The South Fell Again

For those who watched College Football's National Championship game last night, there was a conspicuous absence among the participants: a team from the South. Last year's championship was between Washington and Michigan. This year's championship was between Ohio State and Notre Dame. And for those who were sick and tired of all of the arrogant boasting coming from Southern football fans, the past two championships have provided a breath of fresh air. The only drawback to these absences is that the North could become arrogant.

But there is something far more significant to notice about all of these sporting event playoffs. It is that they are being held in kind of royal palaces that provide many amenities to the attendees and participants and these amenities point to the direction of our society. It shows what society is investing in both in terms of time and substance. As we marvel at these great venues, we realize that a significant portion of our nation's investing is in entertainment, largely for the haves, instead of education and infrastructure for all, and for our present enjoyment instead of preparing for the future. This kind of investment has been going on for a while now. And then we often incredulously complain when the chickens of not investing in the future come home to roost.

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr. day and because of what society is investing most in, his dream is dying. What was that dream? It was, according to his 1967 interview with Xander Vanocur (click here for the interview),  a dream for true equality. That true equality was not just the stages of equality gained from his earlier work which he labeled as a struggle for decency. It included that plus an economic equality between the races.

We should note that with the beginning of our current form of Capitalism, which is Neoliberal Capitalism, income and wealth disparities have constantly grown both between the economic classes and the races. The IMF has noted that when those disparities grow too large, they can destabilize a society. And one way of reducing that growth in those disparities is to invest in education, job training, and in regulations that protect and empower workers. So what are we doing? We are being content with watching one form of entertainment after another while refusing to be aware of how our failure to prepare for the future can have ominous effects.

It certainly is not wrong to enjoy entertainment, such as watching sporting events. What is wrong is our refusal to adequately invest in the future especially by refusing to invest in the people who need the greatest support. If we continue refuse to invest in people, in our future, then, like the South, we will fall. And if we are lucky, we will  become vulnerable to fall again, though falling again is not necessary.