Whenever we see each other I have this almost always interesting conversation with Sam. That is his anglicized name when he became a U.S. citizen. He came in the late seventies from China as one of a select group of a hundred or so young Chinese students accepted to come and study in the U.S., under the auspices of the State Department, in line with the Nixon administration's diplomatic intercession for China's inclusion into the world's stage, politically and economically. Sam became an engineer and stayed and worked here after graduation. He is retired now and a very vocal critic of the Chinese government. He makes his opinion known loudly to anyone who'd listen and woe to those who'd dare say good things about the regime of his old homeland.
We both swim at the local gym but we see each other only sparingly. Yesterday, I opined to him that it looks like China might invade Taiwan. His immediate response was, "Nope, that's not going to happen". He was willing to bet some amount of money that there is no chance of that happening. He went on to enumerate many different reasons why, not the least of which is what is happening to the bogged down Russian invasion of Ukraine; the immediate world wide outrage that followed; the fact that Taiwan is a lot more militarily prepared and the Taiwan Strait (also called Formosa Strait) that at its narrowest gap between the two coasts is at least a 100-mile treacherous strip that is essentially still part of the Pacific Ocean that could present problems to naval crossings. There is also, of course, the semi-formal commitment of the U.S. and Australia to defend Taiwan from invasion (however, soft or "hardly cast in stone" that commitment is). Add to that the uneasiness Japan and the other ASEAN nations feel about it and the added concern for a potential domino effect on the region. China also risks its commercial and trade relations with the world at large. We should keep in mind that China does not have oil or some other natural resource that it can leverage like Russia has over Europe. China's best advantage of cheap labor is at best tenuous. Think Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh, The Philippines and others which are only too willing to take up the "slack" if the need or circumstances arise.
Sam, however, told me that what we should really worry about is what is happening here. Now. "Our greatest fear should be here", Sam said with his index finger pointed downwards toward the ground. And he had a litany of "this and that" that we in the U.S. should worry about by first looking no farther than the natural state of the union. "What union?", Sam asked rhetorically.
This country is almost inextricably divided politically, socially, sociologically and culturally, Sam observed.
So, is Sam right?
Well, politically, for sure, this country is most certainly 50-50 divided. But that division now runs so deep that friendships, the work environment and even family interactions have become painfully untenable. A far cry from when people used to be able to tolerate the differences without affecting their overall relationships. The chasm has widened. Gone is when people with varying political persuasions can go to lunch, play sports, go out for drinks after work together, each other's opinion freely spoken and tolerated. That had become more of an exception now. Even in large gatherings, people tend to immediately gravitate into globular clusters of people with the same minded beliefs and ideas.
Political differences have always been around since the birth of democracy. In fact, it is an essential component. Where it becomes a problem is when people are so dug-in that opinions and ideas become inviolable dogmas. This condition negates the idea of meeting in the middle. Each other's "way or the highway" does not tolerate meeting halfway in the middle. Political parties in power, whether locally or nationally, aim for total control of the agenda. That is how the seed to totalitarianism begins to germinate.
That is just one beef Sam has on what is going on. There is a fracturing of America's social and cultural backbone. Long held values of family and civility are eroding right before our eyes.
What seemed like an easy question about "how do you define a woman" now appears to be so complicated. A Supreme Court Justice nominee found that so difficult to answer, falling back on, "I am not a biologist" retort.
Women have come a long way to breaking all kinds of social and cultural barriers only to hit a staggering stumbling block, more powerful than the corporate glass ceiling, in women's sport. Sports history is being written about how women athletes are losing in unfair competition to competitors who were born male. Women's track and field and swimming records are being broken by biologically male athletes. Where is NOW, the National Organization for Women. The silence is deafening when they used to be the loudest and very effective advocate for women.
High school girls and college women had seen decades of their opportunities and equitable rewards elevated to unprecedented heights never seen before only to be dashed by unfair competition from those who shouldn't be in the same playing field. How many young women's dreams of future scholarships or even just the chance to make the team will unravel because they would lose to the superior strength and speed of biologically male competitors.
What is happening? "Woke-ism happened. The Supreme Court nominee and NOW were intimidated by a sinister force used and applied but never acknowledged by those who practice and employ it. It is so subtle, yet powerful, that it would only take a handful of voices and keystrokes on social media to intimidate otherwise strong willed individuals and powerful corporations, and even seasoned politicians to cower in fear.
Disney that used to be the steady platform in entertainment to espouse the old traditional values of family and moral certitude is the latest to declare open city to the woke crowd. Disney now finds it necessary to do away with "boys and girls", "ladies and gentlemen" in welcoming its customers or announcing what's next in the program.
The country's politicians and businesses are now so mired with gender multiplicity that they are willing to sacrifice the rights of the majority, who are clearly and simply identified as male and female, on the altar of the woke faith. Look at the following quote below, from one study:
"The estimated proportion of gender-diverse individuals (those who are not cisgender) varies between 0.1 and 2% of the population, depending on the inclusion criteria and where the studies were held."
The backbone of the U.S. and all other nations are 98% of the traditional male and female classifications In other words, the country's economy that produce goods and services, the national provision for its defense and security are pretty much carried out by 98% of the population. Yet, a lot of social changes are now geared towards appeasement of and bending over backwards to accommodate the 2%.
It is one thing to be tolerant and accommodating but it is another to be practically subservient to the minority. Long strides have been taken to protect the rights of minorities, including those who identify with non-cisgender identities, and laws are in the books to ensure it.
This is just one of those that worries Sam. He worries that the government now allows "X" on the box for gender in U.S. passports. Ironically, since women inherit only the X chromosome, so facetiously, in a manner of speaking, anyone who will mark their passport X, is for all intents and purposes a woman. Just saying.
So, where did this leave Sam? He finished our conversation with a defeated shrug.
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