, or badge wielding thugs.
3. Democracy is not freedom, or to quote an incisive article....
The disempowerment of losers and out-groups is central to democracy, in contrast to forms of decision-making in which everyone's needs matter. It is well known that in ancient Athens, the "cradle of democracy," scarcely an eighth of the population was permitted to vote, as women, foreigners, slaves, and others were excluded from citizenship. This is generally regarded as an early kink that time has ironed out, but one could also conclude that exclusion itself is the most essential and abiding characteristic of democracy: millions who live in the United States today are not permitted to vote either, and the distinctions between citizen and non-citizen have not eroded significantly in 2500 years. Every bourgeois property owner can come up with a thousand reasons why it isn't practical to allow everyone whose interests are involved to share in decision making, just as no boss or bureaucrat would dream of giving his employees an equal say in their workplace, but that doesn't make it any less exclusive. What if - we must at least broach the hypothesis - democracy arose in Greece not as a step in "Man's Progress Towards Freedom," but as a way of keeping power out of certain hands?
Democracy is the most sustainable way to maintain the distinction between powerful and powerless because it gives the greatest possible number of people incentive to maintain that distinction.
That's why the high-water mark of democracy - it's current ascendancy around the globe - corresponds with unprecedented inequalities in the distribution of resources and power. Dictatorships are inherently unstable: you can slaughter, imprison, and brainwash entire generations and their children will invent the struggle for freedom anew. But promise every man the opportunity to be a dictator to be able to force the "will of the majority" on his fellows rather than work through disagreements like a mature adult, and you can build a common front of destructive self-interest against the cooperation and collectivity that make individual freedom possible. All the better if there are even more repressive dictatorships near at hand to point to as "the" alternative, so you can glorify all this in the rhetoric of liberty.
For me the most active example in our culture of what he speaks of it taking place millions of times a minute in all the Marriages, committed Relationships, or attempts at committed Relationships. I have been working on marriages (mine and probably 2500 others) for about 15 years. Those issues of opening the heart, etc. are commonplace, the skills necessary are more and more obvious, the heart-ache arising from people who are learning is papable. I was surprised that the only example he mentioned of this enormous phenomenon was of a parent and a child. Ah well.
As for politics, I am pretty comfortable that the mistake we, as a democracy, are making is that of trying to wed the Presidency with the Congress. My readings suggest that G. Washington was pretty clear that the President should not be part of the fray at all. I believe the president's job is to make it safe (in the world) for the Congress and the People to enter into the fray, the confusion, the tension.
My suggestions to Obama is that when he wins, on that night, he disconnects in some formal way from the Democratic Party. That he assembles a completely, to his mind, non-partisan cabinet and team. And when in office, he announces that he will veto any bill before him that does not have very obvious bi-partisan support. "Hey, I am sending this back to you, so that you can take some more time and get you s... together."
Just a thought. Thanks to Larissa and to Parker.