MISSOURI WATCH: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

In recent days we have all read and heard what has occurred in America and the rest of the world during the past 12 months as historians, political scientists, columnists and just about every journalist alive tried to provide a perspective of the events of 1998. Much of this perspective provided us was information gleaned from the year's front pages, television or the Internet, and while it served to restart our memories of the recent past, it provided us with little insight into where we are headed in this new year, at the close of a century and the genesis of a millennium.

H.G. Wells, one of the great minds of this aging century, once observed that "human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe." In his book, "The Outline of History," Wells made the point that unless there is enlighted vision (education), society will continue its forward march toward repeating the mistakes of the past. One does not have to be a bibliophile to recognize the validity of Wells' wisdom. Without dwelling on the past, we would be wiser to plan what we can do in the present to improve the future. In other words, where do we go from here?

Whether in the field of commerce, politics, innovation, culture or scientific endeavor, we must concentrate on resolving the problems that have confounded us in the past and which we must now successfully confront if there is to be a future.

For starters, it seems most appropriate to mention the polarization of our society. The most recent even in U.S. history has been the extraordinary disaster inflicted on us by the private conduct of our elected president. That there are almost as many views on this subject as there are observers is not surprising, for each of us embraces a moral level that best suits our needs. But the polarization of presidential conduct has created a nation divided among itself, not unlike the great Civil War disaster of the 1860s. It is not by accident that the impeachment process has arisen at the end of both of these challenging moments in history.

Unfortunately, our national division extends beyond Mr. Clinton's peccadilloes, for the growing separation between rich and poor, the educated and poorly informed and the motivated and the complacent point to a permanency that is both disturbing and threatening. The Founding Fathers insisted that unity of cause and purpose was the overriding objective of our colonial society; without it, they warned, the new nation would never prosper nor be strong enough to resist destruction.

This constitutional concern for the future of our country is too often overlooked as we debate our constitutional rights, as if this was the only purpose of creating these United States of America. The founders wanted unity of cause and purpose as much as they wanted freedom, and without both they saw nothing but chaos and virtually certain failure.

This new year, as we work to break down polarization, we must also labor to revisit restoration, which can be translated as reassuring every citizen that he has a right to be proud of his institutions, his governments, his societies. The nagging doubts that we understandably embrace as we view scandals, official indifference and neglect and social and economic injustices are incredibly injurious to our national spirit and resolve. If we no longer believe we are, as our constitution states, a free and independent people, then we are indeed no longer free and independent. We must restore the former confidence that our beliefs are as permanent as the ink that gave them birth more than two centuries ago.

In addition to ending polarization and renewing restoration, we must adopt a third goal for the new year: prioritization. We must stop placing the goals of special interests ahead of the common interest, whether in government or commerce or education or any of the other broad areas of our nation. Because of the systems we have installed in our federal and state capitals, not every societal element is heard at the same level of volume. Those who have assisted the fortunes of our elected officials receive far greater remedy than those unable to pay for the granting of their wishes. The currency of government has, unfortunately, become the literal cash of the realm, and this transmogrification will eventually destroy our democracy quicker than all the armies of all of our enemies. The self-absorption of too many of our officials with their own political futures leads to further prioritization, with the public good once again sacrificed for personal gain.

Like the 16th century movement that lead to the creation of Protestant faiths worldwide, America at the close of the 20th century is in need of a reformation that will create a more concerned, faithful and informed citizenry. It is unclear whether we can realize the kind of political, social and economic goals we seek unless we do undergo a reformation by and within our society. Such a movement will require the kind of education and maturity that Wells called for, the kind of vision that Lincoln enunciated, and the sacrifice that religious martyrs have made down through the centuries.

It is difficult to imagine that these goals will be reached unless there are unseen leaders urging us to respond. Viewing today's leaders is not encouraging, for the appear for the most part to be petty, foolish and self-absorbed. To put this American dilemma in familiar language, we need fewer Bill Clintons and more Mark McGwires, less spinning and more governing, less greed and more concern fo the common welfare.

None of the goals outlined above seem possible, almost as impossible as the goal one baseball player set for himself, and who is his last 11 trips to the plate last season hit five home runs. Even if Big Mac hadn't hit 70 homers, he would still have been a hero because he was willing to give his all to reach his goal. Okay, citizens, it's the ninth inning and we've got two strikes against us. Let's knock one out of the ballpark.

~Jack Stapleton of Kennett is the editor of Missouri News and Editorial Service.