~a column by Colleen O’Brien
As the kids used to say, “Where we are we, Mom?”
I was relieved when I could answer“Here we are we,” as I finally pulled into our intended destination.
And now, I’m the one asking, “Where we are we?” hoping for an answer.
After reading the first three pages of a really good book, Abundance, by Ezra Klein, I was on the verge of euphoria. It was the best Utopia tale I’d ever read. As I turned the page from the intro to the meat of the book, however, I became seriously gloomy; I was disappointed by me, by us, by my country, by our falling apart when we were on such a positive and progressive trajectory: human rights on the constantly upward swing rather than taking away as many rights as possible; equality in all ways, a given that included the poor to the middling along with the 813 billionaires in the U.S. (2024); proven technology working seriously on plans in the works; the goal reached of a climate under control – all for a positive future for humanity across the globe.
But no, we are instead in a world of hurt, lolling around perusing our I-fones within a habit of procrastination, putting off reality to a future time, acting as what we have become, a “culture of contempt,” as Senator Cory Booker says. We are in delay, the thieves of time. And time is fed up, getting pissy, as we can see as we dread the next bit of weird weather across the country. This is Where we are we:
—The climate is closing in on us. Here we are we with not enough will to continue with sustainable energy from sun, wind or geothermal but full of proposals to open up federal parks to “drill, baby, drill,” attributed to brainiac Sarah Palin (and many others). We’ve known in the U.S. for years the proven ideas that could have and should have been put into effect to right the human greed that smogged and clogged and made ill a planet and its inhabitants – animal, vegetable and mineral. We did not pursue any sustainability strongly enough, listening instead to money. We were a well-established and blessed country of progress and rights that could still be lifting human decency up the ladder of calm living. We did not have to quit doing our best, but we did. We quit those positives and sat back to take aim at people we didn’t like while buying stuff we didn’t need.
—The Equal Rights Amendment (originally drafted in 1923), decades old and still not added to our Constitution, is a joke among nations – the big ones – France, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Switzerland and one of the most sparsely populated countries, Namibia, with a little more than 3 million people; it has equal rights for women, but the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee its women the same rights and protections as its men. Consequently, Here we are we, Mom, with no more Roe versus Wade choice.
—Liars are simply chuckling in that good old-boys’ way, unaware of not living in reality, uncaring of the machinations of the seriously idiotic. Here we are we, economies on the verge of collapse across the globe, folks in the richest country in the history of the world worried about our children, Social Security, healthcare, food, rent, mortgage, life savings.
It’s a strange time to be living in, and we are informed of this hourly – not always in the same way. People watch Fox News and feel sorry for the rich, old-boy victim who’s been persecuted by courts, juries, media and half the country. Other people listen to Substack, MSNBC, AP and hear the hundreds of things penned by the rich, old-boy victim who doesn’t know better but claims he’s God’s gift.
Is this the worst of times? Have things been worse? We’re not sure because we can’t tell a lie from a truth. Are we replaying the times of Dickens’ Tale of Two Cities about the 1789 French revolution? “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” It was just about that time our forefathers were writing the Constitution of the United States.
Where we are we, Mom? I’ve gotten lost many a time when that was the question. But I was usually on the wrong street, or I missed my exit on the freeway. Right now, the Where we are we question has no Here we are we answer. If it’s happened before and we’re still here, puzzled but not yet lost, what’s keeping us from stepping up in our own ways – each of us declaring that we have in hand the business of Here we are we to ensure healthcare and education to all; practice a consistency that carries on seriously and truthfully what the weather’s doing and to send FEMA, for everyone, when necessary; equality as a given; that people will know they will be taken care of and loved; the way of life that we can practice that will give our pretty world and everyone in it the chance of a lifetime . . . even the hopelessly lost one who doesn’t know better.
