How
will such a psychic shift affect Tuesday’s voting? Will Romney gain as poor
people are cut off from voting access or Obama benefit from being seen as more dedicated to people than politicking?
The
Christie crossover offers a clue. As pundits parse his motives, the Governor’s
change of heart is nonetheless a reminder that, when it counts, the contingency of human
life can trump politics.
It
also calls to mind the wisdom of psychoanalyst-philosopher Erich Fromm who in
the turbulent 1960s was preoccupied with what he called "The Myth of
Care." Amid comparable social upheaval and rage about Vietnam back then,
the author of "The Art of Loving" and "The Sane Society"
kept searching newspapers and TV screens for images of people reaching out,
helping and comforting one another.
His
thesis was that such impulses are deeply ingrained in all humans and waiting to
come to the surface when circumstances call them up, that they are their true
feelings below a surface of selfish discord.
This
week’s storm has brought with it to the surface of American life a new surge of
caring. Will it be enough to overwhelm the Tea Party tides of selfishness and
Romney-Ryan appeals to class division that have brought America to a turning
point?
Can
caring make the difference between whether we all sink or swim together?
Update: In the storm's aftermath, caring about climate change brings Barack
Obama another key endorsement, of New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg:
“We need leadership from the White House--and over
the past four years, President Barack Obama has taken major steps to reduce our
carbon consumption, including setting higher fuel-efficiency standards for cars
and trucks. His administration also has adopted tighter controls on mercury
emissions, which will help to close the dirtiest coal power plants...which are
estimated to kill 13,000 Americans a year...
The independent billionaire Mayor notes that Mitt
Romney has “taken sensible positions on immigration, illegal guns, abortion
rights and health care. But he has reversed course on all of them, and is even
running against the health-care model he signed into law in Massachusetts.
“If the 1994 or 2003 version of Mitt Romney were
running for president, I may well have voted for him...”
“Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan both found success
while their parties were out of power in Congress--and President Obama can,
too. If he listens to people on both sides of the aisle, and builds the trust
of moderates, he can fulfill the hope he inspired four years ago and lead our
country toward a better future for my children and yours. And that’s why I will
be voting for him.”
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