Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said this in response to questions about civil rights and the law. The point was that morality and the law are not always on the same side.
I often think about this as I ponder the social and political issues of our time. The question that comes to mind is:
What about now?
In retrospect, we can look at bold decisions that were made in support of freedom and fail to see any moral ambiguity. Years or decades later, it’s easy to see now which side was right. Of course it was right to help slaves obtain their freedom, even if it was against the law. Of course it was right to demonstrate for civil rights, no matter the consequences.
Politicians of all stripes claim Martin Luther King as a hero now, but during his lifetime it was much different. The FBI maintained a file on him and worried about him being a friend of communists. Despite tapping his phone line and keeping tabs on his travels, they were unable to prevent his murder.
Because the benefit of history makes everything clear, the challenge is to get it right the first time.
Where did I stand on the Iraq war? I opposed it, but not very forcefully. To be honest, it seemed to make sense at the time with the information we were given. I should have been more openly skeptical. Whether or not my stance could have changed anything is somewhat irrelevant.
Where do I stand on equality and the right to marry whomever you want? I support it, obviously. My choice in marriage doesn’t affect anyone else, so why should I be threatened by anyone else’s choice? The people who oppose gay marriage are usually the same ones who support limited government—which of course is ironic.
Where do I stand on healthcare reform? Judging from my email, I know that many international readers don’t understand what a big deal this is in the U.S. Our country is the only rich democracy in the world that doesn’t have some form of universal coverage. I read the papers wherever I go, and everyone wants to know, what’s the problem?
The problem is that most of the people who are upset about healthcare reform already have good coverage. If they get sick, they can go to the doctor. They are also good at defining the debate to make people think that money will be taken from the rich and given to the poor.
Personally I think poor people deserve healthcare too, but the fact is that the poor are not the only ones who lack good healthcare in America. I’m not poor, but because I’m self-employed, my options are limited and I’d love to have more of them.
If anything, I’m worried that whatever plan comes out in the end will be so watered-down that it won’t produce the real change we need. If Obama can actually achieve real reform of the U.S. healthcare system, he deserves a lot more than a trophy in Norway.
***
These aren’t all of the important issues of our day, of course, and I don’t think I’ll change anyone’s mind about them by writing on a blog. Other than getting people to think for themselves, I’m not really interested in persuasion.
It just makes me think, where is my responsibility?
What would I have done in Nazi Germany or in the early days of the Civil Rights Movement? I’d like to think I would have been on the right side of history, but there’s no way to know for sure.
If there was one thing that MLK taught us, it’s that change doesn’t usually happen by itself. It’s better to speak up than to be silent; better to be wrong than indecisive.
Fast forward a few decades, and now it’s time to make new choices. Have you made yours?
###
Update: Thanks for all the feedback. Since we already have a broad range of comments below (positive, negative, and variations), I’m going to close the section so we can move on to other things.
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October 22, 2009
Ricky
@Oleg Mohkov: Great comment.
To genuinely care about anything may be the toughest threshold one must pass for meaningful change to happen.
We can either jump into a moving bandwagon; build and ride our own, but move in the same direction as the first bandwagon; or make and guide our own in a new direction.
October 22, 2009
Lucky
“I cannot imagine the number of government jobs this would create, and remember no one is ever fired from a gov. job for “poor preformance”
Lynn – from my experience as a government employee: yes, they are. Furthermore, everyone I work with is deeply committed to doing the right thing and making the world a better place. If we weren’t, we’d instead have jobs paying a lot more in private industry.
October 22, 2009
emily-sarah
Way to take a stand and put yourself out there. I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one who isn’t opposed to more options for healthcare. And much like you, as I’m a small biz (co)owner and responsible for my own insurance, dang, it’s expensive — and I have no diseases, pre-existings, and take zero medications (just my multi-vitamin)! I have said the same exact thing to my husband: It seems the ones opposed all have coverage.
Thanks for getting us all cranked up and talking — and hopefully thinking too.
