Integration - Democratic Underground

H2O Man

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Wed Aug-27-08 09:06 AM
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Integration

"Think for yourself; act for others."
--Onondaga Chief Paul Waterman

Human history, in both the individual and group sense, involves the tensions between integration and disintegration. The evolution of the human brain contains the seeds of conflict between different levels of consciousness; as Carl Sagan points out in his classic "The Dragons of Eden," the outer layer of the human brain created the self-awareness that the ancient teachers described in poetic ways as the "fall from grace," where humans began to identify themselves as distinct from the natural world.

In both individual and group existence, "health" involves the integration of different parts into a functioning whole. This involves recognition of the inherent tensions, and requires great effort to find balance by integration. The inability to recognize the value of the different "parts," and an effort to deny the value of each part leads to unhealthy conflicts.

The history of the United States involves both processes. Perhaps the most unhealthy of American myths involves the denial of the value of "others." There were divisions from Day One: these included sexism, racism, ageism, classism, and other types of social stratification.

The forced dis-integration in American society resulted in almost every instance of violence and brutality. The military campaigns against Native Americans, and the institution of slavery, are the most obvious examples. And the forced dis-integration (or segregation) of other ethnic groups was also as American as apple pie.

The tensions grew to an extent that resulted in the nation’s Civil War. It was a combination of socio-economic tensions, which divided – or dis-integrated – the larger society.

The post- Civil War era included significant fracturing of the extended family systems in American society. In the northeast, where I live, this led to a failure in individual integration in society, which was marked in the 1890s by a huge spike in suicides and violent crimes.

In the post WW2 era, the greater society attempted to define itself as a large set of "Father Knows Best." The cultural tensions were connected by attempts to force all members of society to accept the self-righteous values of white men. Attempts to integrate the culture, on the scale from individual families to the larger society, were met with violence. In his classic "The Sane Society," Erick Fromm documents the results: huge spikes in mental illness, violent crime, substance abuse, and suicide.

The nation’s second "civil war" took place in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. It included the further fracturing of the family unit. And when people such as Martin Luther King, Jr., worked to heal society’s illnesses by bringing about a non-violent integration, they were often attacked, beaten, or – like King – killed. There was, of course, violence on the part of different sides of the civil war: the Klan, the police, and militant groups. In each case, those who used violence relied on the self-justification that they had the right to be aggressively violent.

It is no coincidence that Richard Nixon, the father of the modern republican party, exploited the fears, hatred, and violence that was disintegrating the social structure, in order to gain political power. Students of Nixonian politics have continued this self-righteous policy of "divide and conquer" in order to maintain social and political power. The most extreme examples of these republicans are indeed parasites that feed upon the host of a disintegrating society.

In the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, we witnessed powerful examples of the ability of our party to integrate groups that have too long been isolated from power. Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton changed the face of "politics as usual." Neither candidate was/is perfect, but both they and their supporters have made huge contributions in moving this nation towards a healthy potential.

Racism and sexism have not been "cured." We witnessed the evidence of this during the campaign. In part, we saw examples of how these social diseases still affect individual democrats. More, we see definite proof that the republican party, with the assistance of their corporate media friends, attempt to spread the germs of fear and hatred, hoping to infect the larger society.

We have the ability to move past that today. There are, of course, significant differences of viewpoint and values within the Democratic Party. We can either act in a way that integrates these groups, by recognizing everyone’s right to their own beliefs and values, or we can allow divisions to fracture the party, and hard feeling to fester and drown us in a republican pus.

Today, former President Bill Clinton will be among the speakers at our Convention. We have heard from Senator Ted Kennedy, Michelle Obama, and Senator Hillary Clinton. We will also be hearing from Joseph Biden and Barack Obama, among others. It is time for the members of our party to move, as individuals and as groups, to a more mature, higher level of integrating the party. When we consider the group of speakers listed above, and recognize that while they each have individual strengths and weaknesses, and individual opinions and beliefs, we should appreciate that they are working towards uniting our party.

There are some individuals, including those found at the Convention and on the internet, who continue to refuse to invest in the unity that results in integrating the party. Some may be republican operatives; others are surely emotionally disturbed individuals who believe that they, and they alone, define "democratic values." Please do not react to them. Stay focused on unity, and those who are supposed to integrate into the larger party will.

Thank you for listening to an old man ramble on and on.

Your friend,
H2O Man