Ira
Smolensky
This
land is our land . . . (what Carl Sandburg was and we are)
Carl
Sandburg CollegeÕs commencement ceremony last week was notable for many
reasons. On the most basic level,
it represented an important step forward for the 300 or so students who were
graduated. Many will now go on to
four year schools in order to pursue a BachelorÕs degree. Others will leave the world of higher
education to pursue careers in the medical field, criminal justice, automotive
repairs, or numerous other areas where there is a need for well-trained,
dependable practitioners.
In
short, the sweet smell of success was in the air. It showed in the demeanor of the graduates, some of whom
floated across the stage in a state of full euphoria. It could also, IÕm sure, be discerned in the hearts of those
faculty members who got all goose bumply (and maybe even teary eyed) as their
charges left the nest, anxious to embark on their next adventure.
Also
notable was the commencement address given by Ms. Helga Sandburg Crile, author,
poet, and the youngest daughter of Carl Sandburg (1878-1967), for whom the
College is named. Born and raised
in Galeburg, Carl Sandburg was a very prominent American writer. In addition, to being one of our
nationÕs greatest poets, he wrote a best- selling, multi-volume biography of
Abe Lincoln, one that is still read.
And, as Ms. Sandburg Crile reminded her audience in passing, Carl
Sandbug was a socialist. Indeed,
she recounted that he met his wife (Ms. Sandburg CrileÕs mother) at a socialist
meeting.
Of
course, socialism is a naughty word nowadays in the U.S. The term never was very popular here. Nevertheless, no matter what we have
called it, the socialist impulse has played an important role in shaping U.S.
history and politics. Without it,
we would not have Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, the
minimum wage, and, not least, community colleges such as Carl Sandburg. Indeed, higher education in general would
not be nearly as open to ordinary Americans as it is without huge government
subsidies. In addition, it is
quite possible that the free market, capitalist components of our mixed economy
would have perished without these and other socialist accommodations designed
to foster more equal opportunities and outcomes.
That
is not the way a lot of us like to think of ourselves. They see the Cold War as having ended
in the triumph of the free market over collectivism in all its forms. But thatÕs not what we are. Ours is a complex mixed system in which
market dynamics have great sway, but which cannot be accurately understood
without properly noting the ways in which government ameliorates the Òcreative
destructionÓ of the marketplace.
It
is a failure to understand what we actually are that leads to phenomena such as
the gutting of FEMA by the current Bush administration and similar results with
the EPA and HUD during the Reagan administration. Likewise, it is selective self-understanding that encourages
the World Bank and IMF to impose draconian economic measures on debtor nations,
not understanding that the social and political costs of these measures will
often neutralize potential economic gains (or even make things worse).
Remembering
what Carl Sandburg was and what we are also may give us a better perspective on
the issue of illegal immigration.
Whether you come at it from a socialist or a biblical perspective, the
truth of the matter is that earth is not the dominion of the wealthy and
powerful. It belongs to all of us
or none of us. Our immigration problem
(to the extent there really is one) flows from the fact that we have not spread
our bounty quickly or fairly enough to avoid conditions of extreme need. That is something we should be working
on with at least the same urgency that we apply to the so-called war on terror.
As
Carl Sandburg knew, when we sing, Òthis land is our land, this land is your
land . . .Ó we are not talking about a deed-holding landed gentry armed with
impregnable property rights and backed by a swarm of lawyers. We are talking about all classes and
nationalities of people, and, most of all, those in need.