October 22, 2009
David Stern
In Australia the top tax rate is 46.5% which isn’t much different to the top rates in California, New York, Vermont etc. We manage to have some kind of universal healthcare on that – a mix of public health, private insurance, and copays. Until the GFC we had big federal government budget surpluses and almost no national debt. We spend less on health care than the US does of course (every other country does). There is so much misinformation in the US healthcare debate and the US political system is inherently conservative and makes change very hard to accomplish. Many Americans of course think that is a good thing…
On gay marriage, I’d favor reducing any special rights of marriage (not that there are many at all in Australia but there are in the US). If people want legal agreements of this sort between themselves then I have no problems but can’t see why married people, heterosexual or homosexual should have any advantages (or disadvantages) over the single…
October 22, 2009
ami | 40daystochange
Thanks for starting the discussion Chris. I have seen the argument that getting the government involved in anything, and especially healthcare, is a sure path to doom, and that the government is too bureaucratic, too inefficient and too unwieldy to manage healthcare effectively. Yet the government DOES run – police, postal service, roads, transportation, military, etc. Why? Because a private solution doesn’t work. In the U.S., the free market solution to healthcare doesn’t work. If people die or fail to get treatment for manageable conditions because of lack of access to care or lack of funds to pay for care, the system doesn’t work. A system where a baby can be denied health coverage for being on the high end of a curve doesnt work. And – if people limit their career choices and life choices based on access to health care, rather than based on the marriage of their talent, passion and skills, then the health care system is actually limiting our economic growth and dynamism.
October 22, 2009
Marty
I find your post frustrating. Some great points, but… I think to be truly free, we should be turning away from government. Slavery, nazi oppression, runaway health costs, etc are products of poor government. Why would ANYONE (gay or straight) need their relationship sanctioned by a bureaucrat? Just love each other. Legalize your relationship by signing powers of attorneys, making your partner a beneficiary, etc. Build your own healthcare future with a health savings account and high deductible insurance. The more we take responsibility for our lives, the more innovation and freedom we’ll have. Schools are huge bureaucracies that no longer respond to innovation, which is a big reason why our education system is a failure. Elinor Ostrom has some amazing instight into how small community organizations are so much better than big ones. Her studies will make you reflect on the down side to Obama’s universal healthcare initiative.
October 22, 2009
Jack
I’m wondering what you meant when you said the following -Where do I stand on equality and the right to marry whomever you want? I support it, obviously.
The way you said it seemed to me to imply that either everyone knew you well enough to know that obviously you supported gay marriage or else you were saying that it is an obvious conclusion that everyone should support gay marriage.
October 22, 2009
Sonia
I am impressed by the comparison here. Looking back, all the things that I brushed away as wrong thoughts were all right in the first place.
I may not have made my choices, but I know where I stand. That’s what matters when I do reach the crossroad….what matters is that I will know what to do. I know to stand up and say/do what I wanted to
October 22, 2009
Lisa Capehart
Chris,
I thought this quote was an appropriate comment for this post:
“Human progress never rolls in on the wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of [people] willing to be co-workers with God.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
I want to say that I find it interesting that people would chastise you for expressing your opinions on your blog. The name of the blog IS The Art of Nonconformity. I would have it no other way that for you to be exactly who you are – whether I agree with your point of view or not.
And, really, Chris, this post was not about what YOU think and what action you might take, but an invitation for others to examine their values and what action they might take. Perhaps that’s what made some so uncomfortable..
October 22, 2009
Tyler
@Jacki,
I’m not following your argument at all. It looks like you called me out, but I can’t really make heads or tails. I think we agree with each other?
October 22, 2009
Wes
The first step with health care is to decide if it is a privilege or a right. At this point it is a privilege. Its only after dealing with this issue can we home to fix the issue.
The second step is to realize that health care is expensive and there is not as much fat as people think. There is no free ride and universal care must be funded with taxes. From my view that is good use of my tax money. If people want cheap health care they have to be willing to accept less.
Thirdly, the health care industry is rewarded for generating volume and revenue not for keeping people healthy. The profit motive is alive and well. Expect major push back for any significant change that would reduce profits.
Keep up the fight!
October 22, 2009
Dean Dwyer
Hey CG,
It is unfortunate a few didn’t quite get what you were getting at, but I was most intrigued with your last point. It’s easy to look back 50 years ago and say, “Oh I definitely would not have done that or that or that.”
The reality is we are using 50 years of evolutionary thinking and advanced social norms to now comment on a completely different time period.
