The Human Race: “So Uncivilized”

I vividly remember the night when, sitting around the dinner table at my parents’ house, my mom started railing against the privatization of the American health care system. Now a retired RN, at the time Mom was working in utilization review for a healthcare provider in St. Louis. This was when privatization was a new concept, and she was on quite a tear as she ranted about how much hospitals were charging for inexpensive medication due to the influence of insurance companies and fledgling medical corporations. Now that privatization is several decades old, these complaints are widespread and commonplace, and as I contemplate the issue of privatized healthcare, two words consistently come to mind.

As has happened many times in my life since May 25th, 1977, a Star Wars moment arises to perfectly define a situation. In this case, it’s Ewan McGregor’s as Obi-Wan Kenobi who utters “So Uncivilized,” and thus helps me cope with something unreasonable.

This morning I was watching a spot on PBS NewsHour in which people on both sides of the 2nd Amendment debate were discussing their points of view. One, of course, was a guns rights activist who thinks everyone should be able to buy a gun without background checks or any other kind of restriction, while the other was a rational person who disagreed on quite a few points. (My own take on this, which includes the critical historical context of the 2nd Amendment is here.) As I listened to the first guy suggest that the only way people can defend themselves is by owning a gun, I immediately thought of Kevin Costner’s Wyatt Earp in Dodge City … and I said out loud: “So uncivilized.”

This seems to be the theme of our world these days, whether we’re talking about the modern Republican Party and their ridiculous presidential candidate selling endorsed Bibles and golden shoes, the war in Gaza, the mass extinction of species due largely to human insistence on burning fossil fuels, the number of places where our military – with and without our knowledge – is currently waging war, the way justice is dispensed prejudicially in our country, the media in general, and on and on…it’s all just so damned uncivilized!

As a friend of mine posted on Facebook in response to one of my recent posts, “there are four things that have no business being businesses, yet they are our biggest and most predatory businesses: Healthcare, Education, Justice and Defense.” I have to add “News Media” to that list because I spent quite a bit of time working in that industry and its demise is a source of perpetual frustration for me. Running these things as businesses is just so uncivilized!

Some people feel like you have to choose between Star Wars and Star Trek, but I’ve never felt that way and have been a lifelong fan of both. I love Star Wars because at its heart it has a strong philosophical element that informs my own life philosophy. I love Star Trek because it’s an extremely optimistic view of humanity’s potential, a potential I used to believe we might one day reach. Sadly, in recent years I have come to the conclusion that we are actually getting further away from finding the breathtaking future of unity and cohesion pictured in Gene Roddenberry’s vision.

Fortunately, all hope is not lost. There are still plenty of rational human beings working hard to address the existential issues of our time. They don’t get the same media coverage because being smart and rational doesn’t sell, apparently, but they are out there and need our attention and our support (Colin Allred running against Ted Cruz in Texas is a great example! Drop him a couple of bucks!). A great source of inspiration and information on this front is TED Talks, as is Neil deGrasse Tyson’s podcast Star Talk. The Lincoln Project is doing great work on the grass roots side, trying to take the Republican Party back from the MAGA terrorists who have co-opted it and Al Franken’s weekly podcast is one I never miss, covering an insider’s view of the tough issues. Finally, Real Time with Bill Maher is my favorite way to start Saturday mornings. He lets the two sides debate every issue and moderates in a fairly non-partisan way, placing blame and credit where they are due. I often watch the show twice because there are so many good points made.

Do you have a favorite source of sanity and rationality? PLEASE drop it in the comments below. Maybe we can help each other stay a little bit more civilized!

-B