It Trickles Down

Trey Smith

It is hard for me to fathom how our society can grow less violent when the apparatus of our government itself exudes violence. For quite some time, we have been an aggressor nation. It's not just this perpetual War on Terror; we've been at it for over 100 years! We stick our noses into other people's business -- thumbing our nose at the concept of a nation's sovereignty -- and our mantra has been to shoot first and then create a rationale to justify it later!!

Not only do we act as thugs in the world theater, but our domestic police forces have quickly adopted these same strong arm tactics. Police regularly beat up, taser and kill unarmed citizens. They hassle bystanders who record their actions and frequently unlawfully take their cell phones. In many locales, the local police treat peaceable assemblies no better than farmers treat cattle led off to the slaughterhouse.

Back when Ronald Reagan was President, he advocated Trickle Down economics. The way this was supposed to work is that, by granting all sorts of tax breaks to the mega wealthy, money would trickle down to the lower classes. Unfortunately, this theory proved to be inaccurate. The money didn't trickle down -- it was hoarded by those at the top.

But there is a Trickle Down theory that does work. When a nation's foreign and domestic policies are steeped in violence, the message trickles down to the citizenry. It unconsciously becomes part of that nation's ethos. If our President can advance so-called national interests by being an aggressor, then it should work the same for you and me.

While elected officials are not kings as they were in Laozi and Zhuangzi's day, one message that each promoted remains the same. It is that much easier for a given society to be more moral, just or peaceful IF its leaders model these qualities. Like a parent or teacher who models those behaviors that display a certain level of enlightenment, our leaders need to model better ways for each of us to comport ourselves day in and day out.

If not, then gun control laws won't mean diddly squat. They alone will not change the direction our society is heading. We each need to change ourselves and then to elect leaders who personify these changes.

As long as President Obama orders drones to kill the innocent and American CEOs direct their corporations to despoil our shared environment and trample on the rights of people, the trickle down effect of such immoral actions will continue to poison the well of our nation's mores.