As investigators into what is enough? – the crucible of sufficiency, the obvious response to the debt ceiling legislation passed Monday night is, “Really? This is the best you can do?” According to our elected legislators, it is actually the best we can do, at this time, in this context. The thread of the sound bites in response to the vote were stimulating though. What does this mean? “We came to a compromise, so no one is happy. But this is what is best for the American People.”
Compromise is not a tool of sufficiency. But seeing how doubt is a weapon of scarcity, I have compassion for our leaders to put on a face of certainty no matter it being false. Obviously it does not make sense to not be happy when one is acting in everyone’s best interest.
What I really heard our governing people say is that they are uncertain, unsatisfied and want to make a positive difference, but are afraid to, for whatever reason, whether to lose an election, to be humiliated, to lose power or affection from their party. Politics is complicated, because it’s just people trying to make a lot of difficult decisions and people are complicated.
What saddened me was how separate the people of Congress feel from the American pepole. This is common rhetoric, to refer to the People, those they serve, but is so inherently “othering”. And this separateness and sense of disconnection so clearly informs the method of decision-making: we are not happy, but you should be. It was difficult not to feel like a child being punished, because “it’s for your own good!”
Scarcity in the forms of fear, blame, separateness, unsustainability, denial, confusion, doubt and hoarding – is a powerful and painful motivator in making compromises. This deal to raise the debt ceiling is the obvious choice, the fruit of seeds laid down over and over again for the past 60 or so years, maybe more. It is the path of least resistance in a context of there not being enough resources for everyone, which is confused by the excess we also have in our country.
This is a sad occasion, yes. And yes, it is possibly the best for us at this time. For better choices with long term, sustainable outcomes, we invite our leaders to consider a context of sufficiency, one where there is enough for all and where we are not forced to compromise, but to thrive in economic creativity.