We all learn from the nursery rhyme "Humpty "Dumpty" that "all the King's horse and all the King's men couldn't put Humpty together again."
I believe we are living through the Great Collapse. The collapse of free market capitalism. The collapse of the doctrine of warfare between nations as an acceptable foreign policy tool. And the collapse of "every man for himself" / " having power over others is the way to live" political values. And nothing is going to put this world view - this mindset - back together again.
(Oh, I was tempted to write "Republican values" rather than "political values", but I know that some Democrats have enjoyed having power over others, too.)
So, as I watched John McCain fail to beat Barack Obama in the final debate and started to think about how Barack Obama just might win the election, my mind went to how all the people who still believe in the values inherent in free market capitalism, warfare, and domination over others are going to take losing it all.
Not well.
That's the answer I got.
I think I got that because the Republicans are laying the groundwork for being able to claim that the election was stolen. (Did you hear John McCain say in the debate that ACORN is "destroying the fabric of our democracy"?)
Or maybe it's because I saw Senator Orrin Hatch being interviewed on MSNBC on Wednesday, and he made the ludicrous claim that if Barack Obama wins the presidency the unions "will take over America." I kid you not. And he might as well have been saying "Communists" rather than "unions," for the fear you could hear in his voice.
Or maybe it's because I hear there are people who claim Barack Obama is the anti-Christ.
Of maybe it's the pastor who gave the invocation before a McCain event in which he prayed to God to show the other Gods that he is the bigger God by making sure McCain wins... because people who pray to those other Gods all want Obama to win. (Keith Olbermann showed this video the other day.)
You see, if Barack Obama ushers in a "new American Century" based on such great American principles as "All people are created equal" and that we are really the "United States" not the divided states... coupled with such religious beliefs as "Love thy neighbor," this will -- literally -- be the "end of days" for people who believe in hate, divisiveness, and domination.
And I just worry that they won't let their word view die without a fight.
I know it's a crazy thought. But America is filled with some pretty crazy people. (Hey, it's a big country!)
So.... what to do?
Well... I think I'll start by calling Senator Hatch's office and asking if I can talk to him about his fears that "the unions" are going to take over the country. (I actually met Senator Hatch through a mutual friend a number of years ago. So, maybe I'll be able to get through to him. We'll see.)
And I recommend that all of you start thinking about being compassionate to those you know who are about to suffer this great loss too. Maybe to strangers as well.
This is no joke. We really need to let these people know that it's going to be okay to live in a world where you empower people rather than having power over people. A world where you focus on what's best about people... on your common ground with other people... rather than what divides you. A world where we think in terms of everyone making it rather than just some. (You know... bye bye social Darwinism.)
This is how Barack Obama is planning to govern. In fact, he made a reference to this during the debate. And I expect he'll do all he can - probably through a number of great speeches - to lay out the principles of collaborative governance, so we'll understand what he wants to do.
But it's going to take the rest of us reaching out -- one person at a time -- to help all of those "fighters" out there learn how to live in a world where the "first response" will be to work with each other rather than to fight. (And this includes reaching out to "fighting Democrats.)
Given that we may be about to enter the Great Depression of the 21st Century, we're really going to need to all pull together... otherwise our nation (and the world) may really all fall down.
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Addendum:
I forgot to mention that John McCain himself said in the debate that ACORN's actions are "destroying the fabric of our democracy". To me, this sounds like the words of yet another person who sees his world being "destroyed." I sure hope someone is able to talk Senator McCain down from the depression it appears he's headed for if Senator Obama wins.