If America had a therapist, we’d know this polycule sucks

Editorial Fellow | Sofia DeMartino

For a time, there was silence.

We hunkered down waiting for the storm to pass, listening to sheets of rain and hail pelt our shelters. We ran for safer cover when the great trees themselves were split by 140 mph wind and crashed through the kitchen or the living room or the spare bedroom, if we were lucky. We emerged, shell-shocked. Some drove home through the quiet streets, weaving between stoplights and telephone poles that had abandoned their posts and flung themselves across First Avenue. Those of us who didn’t have a chain saw in the garage and hadn’t made it to Menards or Ace before they closed made quick acquaintance with better prepared neighbors. We labored together to clear the roads and check on each other in what had turned into a rather balmy 84 degree afternoon.

It stayed quiet for a week or so. For most of us, there was no internet, the cell towers were down, there was no power and no hot water. We traveled to Johnson County for gasoline, and to find out what was happening in the outside world, and took the news home to share in camp chairs we set up in the backyard for our new pastime — talking directly to our neighbors. In the middle of a pandemic that had isolated us for months, we were connecting mano a mano with human beings. Even the smallest of us remembers The Day All The Trees Fell Down.

The derecho that decimated Linn County’s communications infrastructure provided a view into a microcosm of what happens when a community is faced with a common threat. We developed small scale trade economies (Let me run you the extension cord from the generator, and you send the kids over to rake.) We launched new initiatives (The combined efforts of multiple social service agencies creating new distribution networks for food, ice, and critical supplies to older adults.) Our priorities evolved from the nuclear family, rocketed past our extended kin, and covered the entirety of our neighbors who had also gone through this shared trauma. We were newly interdependent on the people in our immediate proximity for survival.

But it only lasted a week or so. Bit by bit, we cooked our dinner at our indoor electric stoves again, retreated to the social media universe in the palm of our hand, and lost touch with Neighbor Dave with the working coffee maker.

How quickly we forget.

When the United States had more to offer the world than a marketplace for foreign goods and military tech, it didn’t matter so much if our military friends were also our economic friends. However, the omnipresence of the internet and its role in virtually every aspect of our lives has added a new gravity to how well we play with others. We don’t control the infrastructure for it — although 70% of the world’s internet traffic runs through Loudoun County.

In an era of our nation fraught with anxiety over ICE deportations, chaotic relations with multiple nations in the Middle East, the ongoing war in Ukraine and an ascending China, our dependence on foreign everything poses a far greater threat than has been part of any historical foreign policy strategy. As of this writing, the U.S. Marines still patrol the streets of Los Angeles, while 1,200 Iowa National Guard Members have been called up to mitigate ISIS overseas.

Many of our allies are dismayed at the direction of our nation. Canada launched a direct outreach campaign to U.S. residents, buying up ad space on the streets of several U.S. cities to explain what tariffs are and how they will impact consumers. German officials have expressed concerns about the U.S. Vice President voicing his support for German far-right neo-Nazi political factions intent on dismantling the German government. A March poll of French citizens showed that 73% of them no longer consider the United States an ally.

Trump’s cavalier response to Iran threatening to send missiles to a U.S. base in Quatar (They said, 'We are going to shoot them, is 1 o'clock OK? … We said, 'It's fine.'” is a bizarre approach to wartime interactions, and does very little to assuage fears that this administration is all theater and no substance.

Less than 200 days into this administration, our longest-term international romances are at best on the rocks. Internally, we are roiling with mistrust, xenophobia, and polarization — and if there is hope that engaging in war will unite us or bring on economic rebound, it is a misguided folly. We are globally interdependent, but what can’t be sourced here can almost certainly be obtained elsewhere — especially as corporations operate globally, and in their own interest will do business where it makes the most financial sense.

If this global international polycule were examined by a therapist, we would get a failing grade as a partner. Terrible hinge behavior, abundant gaslighting, zero trust, jealousy off the charts. Communications is a nightmare, we’re in crises with multiple partners, prioritizing time with Russia (who has been manipulative to us and is terrorizing our long term relationships, no less.)

What would life in this country really look like if we so damage our connections with the rest of the world that we have only our countrymen left to depend on? How would we behave toward one another if we experienced a catastrophic event like the derecho on a national scale, and realized no one was coming to lend a chain saw and a cooler full of ice? As the late, great combat veteran and local foods champion Sonia Kendrick would say — “What the hell happens when the trucks stop running?”

More than three years remain between this moment and the conclusion of this misadventure in governance. I hear murmurs about succession, but the massive shift in GOP policy doesn’t give me much solace when considering another conservative administration. From 47’s rise to power, GOP candidates have learned how to be the best villain on a reality show — say the worst things, exhibit the most crass and inappropriate behavior, incite a little violence from your castmates and you’ll probably get four seasons and your own spin off.

If we value our future — we need to show up for ourselves and for the love of our nation. The midterms are coming, friends. As the most accessible strategy available to the populace, the midterm elections matter far more than our turnout reflects.

Sofia DeMartino is a Gazette editorial fellow. sofia.demartino@thegazette.com