Let’s Learn From Eric Hoffer

Eric Hoffer, the fabled longshoreman philosopher and author, was known for his brilliant ability to distill down seemingly complex ideas and viewpoints to a human scale analogy that clarifies the issue under question.

One example of this is contained in an essay in his book, “In Our Time”, where he describes the dynamic in play during the cold war between the United States and the USSR. He likened what was happening to two grade school bullies in a sandbox, shouting insults and kicking sand at each other from a distance. But neither of them was willing to start a physical altercation because they were both afraid the other might get the better of them. A very worrisome and complicated international dispute was neatly defined at a very understandable human level.

We should not overlook our ability to apply this wisdom and logic to current day challenges and events. Allow me to share an example here that addresses the apparent lack of will by the two top Democrat legislative leaders, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi to put their power on the line on behalf of all Americans.

Here is the scene to ponder. You and I are on the sidewalk on the same side of a busy street lined with stores and businesses. We are a few dozen yards away from each other. As you step out of a store, you are attacked by a bandit who threatens you and grabs your package with the intent to steal it from you. He clearly is willing to physically harm you if you try to resist. I am close enough to the scene to witness in detail the entire incident, but I am out of the sightline of your aggressor, so I am not noticed. I do nothing. I say nothing. I just watch. I might be hoping you do not get hurt, and I am upset at the sight of what the attacker is doing to you. But I can think of many reasons why I should not, cannot, get involved with your unfortunate circumstance.

After I leave the scene, I may even tell a friend about what I witnessed and express much angst and moral high mindedness about how awful it was. This would help get my guilt about not helping you off my chest a bit while trying to sound like I really cared.

Did I break any laws with my choice of conduct? Was I responsible for your safety and wellbeing in this case? Technically, the answer to both questions is no. Did I do the right thing? This is a more difficult question to answer. Getting involved in your unfortunate event would put me personally at risk. Hey, I have a family! I have personal responsibilities! Wouldn’t it be irresponsible of me to take such a risk in light of that?

Can we apply this story to how Schumer and Pelosi have been conducting themselves during the last four years? They have been witnessing constant disasters and crimes being openly committed and have offered little more than a few loud tsk, tsk, tsk noises throughout this disastrous period. When the did take any action, it was very carefully executed in a manner to make certain they were not personally at risk in the process. Can it be considered effective leadership when the individual holding that position is not willing to put their reputation and comfortable status at risk for critical causes that affect everyone they are supposed to protect?

Schumer and Pelosi are wealthy individuals who live very charmed and comfortable lives. They are political royalty. Their entire countenance is a constant and careful calculation of actions and moves that are intended to conserve their power, enhance their public image, and increase their options and advantages.

But what about the rest of America? We live in a time when we are not being looked out for by the people we entrust with that responsibility. There is nothing in motion at this time that would make anyone optimistic about that changing. Can we depend on people like Schumer and Pelosi to have a personal epiphany that leads them to change their stripes? The history of legislative leaders who awaken to the folly of their lives and the sullied cocoon they operate in reveals that they resign and leave their positions, instead of changing their stripes and taking on the good fight against their status quo. I cannot think of anyone in our contemporary political history who has set that example.

It is up to us as individuals and communities to advance the changes that need to be made. It cannot and will not be accomplished at the ballot box during an election cycle. The American people have been left out of the process, both through reduction of efforts to teach civics in our secondary education system, and through negligence of the fourth estate to objectively inform the public at large transparently enough to see what and where the most critical challenges are. This also includes the tendency by the fourth estate toward covering up and withholding information about the history and character of individuals who are asking us to trust them with our personal and national wellbeing.

In summary, we are now called to action to work together as citizens assembled to address our social ills and make it clear to our representatives at all levels they are being watched and held accountable for all they do. We have several decades behind us with the experiment of farming out this responsibility to our elected officials, and we now know that is not a successfully strategy.