There was a cabaret, and there was a master of ceremonies… and there was a city called Berlin, in a country called Germany…and it was the end of the world.
Witnessing Congress vote on the debt ceiling, I was reminded of the first time I heard these words spoken. It was during the finale of the musical Cabaret, and it wasn’t until that moment that I realized the show was a metaphor about a nation on the verge of a political nightmare, whose citizens sat in cabaret and pretended to be oblivious to the pain they were about to endure. And now with a debt deal enacted in the US that does little to address the root of the problem I’m left to wonder if America is at the same point – the end of the world.
Cabaret is a musical about a group of people living in Berlin before and during the rise of the Nazis. While the show will forever be associated with the songs Willkommen, Maybe This Time and Cabaret, it is about much more than life at a German social club on the eve of Hitler’s ascent. The show is a statement about how even good people are guilty when they fail to address problems, whether they be political, social or cultural.
This entry is not to be a comparison of America to Nazi Germany. No, to do that would be ignorant of history, dramatic, and just plain stupid. This entry is meant to question whether we as Americans have demanded solvent answers to our on-going financial crisis. Or rather, have we as the characters in Cabaret did, assumed that even our dysfunctional political system will simply do what’s best for the country and turn a blind eye to the crisis at hand.
President Obama and Speaker Boehner’s comments during the debt ceiling debate made one thing clear: this very real problem is in no way about to be solved. Regardless of the deal that was struck, I don’t believe our government has yet to truly cope with an addiction that will forever prohibit the United States from regaining its status as an economic leader. While I wasn’t surprised that default did not occur, I do lack confidence in the government’s ability to honesty address our debt problem.
Why? Because regardless of political/economic ideology, our debt is not a spending question, it’s a vision question. As a country, we need to ask what we stand for and what our vision is for the 21st century. Furthermore, how do we ensure a revenue stream that can afford even the modest American dream? Currently, no elected official or political candidate has even dared to answer these questions.
The next great political leader will be a transformative one, regardless of party. He/she will present a vision for this country that reaches beyond the next electoral cycle. Debate, whether it be heated or not, will of course be a part of this process. But that’s what makes our country great, and it’s those freedoms we risk losing.
An honest debt solution must include a mixture of spending cuts and tax increases. Anyone who tells you otherwise is just pandering for your vote. It will also require politicians to touch not only the 3rd rail of politics, entitlement spending, but the electric chair. They will need to find a way to make Social Security and Medicare financially feasible; reform defense spending; address the need to make quality education affordable to ALL Americas; raise the funds to restore our country’s crumbling infrastructure, and so much more.
I’m aware that the grand deal I propose sounds like a laundry list of big ticket items. And it does. However, failure to address only one of these problems condemns the United States to a debtor’s prison. It restricts us from achieving our God given potential as a country.
The debt deal which was passed must be applauded for at least attempting to cut the deficit. Still, cuts are not enough. Our country is growing, baby boomers are retiring, and we once again punted the political football.
Earlier, I stated that this entry was a question: Have we as American’s demanded solvent answers to the on-going fiscal crisis? In truth, there is no answer, it’s a trick question. What this entry was meant to do was to have you think about your role in our democracy and to see if you have been paying attention.
After seeing Cabaret, I left the theater feeling nauseated. For two plus hours I fell in love with characters who I felt we’re not only relatable, but real. I observed how even decent, hard working human beings turned a blind eye to the crisis around them. The result was a political ideology so crude and evil, that its wounds are still being healed on the human psyche.
What allowed the characters in Cabaret to permit this? They had just been through a long war, their economy was in the tanks and the only joy to be found was from bawdy entertainment venues. Sound familiar? Regardless, America is not Germany; however the lesson cannot be lost. We as citizens cannot ignore our country’s problems.
Challenges, problems, crisis; the United States will always haven them. Why? Well that’s a philosophical question and one that requires several martinis to answer. But problems aren’t the issue. It’s making sure that we don’t simply ignore them, but rather rise to the occasion.
Berlin in Cabaret may have been the end of the world because its citizens choose to ignore a growing political crisis. The debt crisis in 2011 doesn’t have to mean the same fate for the United States.
This entry is dedicated to the memory of my Grandfather, who took me see Cabaret on Broadway at Studio 54 many overtures ago.
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