I only have to look at the evolution of my own thought process over the past 10 years to see how my thinking has changed. The me of today probably would have clobbered the me of 10 years ago with some of the myopic views I held.
It’s a fascinating thought. We just don’t know. I know enough now to know that 10 years from now I may look back at this blog comment and wonder if I was suffering from some sort of learning disability when I wrote this. Your blog will still be around then yes?
We can only judge the present. There are too many unknown variables to judge the past or the future.
October 22, 2009
Austin
Main point: In a democracy every voice (vote) should count. Nothing more, nothing less.
America was built on the idea that people should be given the right for equal representation. On a side note, I think it is safe to say that many of the great wrongs of the past were because each and every person was not given equal representation. (e.g. Hitler and the Holocaust, Civil Rights, etc.).
As Americans, the problems we face now are mainly because the old system no longer allows for equal representation (and enforcement of that representation). It is no longer “We the People” but “We the Government” (Executive, Legislative, and Judicial).
There will probably be people who will say that implementing a system to allow equal representation will be difficult but isn’t this America: The Land of Opportunity?
October 22, 2009
Peter Shallard
It was on the 2nd reading that I really “got” this post Chris.
I think it’s a useful thought experiment for folks today to wonder about what kinds of things history will make black and white. The environment would be a big one. Will we be looked down on by future generations or will they have empathy for our current situation?
On another note, history is written by the victors… It would be a whole different world if Hitler had won. I’m sure we’d have the same clarity, expect maybe white would be black.
Thanks for another great post.
October 22, 2009
Jacki Rand
@Tyler,
“Regardless the financial or (perceived) societal costs, allowing others, ALL others, the freedom to do as they please will always be the right answer”
Perhaps I misread you. Typically when I read something where the “Freedom to choose” argument is used, it is coming from an ultra-conservative who is saying we all choose our path, refusing to believe in institutionalized racism, in built in inequalities that keep the poor poor and enrich the rich, in glass ceilings for women, and lots of other realities. If I misread you, apologies.
October 22, 2009
Christina
You hit on a point I think about every day – don’t the “bad guys” know that they’re on the wrong side of history, and if so, why do they persist? Don’t they know that there will some day be a bad mini-series made about X issue (fight for marriage equality, health care reform, etc.), and that they will be played by dicey looking dudes standing in the shadows and everyone will ask, “How could they have been so clueless?!”?
October 22, 2009
Annabel Candy
I think Robert Mugabe is the new Hitler – he even styles himself on him with that horrid little mustache and hates gay people too.
What’s happening in Zimbabwe is a travesty of justice and yet nothing is being done about it. I know where I stand but politicians don’t care because Zimbabwe’s wealth is negligible compared to the oil rich Arab nations.
Does anyone care about millions of Zimbabweans starving to death because of this despot? If they do when will they do something about it? How long will they wait?
October 22, 2009
Bea (Baya)
I hope we’ve learned through history that supporting our beliefs does not just mean opposing what we believe is wrong but supporting what is right. The question becomes do we oppose war or do we fight for peace. The latter becomes the solution not the problem. Maybe that is our responsiblity… not so much to oppose but to focus on what is right!
Great article Chris! Certainly food for thought.
October 22, 2009
Eddie Hudson
Very thought provoking! In one of my classes last year, the week after the election I said, people will think it’s all over, we’ve won. But four years from now, they will be upset and say he did nothing for us (me). While I don’t hold a republican perspective on many issues I don’t hold a completely democratic. Why should I? I have my own opinions and a very clear sense of what I believe is right. I may never appear in Washington D.C. or be one of the voices of our nation, but I am influential where I am. And the influence I hold is my voice among many. Thank God we still have freedom of speech!
October 22, 2009
Dave
I agree with your thoughts on universal healthcare. It’s sad that many people in the USA against it haven’t been overseas to see the benefit. I am willing to be taxed more if I knew everyone had healthcare.
