The pursuit of national unity

KENNETT, Mo. -- In a few days, our nation will observe the first anniversary of a horrendous event, the slaughter of more than 3,000 innocent citizens who died in the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

It will be a time of reflection on the part of most Americans, a time when our leaders will ask us to renew our patriotism, our faith in our governments and our support of any plans proposed by the powers that be to eradicate the threats of the future.

Most of us will hear these words with mixed emotions. Some will accept them without question, while others will ask for further details before any willingness to accept them at face value.

There is no right or wrong way to judge these requests, for each will be clothed in sufficient patriotic garb hoping to generate almost 100 percent acceptance, if only on a philosophical level.

We are, after all, a trusting nation, ready to accept whatever our officials tell us, even if it is either merely philosophical or realistic enough to generate belief.

This is about all that we common folk can offer. Indeed, it is about all that we have been offered in these times that are neither simple nor normal. As most of us have demonstrated since Sept. 11, what we most eagerly seek is a return to normalcy, whatever that human condition actually is, so that our fears of continuous terrorism might be allayed and in order that we can return to searching for the peace and prosperity that are promised each and every time we elect a president, a senator, a governor or a city councilmen.

The one fact that makes our leaders' assurances seem realistic is that times in America generally do get better with each succeeding year. Oh, we may have a setback here and there, moments when Watergate or Monicagate throw our national psyche into a fleeting moment of regression. But overall we have fared better than perhaps we even deserve. And deep down, we know it, which seems to make us suspicious of the trust we inherently believe we owe our fellow citizens and our nation.

Despite its economic twists and turns, and despite the emotional toll of the Twin Towers and Pentagon assaults, the past 12 months have been remarkably normal for the vast majority of us. The facts to confirm this are not difficult to find:

Our grandparents died at an average age of 47. Today we die at the age of 77.

Infant mortality once claimed more than one child in 10, a rate long since eradicated by better medicines and care.

Adjusting for inflation, middle-income households make more than twice what they did in 1929, the first year for which such statistics are available.

It's true our suicide and homicides have not significantly diminished, though neither is as high as during the Great Depression, and while we may drink more and abuse more drugs than formerly, there are some signs we are winning our sometimes futile efforts to curtail them.

This is not to deny the so-called civic malaise that bothers the conscientious among us. Surveys taken even before last September show most people believe social and moral values are worse now than when they were growing up, that the average American is less trustworthy, and that the breakdown of community remains a serious problem. From an absolute perspective we are better off now than ever before, even if a majority of us may dispute the premise.

I somehow feel that the understanding of this paradox of why progress, measured by income or health or just the proliferation of stuff, doesn't always increase the satisfaction with our lives.

This is partially confirmed by the overall attitude of most of us after Sept. 11: Yes, this is a horrible tragedy but since none of my family was involved, I'll simply work even harder to make my own life better.

In truth, we measure what we need by what those around us have, or appear to have. Some of our measures of progress -- television sets, SUVs, larger homes -- are actually making it harder for many to achieve what might unrealistically be called happier lives.

It is also true that our own expectations change with the circumstances: If we start making $50,000 a year, we soon begin pursuing happiness and $100,000 a year.

Before Sept. 11, we expected our government to defends us. After the attacks, we were forced to trust our government's ability to do so.

The past year has also seen an evolutionary change in our view of the political institutions of America which have been under direct fire by radical conservatives and liberals since the end of World War II. Neither cluster of these unlicensed and generally unrealistic critics was willing to give political leaders any benefit of any doubt, since to do so would give their followers some understanding and comfort.

Even today the highly vocal self-appointed and self-anointed liberal and conservative commentators attack governmental leaders with impunity and, I might add, often without logic or reasoning or any sense of strengthening public unity.

Nothing is more disheartening than to view highly damaging far-left and far-right attacks on leaders seeking only to carry out the heavy responsibilities of their offices. These efforts grow even more difficult because of increasing unrest in much of the world and as a result of the damage already done by irresponsible critics.

Thus far most Americans have demonstrated a remarkable degree of maturity and understanding as they joined in the sincere efforts to recapture the American dream of peace and prosperity for our own society and those around the world. It is a dream worth pursuing but, nevertheless, as events the past nearly 12 months have shown, one that is extremely difficult to achieve when our national unity seems to lie only in the ashes of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the site of an airplane crash in Pennsylvania.

Jack Stapleton is the editor of Missouri News & Editorial Service.