The World Is Rich, But It Is Not Mine

By
Glenn W. Smith
– June 22, 2010Posted in: Economy, Environment, Politics

shark week11 300x225 The World Is Rich, But It Is Not MineThis world is rich, but it is not mine.
Where I live, hungry children are crying
I am not angry, at my own condition
I just want people to know my position.

Procol Harum, from a statement by South African Stephen Maboe

Congressman Joe Barton says he doesn’t want to live in a country in which those in authority are held accountable.

Okay, I’m paraphrasing, but I’m getting the spirit of his comments – and his beliefs – just right. He apologized to BP for the Obama Administration’s audacity and its demand that BP put $20 billion in escrow to compensate Americans devastated by the oil giant’s Gulf spill.

I’m only speaking for myself. I’m not speaking for anyone else, but I apologize,” Barton added. “I do not want to live in a county where anytime a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, [it is] subject to some sort of political pressure that, again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown.

Other Republicans (John Cornyn, Michele Bachmann) shared Barton’s concerns. Some tried to distance themselves. Whatever.

The point is that Barton spoke from his heart. In the worldview of Barton and his ilk, humanity divides neatly into two categories: the ruled and the rulers. It is a violation of natural law to hold rulers accountable. Surviving fish do not punish sharks for the flounder they eat.

This is why the modern conservative movement sits so uneasily with democracy. When the Supreme Court appointed George W. Bush president, it fit the natural order as seen by conservatives like Barton.

Most conservatives are not as stupid or as honest as Barton. They do not trot out their anti-democratic, authoritarian sentiments so readily. Instead, they hide behind democratic language, talk of the American Founders, etc. etc.

How is it that these people so detest the authority of elected, theoretically accountable government while believing that corporate authority is above the law, above reproach, above criticism? To them, all government is illegitimate, maybe especially democratic government in which the little fish can and sometimes do vote to restrain the sharks.

Sharks, in the oil patch or on Wall Street, are products of what the Bartons see as natural evolution. It’s social Darwinism made political doctrine. Further complicating the picture is the fact that most of them don’t like Darwin at all. Still, his thought is very useful to their political worldview even though it challenges their nutty religious dogma. So be it. Only a little fish would demand consistency from a shark.

The toxic BP oil spill is going to kill both the sharks and the fish, of course. But Barton is undeterred by this. He wants to save what sharks there are to be saved, especially, I guess, the British hammerhead, the one the real American Founders threw out of our waters 235 years ago.

This brings me to the powerful Procol Harum song quoted above, This World is Rich. Here are the rest of the lyrics (you can hear a clip or buy the song here):

This world is rich, but it is not mine
My people are starving, that must be a crime
When some have so much, and some have so little
There must be a place, we can meet in the middle

This world is rich, but it is not mine
This world is rich, but it is not mine

Our water is poisoned, poverty’s intense
We cry inequality, they just build a fence
We don’t even own the ditch where we’re dying
This world is rich, but it is not mine

This world is rich, but it is not right
We’re asking for help, before we run out of time
We can’t live on talk, we just need a hand
We’ll walk from the slums, to the promised land

This world is rich, but it is not mine

In America, we like to fantasize that everyone believes in democracy and in equality of opportunity. It’s not true. The battle lines here are the same as they have always been throughout the world. There are those that have that want the rest of us to believe that’s the natural order of things. Our poverty is either a sign of God’s disfavor or our own fault. Their wealth is a sign of God’s favor. This is the way the universe is ordered.

Joe Barton did us a favor by defending BP with his ridiculous apology. His subsequent retraction only amplified what he and many like him truly believe. We should take them at their word.

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About Glenn W. Smith

Glenn W. Smith has spent the past 30 years in journalism and politics, where he’s made a name for himself as a writer, campaign manager, activist, think tank analyst and, as Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas says, a “legendary political consultant and all-around good guy.” “There’s no one like him,” says author George Lakoff. CNN commentator Paul Begala says, “He has unmatched experience, a graceful pen (or pixel nowadays) and deep insight into the best and worst of us.” Novelist Sarah Bird speaks of his “lucid and lyrical” prose. And, she says, he’s fun. Huffington Post founder Arianna Huffington says Glenn writes with “grace and abundant humor” and “uses his colorful experiences in Texas to enlighten us all.”

Smith led Ann Richards’ successful 1990 campaign for Governor of Texas. He worked for former Texas Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby and U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen. Earlier, Smith was a political reporter for the Houston Chronicle and the Houston Post. He’s coordinated national campaigns for groups such as MoveOn.org. In 2004, he authored the highly acclaimed book, The Politics of Deceit: Saving Freedom and Democracy from Extinction. He also wrote Unfit Commander, a book that detailed George W. Bush’s mysterious disappearance from military service.

In 2004, Smith was featured in the film, Bush’s Brain, a documentary about Karl Rove. Smith provided commentary on Rove’s role as then-President Bush’s senior advisor. He has made numerous media appearances with Chris Mathews on Hardball, Joe Scarborough, Brit Hume, and many others. He writes a regularly for top national web sites, including FireDogLake and Huffington Post.

As a senior fellow at George Lakoff’s prestigious Rockridge Institute in Berkeley he studied, wrote and taught on the power of metaphor and narrative in political communications. He also lectured on religion and politics at the Starr King School for Ministry in Berkeley. As a sponsor and organizer, he has pulled together numerous national events with progressive religious leaders. He also organized a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King at Riverside Church in New York City as well as “Freedom and Faith” bus tours, which was a nationwide campaign for social justice and progressive values.

Smith’s play, Double Play, which explored American Western myths and legends, was held over to sold-out audiences. He’s even written and performed songs in the Americana tradition, such as his best-known song, “Helping Marty Robbins,” a tribute to his hometown, Houston.

Most recently, Smith is the creator of DogCanyon, a political and cultural web site covering state, national and global issues from a Texas perspective. DogCanyon is an exhilarating and unique site that gets the connections between politics and culture and explores both the personal side of politics and the ups, down, craziness and beauty of “life its ownself,” as humorist Dan Jenkins would say. DogCanyon offers heartfelt personal essays, hard-hitting political analysis, and, most importantly, laughs.

As Paul Begala said, Smith writes in “the finest, firmest, fearless tradition of Texas essayists like Molly Ivins.”