Inundated by media coverage of the horror of Hurricane Katrina, I am reminded of the book that challenged my youthful confidence in the natural goodness of humankind.
British author William Golding’s 1954 novel “Lord of the Flies” spins a tale of a group of British children who find themselves on a deserted island after their plane is shot down during wartime. At first the boys try to establish order. Two of the protagonists – Piggy and Jack – symbolize the opposite extremes of human behavior. Piggy demands adherence to the rules he grew up with: respect for others, hierarchy of responsibility and compassion. Jack represents the hedonistic side of human nature: If it’s fun, do it. The third character, Ralph, represents the dilemma of political leadership in a democracy. On the one hand, Ralph tries to satisfy the wishes of the other children on the island. On the other, he knows that certain rules of behavior and stewardship must prevail or anarchy and primitivism will triumph.
The book’s significant metaphors are the Beast – the Lord of the Flies – symbolizing evil, and the conch shell, symbol of order and authority. Eventually the conch shatters, anarchy ensues, the boys turn on one another and several die. As the book closes, a naval ship docks on the island and rescues the surviving boys.
Golding’s ending is not happy. Rather, he suggests that while the rescue may keep the boys from killing one another, the ship itself is a weapon of war and killing. Golding, a pessimist influenced by the slaughter and inhumanity of World War II, believed that government is incapable of forestalling the selfish, shortsighted greed of the public.
Though I don’t share his pessimism, on the one hand I am struck by the relevance of Golding’s story to the blame-fest surrounding Katrina’s devastation and on the other, by the debate in Colorado over Referendums C and D.
Both discussions revolve around the role of government in modern society. While I’m inclined to believe we get the government we deserve, I believe that government’s primary role is to be a strong steward of the city, the state and the nation.
Strong stewardship demands thoughtful attention to and investment in natural assets and the environment, public investments and human capital.
The risk of ignoring damaged wetlands and barrier islands in the Mississippi Delta has been known for decades, but neither state nor federal government found the dollars to address the problem. Cutting taxes, pork barrel spending and waging war were higher priorities.
Closer to home, climate change, population growth and our penchant for bigger, better and newer everything wreaks havoc on the physical and human ecology of Colorado.
Our fierce independence, disdain for communitarian values, taxation and shared sacrifice has resulted in the systematic degradation of our public systems: health, education, public welfare and publicly funded infrastructure.
There are some things we cannot do by ourselves, regardless of our tenacious, optimistic Western independence. We cannot – independently or with our friends and families – build highways, educate children, care for the poor and elderly, and maintain invaluable civic assets, including public buildings and monuments, tree canopies, parks and parkways.
Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, says his goal is to cut government so that “we can drown it in the bathtub.” Government drowned last week, certainly – in the Mississippi River.
Four of Colorado’s congressional leaders have signed Norquist’s pledge: Wayne Allard, Bob Beauprez, Marilyn Musgrave and Tom Tancredo.
Ask each one what his or her view of government’s role is as you watch the wrenching dislocation of more than a half-million Americans and the impacts of the failure of civic stewardship across the Mississippi Delta. Think about it when you consider how to vote on Referendums C and D this November. Think about it as you carefully examine this city’s and state’s public lands, revered parks, parkways, public statuary, fountains, roads and buildings.
Recall the words of author Golding: “Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill. You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why … things are what they are.”
Susan Barnes-Gelt (bs13@qwest.net) served eight years on the Denver City Council and was an aide to former Denver Mayor Federico Pena. Her column appears on alternate Thursdays.
