The Tale of the Castle and the Political Sandbox

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When I was in kindergarten, I had to sit in time-out for throwing sand.  I had already suffered the humiliation of getting my name on the blackboard because I forgot to do a morning activity, matching a paper bear with my phone number.  So, when I was caught throwing sand, I had already used my freebie that day.  I recall that all the other kids were throwing the sand in the indoor sandbox, but I was the only one caught.  I resent them to this day.  As a perpetual rule follower, I was devastated by my punishment, sitting alone in the corner for five minutes.  Many years later I found out that my teacher, Mrs. Marks told my Mom that I cried the whole time.

Maybe it was this early and devastating experience that gave me an aversion to throwing sand, actual and metaphorical.  Let me explain.  Think of the political arena as a giant sandbox.  There are two teams within in the box, both with the goal of building one beautiful, majestic sand castle.  One team hangs out inside the castle and constructs it from the inside, let’s call them the Builders.  The other team is outside of the castle complex and instead of building from the inside, they throw sand at the castle.  Let’s call them the Bulldozers.   It is an eternal struggle between the Builders and the Bulldozers but they have a symbiotic relationship.  Without the Bulldozers, the Builders may grow complacent with the castle, even when it falls into disrepair.  They need the Bulldozers to knock down parts of the castle so they can be rebuild it better.  Without the Builders, the Bulldozers would have to build the castle themselves which would be a terrible mess.

The two teams do not necessarily correspond to political ideologies.  There are Builders and Bulldozers on each side.  But, I would say that the political party in power is much more likely to be inhabiting the castle.  For instance, right now Obama and the Democrats are in the castle.  They are trying to renovate the health care wing, shut down torture in the dungeon, and find accommodations for all the previous inhabitants of the “big tent.”  Meanwhile, they are taking heavy enemy fire. To make matters worse, some of the residents of the castle got fed up with waiting for their wings to be built/renovated so they set up camp outside the castle and joined the Bulldozers.

Not all residents of the castle are Obama apologists.  Those who disagree with the administration and find themselves inside the castle are the opposition which would rather fix the problems within the castle.  They are the best of the Builders.  Then there are the Builders who are obsessed with changing the fixtures instead of Building.  They merely want to erase any evidence of the previous residents.  These are the worst of the Builders.  The best of the Bulldozers are those who want to build from the inside but whose principles keep them outside.  The worst of the Bulldozers are those who say that they hope everything the Builders do fails.  They are not even interested in constructing the castle unless they get to sketch the blue prints.

In my heart, I am a builder.  I want to be inside the castle constructing, not outside destructing.  But, I have found myself outside on many occasions.  When I hate being a Bulldozer is when I do not know/have the solution.  Last year I protested the California state budget cuts that would eliminate funding for HIV medications and services.  At the time I was an HIV service provider and knew it was the right thing to do.  But, I felt uneasy because if you had asked me what the governor should do instead, I would not have had a good answer.  All I can come up with is 1) cut something else, or 2) raise taxes.  Indeed, those may have been the best answers but I did not know the details.

There will always be tension between the two groups, Builders and Bulldozers.  Many great leaders have been found on both sides.  Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Jesus, Bulldozers.  FDR, Teddy Kennedy, Lincoln, Builders.  Others escape classification.  Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu started as Bulldozers, completely brought down the castle and became Builders when they built their own.

In the end, we need each other.  Even in friendly chats and discussions, I find that my Bulldozer friends make me a better Builder.  I guess it is a good thing that some kids throw sand in kindergarten and don’t get caught.  It leads to a lifetime partnership.