I'm a mixed breed; I'll bet you are too
Well, if the coming crisis of the Fourth Turning is People vs. Corporations, that means it will be a civil war. Sure, there are lots of non-American corporations. And sure, somebody else, probably England, invented the notion of a Corporation in the first place. But we Americans have perfected the notion. We’re like the Japanese or the Microsoft of Corporations. We didn’t invent the idea. But man, we sure took it on a sweet ride.
So if there is to be a People vs. Corporations battle, it will be an intra-American battle. Americans “against” Americans.
In every civil war, there are lots of “mixed breeds” – i.e. people with ties to both sides in the conflict. Civil wars are always about brother against brother.
Well, if it’s true that the coming battle will be between People and Corporations, I must say that this troubles me deeply. Because I’ll confess that I’m part-Person, and part-Corporation. Yes, I’m a mixed breed.
Yes, I can see that the Corporations, as a group, are out of control. Yes, I can see that they’ve “gone too far”. Yes, I believe that dramatic and profound changes are needed to the whole notion of what a Corporation is, to what Corporations should and shouldn’t be able to do, and to the process by which Corporations are dissolved. So, I suppose, these beliefs put me squarely in the camp of the People.
But, on the other hand, I’m 40, and my entire working life has been spent working for Corporations. Most everybody I know and love works for Corporations. Moreover, some of the stuff we People have – stuff that I believe only Corporations could effectively produce – is the very stuff that has let us know we People are all just people. I’ll write more on that notion later.
Just note that you probably wouldn’t be reading this if it weren’t for the Corporations. In other words, without the Corporations, the Internet as we are using it today, probably wouldn’t exist. So this is good for the People. Now some People don’t seem to know how to receive a gift. Is a simple “thank you” too much to ask for? I mean, let’s say some guy hands us an apple in the hopes that, in return, we will wash his car for him. Well, for one reason or another, let’s s say that we don’t wash his car, but we still keep the apple. After all, it was a gift. The least thing we could do is say “Hey buddy, thanks for the apple.” For the useful gifts of the Corporations, I say: “Thanks Corporations.”
So if you ask me, I’d say “yay!” for the Corporations! And then in the next breath I’d say “yay!” for the People!
But Strauss & Howe tell me that “People vs. Corporations” has called "dibs" on the next crisis. Moreover, current signs in our culture are indicating that People are slowly waking up to the tricks and schemes of the Corporations. I’ll get to that in some later posts.
That’s all well and good. But what I’m nervous about is the prospect of millions of People suddenly waking up and panicking. Have you ever been in a deep, dream-filled sleep and had somebody wake you, alarm in their voice? In that situation, we bolt up awake, hearts thumping, minds confused. Is this still a dream, or is it reality? We’re not ready to face the crisis with our “best stuff”.
Remember that deadly fire earlier this year in that Rhode Island dance club? 97 people dead. Right after that, 21 were killed in a Chicago nightclub fire. From those tragedies, lots of clubs learned some lessons.
But what about the rest of us? Is there anything for us to learn? Is the lesson: “Don’t go into nightclubs”? Is it: “Well if you do go, make sure you make a note of the escape routes as soon as you walk in”?
I’ll suggest there’s even a deeper lesson beyond dance clubs. The lesson is this: Wake up! Wake up and look around us. Because if we don’t, and the raging fire of history just sweeps over us one day, then we could be the People trampled at the bottom of the pile, unless we’re lucky enough to get pulled out the side window.
The commentary section of this site is a running chronicle what I think the smoke signals of this “raging fire of history” look like in our everyday lives. But for now, I’ll say that if there is indeed an impending crisis, my hope is that few get trampled. But that will happen only if there is little panic. And that will happen only if we wake up and look around us before the smoke turns into flames.
Toward “waking up”, in the next post, I’ll dive into Strauss & Howe.
[posted: 12/12/03]