History in the Making

Yesterday had a long but productive work day.  The Japan Business Association of Southern California celebrated its 50th year at a largely successful Symposium and Gala Dinner last night.  It was a celebration and gathering of folks from the Japanese American and Japanese business, government, nonprofit, and education sectors, and something I actually found myself feeling lucky to be a part of.  It was for work, yes, that I had to attend and even help out as a runner, and perhaps at times the day of US-Japan alliance themes seemed a bit propaganda-ish, but all in all, I think it is pertinent to the overall thought that this is a time of great change and at the same time serious turmoil. 

The Symposium panel of the day explored the theme of Japan and whether it will ever reemerge.  The sentiment in mainstream U.S. media is that Japan is a declining, aging country with a passion-less, complacent youth generation that will soon take over and is currently burdened by a failing national group of leaders.  The country is too insular, they write, and its economy is in the worst shape it's been in since the late 80s/early 90s.  All of this, written in favor of China, the rising, ever-growing Asian country presumably with the most potential.  But the panel opened my eyes, further, to the profound and significant effect of the media on an entire country's perspectives on not just local or national, but global, issues.  Japan isn't so terribly off, it's just going through a rough time and needs to go through some deep cultural, social and political changes before it can reclaim it's previous place on the global stage.  After all, it STILL is the 3rd largest economy in the world even if it did move there because of China.  It is still largely functional and holds some significant trump cards in areas like clean energy technology, car making, some areas of business, and cultural influences.  But most people here in the U.S. don't know any of that.  It made me realize that, perhaps, there are so many ways that organizations like the one I work for, the U.S.-Japan Council, can take a prominent role, and change and better those views by gaining a stronger and more visible voice on issues like these.

Not to oversimplify too much -- the people and political motivations behind initiatives like these are definitely worth taking a look at -- but it is also important to note and maintain a keen sense of awareness of situations like these, so as to hold the right people accountable for what should really be happening here.

Okay.  So zoom in to the United States, to California, to Los Angeles (or in this case, Orange County).

The media is feeding us crazy things these days, and there seems to be so much hate, ignorance, and bigotry running rampant.  It's almost as if we've gone back into time, back to the 40s, 50s, and 60s, only with different targets of discrimination.

Let's take a look at some of these headlines and news-makers, shall we?

The black anti-abortion movement grows

Anti-Muslim protesters in Orange County

UCSD battles another racist incident

Texas group offers scholarships exclusively for white males

Fox rails against Seattle cops for "socialist social justice" policies

Who's behind the anti-Sharia law crusade? A white supremacist

And that, my friends, is everything I found just today, off of only 2 sources: Angry Asian Man and Colorlines.

Seriously, it makes you wonder what the hell is happening right now.  Sure, our political pendulum swings left and right every so often, but this is just getting out of hand.  It's like the entire clock broke and the pendulum got stuck on the entirely wrong side of the the spectrum.

You can add those to the global scale - namely, Libya, Haiti, and China - and you've got yourself some possible steps to a whole new social and political revolution.

If you ask me, I think we can use one right about now.  Progressives need to step up their game - and need to learn to play the game.  The right way (pun intended).

But then let's stop and think for a second.  Why are these people even receiving so much media attention?  Granted, Colorlines is a Progressive online publication dedicated to raising awareness about these ongoings, but the fact that the the larger media gives these bigoted, ignorant people so much attention helps spread the hatred.  It may not be the biggest problem perpetuating these myths, but it certainly is a large contributor.

How much? is maybe a good question.  Or what kind of effect exactly does the spread of these kinds of stories about hate, including through outlets like Fox News, have on larger society's perceptions about these people and political issues?  Is this making it worse? 

Maybe all of this is moot.  Instead, perhaps we should be thinking about holding ourselves accountable for the kinds of reactions we have to these stories.  Are Progressives acting on these stories and issues the way they should?  As a group, are we being effective in pursuing these people and communicating with the right ones to figure out an effective solution?

If these "crazies" really represent a small group, a minority, of Conservatives, who should we be working with to make sure they stop doing this kind of damage?

There are so many questions, a lot of which I do not have answers to right now.  All I know is that we hear these stories every day, and the fact that this is still happening means there is something we're not doing.  Plenty of organizations out there are doing great work, but maybe there needs to be redefining of Progressive and Liberal work altogether.  The communication between groups that should be working against these Tea Party-type fringe right-wing groups has been broken for too long.  There need to be steps taken to fix this.  Easier said than done, of course, but it all needs to start somewhere.

Who will do it and where is perhaps the biggest question of all.  On so many levels, there is a great potential for profound, long-lasting positive change.  For Japan, the US, for Los Angeles, for us.

As a close to this incredibly loaded post, this is a must-read for anyone interested in any of these questions:

Untellable Truths by George Lakoff.

So many great points, so little time.