(YOU)NION

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I'm old enough to remember the phrase from my childhood of "it takes a village to raise a child."  The idea behind this train of thought is that of community; of looking out for one's neighbor; of having a common interest in the well-being of all children.  The default view of society was that the more people who were "doing well," the better it made society as a whole.  If no one is suffering(either financially, emotionally, or physically), that spurs more opportunity for all and a more attainable opportunity for upward economic and social mobility.

That was the 70's, the decade of the free-mind. Hippies, conscientious college students, civil rights activists, anti-war demonstrators, and general lovers of peace and the collective American ideal(formerly known as "The American Dream.")  Then came the 1980's.

This decade transformed our country in ways that are contributing to our current hardships, both ideologically and fiscally.  With the emergence of television "programming,"our views of social and political issues has changed.  Ronald Reagan, fully understanding the immense influence of the silver-screen, reinforced the "Free Market/individualist" mindset of the country.  By minimizing the importance of the role of government in citizens lives, he began a shift in people's views towards the individual--although in most cases, this caused many Americans to vote and generally change their moral compass against their personal best interests.

This philosophy of individualism is based mainly on the work of Ayn Rand. (1905 - 1982)   

"Ayn Rand’s philosophy—known as Objectivism—holds that historical trends are the inescapable product of philosophy. To reverse the current political and economic trends in America and throughout the world requires a reversal of our society’s fundamental philosophy. Victory in this war of ideas will ultimately mean the defeat of the widely held, pernicious ideologies that dominate contemporary culture and threaten our liberty—ideologies such as collectivism, moral relativism and multiculturalism."

I am all about people's personal freedoms and liberties, but Ms. Rand's "square peg" doesn't fit the "round hole."  The peg of which she speaks seems to be based on our economic structure, Capitalism, and many of the subscribers to this philosophy attempt to fit it into the hole of our governmental structure, Democracy.  Moreover, it directly contradicts the ideas of government "by, for, and of the people."

This individualist mindset many have, both knowingly and unknowingly, makes organizations like unions less effective.  The idea behind unions is collective representation and bargaining.  The number of (active)members is where the power and influence come from.  Because of the individualism, many members look to the figureheads of union leadership (the same way they look to their bosses) for action and results.  Union membership is more than paying monetary dues; personal dues and sacrifices must be paid as well.

Until we recognize the power WE have collectively, the union will remain in its current state of operation and effectiveness.  When the very members who compose the union do not support(or believe in) it, how can we expect the full effectiveness to come into fruition.  It is also unfair to expect others, such as private sector workers and those we negotiate with, to respect the actual number of members/workers who are represented under the umbrella of individual bargaining units or the union as a whole.

Unfortunately, the time has come where we cannot even take the mere existence of unions for granted.  It is very plausible to think that this could be the last contract EVER negotiated.  Most Republicans, with their "personal responsibility" ideology, and increasing numbers of Democrats are actively targeting unionized workers as scapegoats for many of the financial crises in the country right now.  The facts don't necessarily mean as much as the perceptions of voters.

And how can we expect them to support our cause when WE do not even support it?