When You See America, Do You See Love?
In a sensible, common-sense, and ultimately uplifting essay called "Look Out!" Elizabeth Beggins reminds us that we are not Humpty-Dumpty, after all.
Click below for audio
Recently, I came across some optimistic thoughts about America and democracy, which made me feel hopeful about our future.
Anyone who survived childhood has certainly heard some version of this caveat: Every right or privilege comes with a set of corresponding responsibilities. When my father gave teenaged me the keys to the car, I knew it meant bringing it back on time and in one piece. As an adult, I have the right to drive a car, but I also agree to obey the rules of the road and not drive under the influence of alcohol.
Dr. Richard Haass, the outgoing president of the Council on Foreign Relations has put these and other similar ideas into a new book called The Bill of Obligations. He means for the list to be considered alongside the Bill of Rights in our Constitution.
I like that idea.
Especially now that everyone’s so vocal about the right to do this, that, or the other. Own guns, become another gender, marry someone of the same sex, to have or not have an abortion.
Oh how we love our rights in America. Trouble is, we don’t all agree on what those rights are. Is there a right to privacy, for instance? It’s not mentioned in the Constitution.
One of the things Haass says that really struck a chord with me was this: Despite our belief that we Americans are entitled to certain inalienable rights—we no longer have a shared idea of what it means to be an American. And when you look at social media, that certainly seems to be the case.
Richard Haass thinks the problem might be solved if we got back to teaching civics in our schools. I couldn’t agree more, but that strikes me as generational work. Some of our problems feel more urgent than that. Like the dreaded polarization we keep hearing about.
The sellers of a dystopian future want us to believe that all is lost already. That America has become Humpty-Dumpty. When we finally hit the ground, the Enlightenment-era vision of our Founding Fathers will crack into a thousand pieces.
But I don’t believe that.
Which is why I’m sharing a remarkably sensible piece by
who publishes on Substack.Her essay “Look Out!” is one of the most practical and ultimately uplifting pieces about our nation that I have seen in a very long time.
It’s factual, interesting, and optimistic in its approach. Instead of mindless jingoism, she helps us see ourselves by linking to polls and articles that belie common misconceptions.
I don’t think she had Humpty-Dumpty in mind when she chose the title, but “Look Out!” certainly seems apt for a democracy presumed to be on the precipice.
What we’ve learned about social-media algorithms is that they show us more of what we seem to be interested in. If you click on a hateful message, guess what happens? You see more hate. I wonder what would happen if we clicked on love?
As we tumble down the harrowing road to the 2024 election, I think you’ll find sustenance in Elizabeth’s essay. It certainly convinced me that we are not as divided—nor as hateful— as the algorithms would have us believe.
Personal experience tells me this is true.
When I returned to Georgia after years living in solidly blue states like New York, California, and Washington, I landed in a very red Congressional district in what is now an arguably purple state. The bumper stickers and posters I sometimes see in neighboring yards promote ideas and candidates I couldn’t agree with if you paid me.
As a former Boy Scout, who was taught the proper way to fold and respect the flag, I have no idea why so many people in this district fly the Stars and Stripes 24/7 rain or shine, no matter what.
But when I see the owners of these same bumper stickers and flag flyers at gas stations, Costco, or the library—their political leanings don’t come up at all.
This conundrum
is precisely what Elizabeth Beggins addresses in “Look Out!” Not only that, she has included some easily actionable solutions for anyone who thinks the algorithms and pundits have got it wrong about who we are.
In 2018, Frontline took a deep dive into how Facebook was used to disrupt democracy around the globe. They found that “polarization was key to the Facebook algorithm.” And in 2021, a whistleblower told Congress the company’s algorithm is still dangerous.
Can we really believe warnings like that have changed things for the better? Not just on Facebook/Meta, but Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and the rest. More to the point, can we afford to let an algorithm define us when democracy itself is at stake?
I did not find Elizabeth’s essay through an algorithm. I found it via Substack’s likes and comment section. Each of us subscribes to the highly valuable
— a creative-writing Substack published by Canadian author . I don’t know either of them personally. And yet, in quite another sense, I know them both from the words they write.I don’t usually cross-post essays by others writers. But I gladly make an exception today. Soon the usual blitzkrieg of political advertising will be upon us again. So if you’re like me, you might want to hold onto the sanity in “Look Out!” It springs not from a politician or a pundit, but from an ordinary citizen—a fellow American like you and me.
And if you have not yet witnessed Joy Oladokun’s sing “I See America” on Jimmy Kimmel Live or Austin City Limits, Elizabeth’s essay provides an opportune context to hear it for the first time. Read her essay. Listen to that song, and ask yourself this question: When you see America, do you see love?
Here, then, is “Look Out!”
Enjoy!
©2023 Andrew Jazprose Hill
Thanks for reading/listening.
And I ended up reading Elizabeth's essay after you posted/shared it in Notes--thank you!
I so appreciate this bit of real community right here. Thank you for that, too, Andrew.
Well, first of all, I might need to print out and paste around my house some of the nice words you used to describe this essay and, by association, me and Chicken Scratch. Feeling that boost way down deep, Andrew, thank you!
More importantly, I am buoyed by how the laws of the universe, which aren't actually laws at all, in my opinion, but more of a creation of realities out of perception and expectation, have affirmed our collective notion that there is more goodness among us than our loudest sources of information would have us believe. I say "loudest," and even that is flawed, because it's more about what we're focusing on than it is the decibel level. What better reassurance than to take a stand for common ground and find a collection of others already there, holding the same signs. This piece clarifies, confirms, and expands my thinking. Thank you!