October 22, 2009
Wyman
Some of you forget that the entrepreneurs “rich” made this country great. Tax all their efforts away and why should they risk trying to run a business that provides jobs? It seems many are of the mindset “money is evil and so are those who earn it. You all have heard the story of the grass hopper and the ant. Don’t punish the risk takers. We all claim to be entrepreneurs who want to work for ourselves. I had no health insurance until I turned 65. Emergency care was always available. I lived in Spokane, Wa. and Canadians flooded across the boarder to get live and death operations that they were on a 2 or 3 year waiting list in Canada for. Congress is safely getting the best free tax paid care and making the laws for us. Our president is running up unpayable debt to give us care that is full of corruption. Let’s clean up Medicare and insurance company fraud before we give out more money. Bailouts with no supervision. Our government is going nuts. We and our children will pay for the foly
October 22, 2009
Popoki
@Vince & Lynn
Gov is already involved in health care (see Medicare); and you are already paying for medical treatment for poor people (see ERs). Perhaps you would like to abolish Medicare and get gov out of health care decisions altogether?
@Chris
Best. Post. Ever. At first I thought, “Wow, he’ll probably lose some people.” And of course you have some comments here that carry an implied threat that you WILL lose people (like the commenters). But then I thought, “His post demonstrates why he’s willing, and why it’s important, to risk just that.”
So thanks for the thought-provoking, courageous post, Chris.
October 22, 2009
Jane
Being a nonconformist means breaking the rules and speaking your mind so well done. As a Canadian living 70 miles from the US border, I have been fascinated by what is going on south of the border as it has great influences on us. When the US economic crisis happened a year ago, my business was severely effected, and still is today because of the principles of small government and the “free market” system.
I have been an entrepreneur for 30 years and would not have been able to do that without a national health care system. Here we don’t wait till we have serious illnesses to see a doctor, we get treatment before we require specialists. Health care is not a privilege, it is a human right and a NOT FOR PROFIT system. We do not live in fear of going bankrupt, changing jobs or losing our coverage due to preexisting conditions. What strikes me about Americans is that their world view is limited and looking outside themselves would be enlightening.
October 22, 2009
Steve
“Where do I stand on equality and the right to marry whomever you want? I support it, obviously.”
…So, do you support the right for two guys to marry six girls? A school teacher to marry an under-aged student? Perhaps inter-species marriages? Why not? Some folks may “want” that. So, hopefully you really don’t support the right to marry WHOMEVER you want. ..In fact, NO ONE has that right. I sure don’t.
“My choice in marriage doesn’t affect anyone else, so why should I be threatened by anyone else’s choice?”
Radical shifts in social structure have definite effects. The impact on society is a concern once the concept of perhaps THE most foundational of human experiences has been redefined. …Plus, adherents to hetero-marriage believe that marriage is not something that can just be redefined. It is a specific thing in itself. The uniting of both halves of the human race, and THE ONLY union capable of continuing the species. No other union does this.
October 22, 2009
Lynne
As an American who has lived in Canada since the ’70′s, I am well acquainted with the Canadian health care system and grateful for the care I have received and that it does provide care without bankrupting individuals.
Having said that, the Canadian system is ailing; I personally know of one young boy who was electrocuted, in a life-and-death situation and nearly died because there were no available beds (with intensive care staff) for him ANYWHERE in BC or Alberta. Hospital staff even contacted Seattle hospitals for beds; many hours later–he was finally transported to Vancouver–in the meantime, precious hours in which he desperately needed treatment were lost –hours that could have cost him his life.
It would be incredible to see both the US and Canadian systems vastly improved and changed so that no one has to suffer.
October 22, 2009
Tish Stewart-Inglis
Hi Chris,
This is so relevant to our society and country today, South Africa. There are several parallels, assasinations and death by unlawful means of leaders, Chris Hani, Steve Biko, are just two examples, and yet we had the most extraordinary man in Nelson Mandela who believed in forgiveness, leading us into our first democracy. Things aren’t perfect, but we avoided a bloody civil war during elections, have maintained a strong economic base (less affected than other countries) and we still have freedom of speech. All in all, a “rainbow nation” that could have so easily gone the other way of dictatorship.
October 23, 2009
Akila
We talk about this principle all the time: the ability we have to influence others when we act as non-conformists. Hitler was a non-conformist. As was Martin Luther King Jr. In the future, we remember Hitler as a villain and MLK as a hero. It is easy to wade through the middle waters and avoid influencing people one way or another.
