Chances are that when you turn on the news these days, you’ll hear that the "left" and the "right" are in a never-ending battle for the soul of our country and communities. They say Progressive Democrats are out to push a wild, far-left agenda that threatens our way of life. But what if that’s just not true? What if, compared to other countries, our so-called "radicals" are actually pretty normal? Maybe we’re just being distracted from the stuff that really matters, like putting food on the table and making sure our kids have a shot at a good life. You know, the issues that are important to us, no matter what cable news channel we watch.
The truth is, if you look around the world, the so-called "center" in our politics is a lot more right-leaning than most people think. Things like affordable health care, fair wages, or making big companies pay what they owe (ideas some call "crazy" or "socialist") are just common sense in plenty of other places. Our politicians aren’t protecting us from "extremism." They’re making sure things stay comfortable for the corporations that fund their campaigns, while regular people struggle just to get by.
In the last couple of years, elections here and around the world have shown that folks are frustrated with the people in charge. No matter if it’s Europe, South America, or Asia, working people everywhere are fed up with the same problems we face here: prices going up, rent getting higher, and the feeling that the game is rigged for the folks at the top.
So why does any of this matter to someone working long hours just to keep food on the table? Because this whole setup is meant to keep working people divided and distracted. Say someone brings up the idea of health care that isn’t tied to your job, or making big companies pay enough taxes so rural hospitals stay open and small towns can thrive. Immediately, it’s shrugged off as "populist extremism." They want you to think these ideas are risky and untested.
But the reality is that these ideas are already tried and true. In many other countries, people don't go bankrupt because they got cancer, and they don't lose their homes because a factory moved overseas. These aren't "left-wing fantasies,” they are standard operating procedures for millions of people around the world. That’s why those in power try so hard to shut down these conversations in America: they threaten the cozy deal between politicians and their corporate pals. If we knew how much better off other workers had it, we might stop fighting each other and start asking why we're the ones left behind.
Ever notice how the big fights between the two parties seem to disappear when there’s big money on the line? Whether it’s bailing out the banks or making it easier for corporations to make huge campaign contributions, centrists and conservatives sure find a way to work together. That’s not democracy; that’s corporatism. That’s when government and big business are working hand in hand, not for you, but for each other.
It’s not just us. Whether you’re a cattle rancher in Tenino or a school teacher in Olympia, you’re feeling the squeeze. But so is the guy close to retirement at a factory job in France, and the young mother in South Korea. They're also tired of the people in charge protecting the stock market while the price of eggs goes through the roof. This isn't a "left" or "right" thing; it’s a "bottom vs. top" thing that is happening all over the planet.
If we want real change, we’ve got to see that we’re only divided by the labels we apply to each other, and those labels were given to us by people with money and power who want to keep it. We all worry about the same things at our kitchen tables: good jobs, decent healthcare, strong communities, and a fair shot for everybody. Next time a politician tells you something is "radical," stop and ask: Is it really so wild, or is it just a threat to the status quo that a few people are making a lot of money off of at the expense of our kids’ futures?
Once we look around, we’ll see that the kind of change regular folks need isn’t extreme at all. It’s already working in plenty of places. It’s just time we caught up.
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Rob Richards is a Navy veteran and former congressional staffer who has been an active community member in Thurston County for over two decades. To submit an opinion piece to the Thurston Chronicle, email news@thurstonchronicle.com
