Mainstream America and the Stages of Grief

[rucky]

It's often difficult to discuss things from the perspective of mainstream America on a discussion board for political junkies. But what I will try to do is analyze the changing mood of the country, as it applies to Elizabeth Kubler-Ross' stages of grief model - the grieving event (trauma) for our country as a whole being 9/11. I know most active progressives and independent thinkers have moved through these stages more quickly than the rest of the country, but there's no denying that watching those planes hit the tower on TV made for a nationwide trauma and subsequent grief. What we're seeing now is not only a shift in the opinion of our leadership, but a shift to a different stage of the grieving process.

1) Denial: I think the Bush Administration got America through that stage rather quickly, which could explain why people actually thought (still think?) that he showed great leadership in the weeks immediately following 9/11. For those of us paying attention, we know he brought us through this stage by rushing us into the next stage:

2) Anger: This is the stage I believe most americans are finally coming out of. It is in the interest of the powers that be to keep Americans in this stage for as long as possible. This is the most destructive part of the process, but has proven to produce the mindset that has maken the public more accepting of violent actions (and all of the theft and corruption that has gone along with it). Most of us here on DU got through this phase around the same time Bush started talking about going into Iraq. But Saddam was an easy target for americans to transfer their anger onto, and the war moved to Iraq.

Note: I really don't think "mainstream america" was much into the war debate because the Bushies and media produced a plausible narrative of "good vs. evil" that played into and justified our anger. That's all most people needed to know.

3) Bargaining: Still misplaced in the Iraq war, this is the current stage in our society where people are asking the questions: Have our actions been effective? Are we doing the right thing? This type of debate is a major progression, but we're far from the finish line.

4) Depression: Soon we as a nation will be facing the shame of fighting an unjust war, and continue to feel helpless as an ineffective war on terror continues to be waged by an ineffective and corrupt administration. (ok I'm still pretty much stuck here)

5) Acceptance: We can only begin to get out of that shame by taking a good look at ourselves and admitting our own failures in effectively addressing this new age of terror. Then we'll be in a position actually do something about the problems we're facing - and the many more we've created in this process.

I hope we can get through this by 2008, because only then will we as a nation be in a position to move toward a peaceful solution to our global and internal conflicts.

Peace!
-rucky