But, the risktakers, the nonconformists, are the strongest because they stand up for what they believe in — whether it is the wrong decision in the future or the right one. When I hear about people in the U.S. ducking their hands in the sand about the healthcare debate, it makes me a little sad. I want people standing up and telling us waht they believe in. (And, the same goes for politicians — I can’t tell you how tired I am of politicians saying one thing one day and the opposite on the next. It is especially jarring to me as I am out of the country now.)
October 23, 2009
Jon Cruz
Good thought-provoking post Chris. Definitely got the emotions churning in your readers and you got first-time commenters (such as myself) out of the woods.
A lot of interesting posts. People on both sides of this go to show how stupid politics is and how much of an illusion it all is. In regards to healthcare something should be done, but many of you who want a new gov’t run system seem to forget that: there are many obese and overweight adults and children in this country; diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure keep rising in the general population; we have a small chronic drug abusing/addicted population; and there are going to be many elderly ppl who require greater care in the next decade. Ultimately I don’t feel comfortable supporting a system that will unfairly assist many people who have gotten to their state of poor health by lifestyle choices. They are a cost to society, plain and simple. Anyways, good discussion.
October 23, 2009
Scott
This is a great post Chris, and I don’t think enough people get involved in talking about politics in fear of losing their fan base. Whether it’s a persons blog, musician or some other public figure everyone’s afraid to really say what’s wrong in the world for fear of alienating people, which is a pity.
I’ve also thought many times what I would’ve done if growing up in the 60′s, if I would participate in the antiwar movement, civil rights.. and why aren’t I doing more now? How will I look back on this time of worldwide unrest and what I did to make this place better than I came into it?
I’m currently in Cairo and was talking to my driver about health care in Egypt where it’s pay for everything. Often if people are really sick, they’ll sit and home and die so they don’t burden their family with endless debt to keep them alive. Coming from Canada where healthcare if free to all, I don’t see America too far from this. Do you?
October 23, 2009
Ken Tabak
There’s one issue many Americans find hard to accept on Health Care, everybody has it. It is called the emergency room, and as toward socialized medicine, what is medicare,medicaid, VA, Social Security and the list goes on. If the average person would seek to find the knowledge instead of getting it from 30 sec. sound bites and call there representatives on the issues we may actually be able to do something.
October 23, 2009
Big Joe
There have been several comments inferring that Americans who oppose nationalized healthcare are somehow ignorant of the “successes” experienced by other countries who utilize a nationalized system. As an opposer of nationalized healthcare, I’d like to point out that not only have I visited these countries, but my very wife is a native of one of them and holds that the nationalized system is good.
The point is that to broadly denigrate the position of the opposition as ignorance is to cheapen your own argument. One must consider that a person can be of a different opinion on a matter w/out being ignorant.
As further clarification, I see the ills & would like them remedied, but I do not see the creation of government program solving them. In fact, the same problems that hamper the existing system would remain (ludicrous litigation and threat thereof, legislative barriers to reasonable insurance, etc.) and would be (in my opinion) amplified. Fix the real problems 1st.
October 23, 2009
stevenshytle
“The people who oppose gay marriage are usually the same ones who support limited government—which of course is ironic. ” Ironic would be an anarchist wanting a law to oppose something. Limited government does not equal no government. Limited government mean just as much as is allowed Constitutionally and necessary. Of course the “necessary” is where it get messy, while today we just ignore the “Constitutional” part much too often.
October 23, 2009
Amy
Does anyone else find it strange that we (in the US) don’t question that everyone has a right to (deserves) an education, yet many people here balk at the idea that everyone deserves access to health care?
Thanks for the post Chris. It’s indeed thought provoking. Who is “right” is often determined by history. It’s easy to say you would take a stand against something that is so clearly wrong viewed decades later when the majority of people and society agree it’s wrong. Much harder to do the same thing when you are in the minority and everyone around you believes they are supporting what’s right. Plus, it’s possible your principles and how you think about things would be completely different if you were born 50 or 100 (or several hundred) years earlier.
And since this post is about stating what you believe in and care about…. I’ve been happily married for nearly 15 years now. Nothing about that would be changed or degraded in any way by allowing gay couples to marry.
