From the Head Down

There is an oft-used expression in the PulpLit of the 20Cen that I love so much and cut my teeth on.

“Life is cheap”

That expression goes very well with what I consider to be the best description of 21Cen America, so far.

“The fish rots from the head down.”

When the Most Powerful Man In The World consistently and unrelentingly demonstrates just how cheap he thinks life is….despite his pious Christianity….. wages unnecessary, aggressive war taking by some estimates, one million lives…

….then human life is devalued even further.

And even worse….somehow, which is felt instinctively but difficult to explain, when he, and by extension America, tortures people, in an organized program, systematically, with infrastructure and instructions on how and when to do so, that cheapens humanity and human life….even more, somehow.

The situation is only exacerbated as well, when the culture of the Most Powerful Nation In The World values SOME life over other life. We all remember what came to be called the Missing Blonde Girl phenomenon. Back in 2005, when we were killing Iraqis by the score, our culture didn’t focus on THAT with horror, but was instead horrified by the circumstances of the life of Natalee Holloway.

Her single….though precious….life was judged by cultural acclaim to be FAR more important than the hundreds or thousands of Iraqis who lost their….equally precious….lives during the time she was missing. The precious life of Terri Schiavo, even though it was technically over, nearly brought our government to a halt. Concern over her precious single life was vital and insistent….unlike the lack of vital concern for thousands of some how LESS precious lives of the folks in New Orleans. And then of course, their is ‘our’ cultural fixation on life in the womb. Life in the womb is so precious that we must take the life of a doctor who preserves the lives of some mothers by ending the lives of the unborn in their wombs.

We are it must be said….confused….at best….as to the value of life.

So where does this confusion come from?

It comes from the top.

When a society, a culture, and indeed human nature as a whole is subject to the concept and effects of Authoritarianism, they consciously or unconsciously take their cues from those in power. And those in power for the last eight years have acted and thus indicated to the rest of the world as if life is cheap. So it is no great wonder that when frustrated, the most adamant adherents of Authoritarianism, the Right Wing, would take out their frustrations through the taking of life.

When life….the lives of Others in particular, is cheap, why NOT take them?

Which brings us to the confluence of Authoritarianism and Other. Authority defines who is accepted and who is Other. Authority defines the ‘penalties’ and ‘punishments’ for being Other. Authority is what makes discriminating and punishing the Others acceptable.

The antidote to Authority is the Rule of Law. The Rule of Law states that there is no Other. That all are equal under the Law. That all are entitled to equal protection under the Law. The Rule of Law does hold life “sacred.” All Life. Equally.

The Rule of Law is essential. But over the last eight years Authority has supplanted the Rule of Law. And we are paying the price for that now. Both in the violence of domestic terrorism, and in the ongoing wars, where innocent life is taken casually with missiles, and in the ‘debate’ on torture.

Bad, misused, and prejudicial Authority has devalued the Rule of Law, bad Authority has devalued the sacredness of every life.

Only the Rule of Law can restore the value of human life. And in today’s world, where bad Authority has destroyed the Rule of Law and the value of human life….where we are deeply confused over the value of human life …only GOOD Authority can restore the Rule of Law and thus the sacredness of life.

We are waiting, Mr. President.

And not patiently.