Santa Monica may be the most comfortable place to live in the entire world. We have excellent year around weather, access to world class amenities and enough affluence as a city to cover more than our hierarchy of needs. And that is the problem…
There is no doubt that our country’s fundamental ideals, its very Constitution are under grave attack. Other countries look at the US right now and wonder why we are sitting in our homes, seemingly business as usual as the President of the US rends apart our institutions—while a private citizen, who effectively bought our federal government for roughly $250 million is gaining access to the gears that we function on.
Why aren’t we taking to the streets? Can you imagine if this was happening in France? Look at South Korea where months ago an estimated half-a-million people took to the streets after their president tried to enact martial law and suspend the government.
As a Xennial; half Gen X, half Millennial, we watched as protests did nothing to limit the Iraq wars or a 20-year adventure in Afghanistan, which cost thousands of lives and billions of dollars. Antifa, Occupy Wall Street and Pro-Palestinian protests were arguably successfully rebranded as outlier anarchist movements. Not to mention that our parents came of age during the Vietnam war, wherein their brothers came home without arms or in body bags. They protested and tried to turn the entire society around and yet the war went on and on—the protests seemingly did nothing.
All the while the rich have gotten richer, the middle smaller and the bottom larger. It is almost a paradox that many of us are struggling more than ever AND at the same time, we are too comfortable to make substantive changes as a country.
Enter the populist! Eat up his promises that everything can be returned to another magical time if only we can cast away the evil immigrants and stop this DEI transformation of our otherwise brilliant white country!
Yes, this is complicated. Yes, the media, tied first to profit and somewhere far down the list to shining a light into the darkness, has contributed immeasurably to the blaming of marginalized groups for the inequality instead of themselves and wealthy classes who own them.
But it is our relative success materially that has made us soft. And in this dire moment where we watch in shock, doing nothing, as a group of oligarchs, using the tough guy façade of a reality TV star, devour our country.
What can we do? More than half the country voted for him! He is the president. And that’s just it—in our hearts we all know what we could do. But there is so much to lose in doing it. Our comfort. Our certainty. Our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor..?
And the youth, who we might expect in this moment to rise and up fight for their future, are soothed by tiktok videos and the promises of consumption. The youth are also comfortable.
The “Founding Fathers” bled for the constitution that is now trampled upon. Yes, their sins, those of slavery and righteousness follow us into these moments. There is blame there. But there was immense courage as well.
Maybe I am overreacting? Maybe this is a moment—a swing of the political pendulum. Maybe it swings back in two or four or eight years, and the wild fire that is burning through the institutions of our country, makes space for things like universal healthcare and the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment?
Maybe this is the Boomer’s adolescent extinction burst—who after failing to stop the Vietnam war, or create a fairer society, find themselves cynical and entitled—that the rest of us must endear before we can get down to the business of building a future in the new technologically different world that lies ahead of us?
Maybe? That is what I tell myself so I don’t feel so terrible about trying to put one foot in front of the other and do my business. To justify my comfort?
I am worried that my daughter will not have access to healthcare. I am worried that my son will be sent off to die in another war for profit.
I have the fear that we are lobsters warming to a boil. A warm comfortable bath that slowly kills us. My great hope is that we wake up in time to leap out of the pot and rebuild our society into one that is truly just. I still have faith in the people of America to see through the social media fog and do what must be done. But losing the comfort of our lives will be painful, and likely necessary.
What if we all went on strike-stopped working, business as usual. We’re not that comfortable, are we?
I remain hopeful that we will overcome this moment. But I acknowledge my own fear of losing what is comfortable—as for Santa Monica, I hope we get to keep the weather.
