WE ARE US

 

Among the incredibly obvious things that apparently elude a significant percentage of humans is the fact that "we" are nested entities.

We are constituent parts of the universe, the supercluster, the local cluster, the galaxy, the solar system, the planet, the animal kingdom, mammals, humans, nations, regions, states, cities/counties, neighborhoods. We are a small portion of all of those things. All of those things certainly have other parts as well but, we would be included in any complete inventory of those entities.

The physical, social and cultural constructs of humanity are also constituent parts of all of those nested entities. While much of human misery throughout history is rooted in concepts of otherness, we are all parts of the same systems. Think about how your brain and heart and liver and lungs look nothing alike but are all part of you - such integral parts that severe injury to any of those parts can cause you to cease to exist. Not all of our parts are crucial in the same way. Some can be injured or removed without killing us but all our parts have a purpose, and we work better with them in place and functioning properly.

Some of those constructs of humans are not generalized. They function to affect humans of a specific type or location. Humans of other types in other locations might choose an alternate but corresponding function. Examples of such can be found in the various governmental and economic philosophies.

Earlier today I saw there had been established a GoFundMe for the victims of the flooding tragedy in TX. Rather obviously, GoFundMe is a social/economic construct of humans. What might not be as obvious is GoFundMe is in large part, a socialist construct. It is a collective response to a localized tragedy.

There are a lot of socialist elements in the government of the USA. We don't like to admit that because those who benefit from our fear of "the other" have conditioned us over scores of years to think of any "ism" other than capitalism as lesser. To avoid having to actually acknowledge the socialist elements they avoid using that term in the name or descriptions. It is disingenuous and hypocritical, but it is also effective. We embrace socialism to avoid financially inconveniencing those with nearly unlimited funds - but we avoid calling it what it is so as to avoid causing them even the slightest discomfort.

FEMA, under responsible and more ethical administrations, is an entity to enable and effect a collective response to localized disasters. It is socialist in spirit and effect but not in name. Medicare and Medicaid also meet that criteria. Though Medicaid in particular might be known by any of several names, what it does and how it does it is not dependent on the name. Social Security might be the most obvious socialist element in our government because the name hints at it but it is far from the only one.

I don't dislike GoFundMe. I don't even mistrust their intentions. In no way am I attempting to dissuade anyone from using that platform or similar platforms to assist our fellow citizens. However, I do find it ludicrous that in the richest nation in the world, and according to the specifics of the metrics, possibly the richest nation in history, we feel the need to rely on a voluntary platform to address real need. The folks in TX should not have to depend on the willingness of their fellow citizens to part with what little disposable funds they have. The same is true of those affected by other disasters.

Attending to citizens after a disaster is a right and proper function of government. There is nothing at all wrong with ancillary organizations helping be they neighborhoods, churches, professional orgs, online entities or even other nations. Sometimes we have an emotional need to help. We need to believe that we have done something to assist victims of tragedy over and above what the government organizations are tasked with. I have no issue with anyone doing actual good. I have a huge issue with government shirking their responsibilities and leaving it to ad hoc socialism to clean up the mess. Individually few of us have the resources and skills to replace government organizations. Responding ad hoc to each tragedy will ensure that some things, some people, fall through the cracks. We need to be ready to respond with a collective and capable response even if it absolutely reeks of socialism.

We are us, even when you don't like to think of us that way.