THAT THE United States currently suffers from a crippling economic situation should surprise no one. President Obama seems to roll out new legislative measures regarding job creation, deficit reduction or fiscal responsibility each day. With a national debt nearing $15 trillion and an unemployment rate of approximately nine percent, our nation's poor fiscal conditions have long been the primary issue in the political arena.
It would be ignorant to deny that economic concerns are of paramount importance to the United States. But as a nation, we face two distinct types of issues: economic and social. Generally speaking, economic matters concern the country's material wealth, whereas social issues indicate a problem of moral values, such as civics, equality and justice.
Emphasizing the former so heavily leaves us forgetting the significance of the latter. By paying such great attention to our country's declining economic performance, we have harmed our ability to advance our interests in social areas.
Examining the agenda Obama has pushed while in office gives insight into our country's current inability to enact policies addressing moral problems. During his 2008 campaign, Obama promised "to urge states to treat same-sex couples with full equality in their family and adoption laws," close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and "ban the practice of racial profiling by federal law enforcement agencies." According to PolitiFact.com, however, he has either "stalled" or failed in each of his attempts to fulfill these commitments.
Certainly, not all social issues would be resolved if economic matters were less pressing, but it is obvious at the moment that economic problems have hindered social progress. After all, Obama has generally followed through on the other items he has previously vowed to accomplish - PolitiFact reports nearly 70 percent of his promises are either "in the works" or have been fulfilled. But the evidence suggests that these fulfillments have largely bypassed social issues. Much of Obama's effort has been directed toward servicing the economy, which has meant neglecting LGBTQ equality, human rights and racism. Moreover, Obama's attention to fiscal concerns and his related shortfalls in the areas of civics and equality reflect the attitudes and behaviors of governments and citizens in all parts of the country.
This extreme focus on economic matters has consequences beyond preventing the passage of social legislation. Many of the most prominent issues in the United States are complex; they impact many elements of our communities and daily lives. Yet as a result of policymakers' economically driven mindset, our citizens overlook the manifold nature of these issues, transforming them into strictly economic matters. When discussing health care, for example, it becomes a matter of whether Obama's plan will prove economically viable. With undocumented immigration, we concern ourselves with whether or not immigrants take our jobs. And proponents of marijuana legalization have argued that the drug could be taxed, providing substantial revenue to the states.
Forgotten in these dialogues, however, is the fact that perhaps Obama's health care plan could provide citizens with care to which they are morally entitled; that we might have a civic obligation to accept undocumented immigrants; or that maintaining the illegal status of marijuana infringes upon basic liberties. These socially minded arguments may not all be true, but it is mandatory we consider ethical impacts when arguing these important issues if we want our decisions to be well-informed.
Spending too much time on economic issues causes us to forget the fact that both social and fiscal stability are required for the creation and maintenance of a prosperous nation. Liberty, equality and justice - the values we generally associate with social issues - provide the foundation of our democracy; we need to maintain the healthy status of these aspired principles.
I realize it is easy for me, as a college student who lives comfortably, to overlook the harsh economic climate. But at the same time, those fighting to secure a job must realize that they may discount how much we need social progress. Thus, we must strike the right balance. There is no set amount of time that we ought to spend nurturing our economy and our democratic values, but it is obvious when we devote too much of our time to either of the issues. I recognize completely the fiscal and economic disasters facing our nation, but what good is a booming economy in a nation with racism, unethical government policies and palpable inequality?
Cameron Seib's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at c.seib@cavalierdaily.com.
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