The Advocate

Let’s Talk About “America”

Joseph Kaminski
Here at the Graduate Center there seems to be a prevailing idea that America is a place that “is on the brink of change.” As we prepare for the upcoming elections, we see increased coverage of both John Kerry and George W. Bush. Both candidates, yes, even W., are attempting to offer programs of “change” for the next four years. Whether it is with regard to the handling of Iraq or domestic policies, something “new” is on the horizon.

But need to reevaluate our perspectives on the American political landscape. There is a country outside of the greater New York City Metropolitan area that has far different values than we tend to have here. I speak, of course, of the Midwest.

The Midwestern United States is a vast region of space, spanning from Eastern Ohio to far beyond the Mississippi River. States covered in this blanket term include Indiana (my home state), Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas. Here we see a completely different form of political organization and structure. In these areas, “activism” involves aligning with a church group or some other at least semi-formal or recognized community group. While these groups may embrace worthwhile causes (parks restoration, environmental clean up, financial assistance to the needy), it is important to note that the aesthetic underlying these organizations is far different than what we see in New York City. While the activists in these Midwestern communities may have lofty goals for reform, they are not necessarily in accordance with the radical ideals held by the core founders and position holders of many metropolitan activist groups.

Many of these Midwestern activist groups lack what Hegel called a “total” agenda of universal transformation of the whole, and focus instead on a more pragmatic “single issue.” While groups that focus on parks development and urban change in the East commonly harbor Marxist sentiments, if only subconsciously, this is not the norm when it comes to Midwestern styles of popular activism. Groups such as the Lions’ Club and the Rotary Club offer many outlets for community activism in a truly progressive sense, but their work is much less teleological and ideologically driven. Instead, this activism focuses on particular issues and emphasizes direct and immediate action. While these specific issues may be progressive in nature, nonetheless, presenting these groups with a radical set of “points of unity” will not only alienate any broader coalition, but possibly will drive these groups into the arms of more reactionary camps. It is easy to frighten off potential “brothers in arms” with discourses of “Marxist utopias” or “Proletariat dictatorships.”

The only way to amalgamate these groups effectively into a more formidable coalition is to present them with an agenda that is less threatening to the ways of life many of the Midwestern activists enjoy. This hearkens back to the age-old question of the “two Americas.”

The best way to effectively bridge this gap is to make progressive in-roads to these more conservative activist groups slowly, emphasizing single issues instead of grand narratives that advocate “radical transformations of the whole.” In this age of fragmentary day-to-day interaction, we can only act by taking smaller steps toward reaching out to the broader whole. As we continue to change the fragments, we can slowly, at the same time, alter the consciousness of the greater whole. The question that this addresses it: How do you get the Democratic Socialists of America to work together with a Midwestern Park and Recreation community group without alienating one or the other?

The answer is that the Left must be patient and willing to work with groups that are more moderate in nature, without enforcing an ideological orthodoxy. The Left must take responsibility for bridging this gap, because the far Right will not. Unifying these coalitions can potentially get states that are “overwhelmingly conservative” to, over time, soften their tone. In doing this, values of progressive policy can be fully and effectively introduced into the sphere of discourse. If groups from the East can successfully align themselves with groups west of New Jersey that also have moderate to progressive agendas, then we can hope to finally see a truly uniform effort for progressive/positive change.

Joseph Kaminski is a student in the PhD program in Political Science.