Yesterday, I got to watch a thought-provoking lecture by Historian Simon Schama on Book TV. I watched it twice. Below is my take on the speech. Quotations are from my notes and may not be totally accurate. The interpretation is totally my own.
On May 19th 2009, Simon Schama gave a speech at the Philadelphia Free Library on his book The American Future: A History. Schama, a professor at Columbia University and the author of numerous books on history. I found him to be an engaging speaker. He was invited to the Free Library to talk about his book The American Future and for most of the hour he talked about anything but his book.
Then, in last part of his 30-minute lecture and in the questions afterwards, Schama spoke about the themes that inspired his book The American Future. That is there are now two competing American stories. The first story is the story that we as Americans all know. That we came into possession of a great continent full of abundant natural resources. That any person who came to America could by dint of hard work and perseverance could become whoever we want to be.
That story, myth, or ethos is now being challenged by events. America is entering into an age of limits. We are no longer a nation of limitless natural resources, abundant land, and water. We no longer are the world’s leader in oil production, manufacturing and finance. What is to become of us? What is new story we must tell about ourselves?
According to Simon Schama, the election of 2008, was the first chapter of this new story. This was an election where one candidate, Barrack Obama articulated a new vision of America’s future. According to Schama, Obama took the risk of offering a new story about America’s future. Obama's gamble paid off, in part because the majority of the American peoplehad a desire for a new story. One which described the steps necessary to restore “America’s sense of mutual obligation to each other.”
It is a parable that demands we no longer exploit this continent’s and the world’s resources, but become stewards of the earth, use it wisely and productively. Schama believes this is not a strange or unnatural idea. Environmental stewardship has always been a part of American history.
After hearing Schama’s lecture, I was both encouraged and challenged by this idea of a new story, a new paradigm for America’s future. Schama stated that we are “beginning a new story, our economic future depends on transitioning to a greener future for all us." Schama also stated that in the short term the change from a resource consuming society to resource conserving society will be uncomfortable and require some short-term sacrifice.
Schama says that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, that many Americans in even the conservative heartland realized, “we want our government to be decent and we want it to work.” After years of being fed the idea that government and government bureaucrats are the problem, there is also an understanding that “there is something honorable and necessary about public service. There is no need to apologize for decent government.”
As I write this my employer, the state of California is on the verge of financial meltdown. As far I’m concerned the time has come both for citizens of California and the United States to demand and work for decent government--a government that takes care of all its people, a government that works.
I understand that the few who read this essay may not agree with my views, but perhaps we can discuss and come up with what we do agree on. Many of America's problems transcend the ideologies of the political left or right. Perhaps we can find a common ground? I hope we can at least try to find some common ground.
Capitano Tedeschi
30
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