October 23, 2009
Lee Stranahan
Chris – thanks for taking the time to explain not only some of your views but also the reasoning you used to come to them. I think the thought process is something too often missing from political discussions.
I make political videos. I’ve made lots of them – over a hundred, certainly. I post them on YouTube. A couple of commenters mentioned the danger of losing subscribers or whatever – that’s always the risk when you state an opinion, I guess. But for me personally, speaking my mind led to appearances on CNN and in the L.A Times, a gig as a blogger at The Huffington Post and a number of paying gigs doing political videos. Huge net gains for authentically speaking my mind – because doing so is somewhat rare since a lot of people are afraid of doing that since they might offend some people.
October 23, 2009
cultureguru
What a great post. My son and I have been reading Huckleberry Finn and have asked the same questions regarding slavery (we are Jewish, so we have made the comparison to the Holocaust to help him understand). In both cases there was so much complicity–especially with the idea that ‘we act by not acting.’ I would have hoped that people have evolved over time to embracing at a visceral level “right” and “wrong,” and an immediacy to reacting with action. But the genocide in Rwanda was not so long ago, the military attacks on women in Guinea was just last month, as was the beating death of a teen in Chicago. Hmm–has me thinking about how fear can stifle motion, but hopefully integrity and honesty to core values will trump that. I guess that’s your point, huh…
October 24, 2009
Daisy
“…most of the people who are upset about healthcare reform already have good coverage.”
Absolutely. I teach in a low-income school where many kids have no insurance. When they’re sick, their parents have to choose between paying for groceries or getting meds/ dr. appts. H1N1 pandemic has hit the neighborhood – and hard.
October 24, 2009
Gail
Chris,
Thank you for posting this. It seems some wish you would censor a critical part of who you are to make them feel more comfortable. I am glad you do not. Thank you for speaking your truth.
Also, thank you for being an ally to the gay community. Same-sex marriage is an equal rights issue; currently, there are 1,138 benefits the United States government provides to legally married couples, and hundreds more at the state-level. These include making medical decisions on behalf of a partner (or even simply visitation to a partner in the hospital); Social Security survivor benefits; numerous tax breaks, etc. No one deserves to be treated like a second-class citizen based on who they are.
As a law professor of mine used to say: “Remember, the ‘law’ is a series of inventions.” Indeed.
October 24, 2009
Big Joe
Gail,
Sue then for equal rights for civil unions, but don’t sue for a redefinition of marriage. So close, yet so very, very far apart.
October 25, 2009
Northa
It’s refreshing to see someone take a position on these issues without being a total a-hole about it. I wish more people realized that not everyone who disagrees with them is an idiot. Kudos for raising the level of discussion.
October 25, 2009
Angel Vallejo
The song remains the same. What to do?
It is just a matter of time that we face, in one way or the other, the same problem some people in modern Germany are facing. How was it possible? Did not anybody realised about what was going on with Hitler?
Or, what is far more worrying if it is seen backwards? shall we end up wondering how we allowed millions of people starving or dying because of deseases easily fixed if the medicine patents were not allowed in some extreme circumstances?
Should we quit if we are shareholders of the big pharma industries?
One of my friends says: If you do not act as you think, you sure will end up thinking as you act (which is, by the way, pretty intimidating, uh?
Thanks, Chris. Among other things, your post made me re-think the ease and lack of consideration with which we normally judge other people facing court trials or social rejection because of challenging some laws they consider deeply unfair…
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October 29, 2009
PeregrinFalcon
A friend told me about this site. I must say, it is interesting. It gives me more ideas on how to improve my own.
As for the topic, I have heard this argument before. In fact, in my education and in groups on more times than I want to recall, the “What would you do if you were in Germany circa 1938?” is very familiar.
The basic elements boil down to some common things that would need to be defined.
What socio-economic level would you be from? Remember that the poor in Nazi-Germany had themselves pressed into service at the barrel of a gun and were constantly watched by each other for opportunities to rat out others to save their own families.
What race would you be from? The Jewish people were not the only ones looked upon as ‘unfit’ and were mainly used as scapegoats for the terrible poverty resulting from the loss and subsequent sanctions stemming from WWI.
… to be continued