Luck, privilege, and work
The lingering belief in a hierarchy of worth in our human family leads to support for dictators. Escaping that belief is often the result of luck.
As we learn more and more about the open plans for dictatorship should we face another term from the 45th president, and as poll after poll shows him far ahead of his same-party rivals, and as no amount of good economic news or dire foreign policy needs seems to garner much support for the current president’s re-election bid, I’ve been wondering:
Why do so many folk seem so susceptible to the siren call of the “strong man” leader? Even though at no time in history has power consolidated into a single person led to more economic stability, more inclusion in wealth, more human rights for all?
It is tempting to give in to the easy notion that “they” (those who support the former president’s run) are simply less educated, or more naive, or possess some personality flaw that “we” (who know better) do not.
But really, I wonder if much of it comes down to luck.
I was lucky to be born to parents who valued education and had the means to support my first years in college. I was lucky to be born in a community that was relatively stable, not subsumed in war or natural disasters. I was lucky to avoid debilitating accidents and diseases, violent partners, addictions, and other life events that too often derail folks into grinding cycles of poverty. I was lucky to be born with an identity well understood (for the most part) and accepted by those around me, with status and expectations of material success.
Last evening, meeting someone new, the topic of privilege arose, and its mistaken interpretation as “ease.” If someone had a rough life, full of challenges, they must not have been privileged.
But privilege is often invisible: it comprises the challenges we escape through no intention or hard work of our own, but because of the zip code we’re born into, or the skin color, or the gender, for example. It doesn’t mean our lives are easy; it means we started at a relatively higher spot on the uneven playing field of social, political, and economic structures.
So while I consider that I have worked hard to take advantage of the opportunities luck sent my way, I cannot take credit for the luck in the first place. And after all, believing otherwise - that some folks “deserve” what they are born to, or deserve more because of what they are born to - that is the old, lingering belief in a hierarchy of worth in our human family that is the precondition for supporting a dictator.
We are either all born into our “place,” and society must be organized to protect our placement in it; or we are all born equal, worthy of full and valued human lives and rights, in which case society should be organized to protect and enhance the rights of all.
I’m lucky enough to have experienced the safety, security, and support that makes it relatively easier to want the same for all - and to have the means to work for it.
I wish you a beautiful week ahead, celebrating the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere in a few days, and our annual tilt back toward the sun.