Peter Oren on the Politics of Water

I was born and raised in Columbus, Indiana, where the Driftwood River meets the Flatrock and becomes the east fork of the White River. My parents took my brothers and I canoeing on these rivers at an early age. I've had a quiet fascination with rivers, the water cycle, and the lessons they provide ever since.

I see waterways as a useful model for a politics of unity, diversity, and accountability: imagine if instead of counties, districts, states, and countries, we identified with the streams and watersheds our downspouts fed. What if a group's contribution to the world was measured not by GDP but by the health of the waters it sends downstream?

All water returns to the ocean, with the exception of glaciers, though it seems they too will follow this rule as the climate continues to warm. If the health of the ocean's ecosystems is an indicator of the health of the planet, the blue dot is in decline.

In the months and possibly years after 9/11/01, I remember my school playing a blatantly nationalistic song every day over the speaker system during morning announcements and prayer (I went to a Catholic school - the same school as Vice President Mike Pence, I'll add). The halls rang out with "I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free/ and I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me/ and I'll gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today/ cuz there ain't no doubt I love this land/ God bless the USA!" I would assume that such propaganda exists in most cultures.

This pride seems arbitrary and senseless to me most days, but its significance in these times of Trump, Brexit, and war the world over cannot be ignored. There are people all over who want to preserve cultural identity and ignore the needs of immigrants. They forget how connected we are to one another. They forget how indiscriminately clouds lose their waters.

Sometimes rivers find new directions. Sometimes they cut corners and break through the bank to pass a bend in the river. It makes perfect sense to take pride in one's place, but perhaps it's time we redefine place to reflect a sense of oneness.

Water is constantly brought towards the centre by gravity. Water holds to itself and finds a level. Why can't we also seek equal footing? Too long have politics been a spectator sport where lines are drawn and no-one learns outside their group. It's time to rethink democracy, to make it collaborative instead of competitive.