Monopoly, Resistance and Staying Connected

In a book I was reading by Allan Johnson, he compares the system we are living in to playing a board game like Monopoly. He talks about how, since we live in a culture focused so much on the individual and individual beliefs and intentions and responsibility, we aren't always aware of the influence the bigger systems in our lives have us and others. We tend to think about systems as just the compilation of a bunch of individuals, instead of recognizing they promote certain behaviors and values within them. I wanted to include his explanation:

"Like everyone else, as a Monopoly player I try to take everything from all the other players- all of their money, all their property- which then forces them out of the game. The point of the game is to ruin everyone else and be the only one left in the end. When you win, you feel good, because you're supposed to feel good. Except that one day I realized I felt good about winning-about taking everything from everyone else- even when I played with my children, who were pretty young at the time. But there didn't seem to be much point to playing without trying to win, because winning was what the game was about. Why land on a property and not buy it, or own a property and not improve it, or have other players land on your property and not collect the rent? So I stopped playing"(86).

He goes on to explain that systems should not be confused with who the players are. The players participate in the system. If there were no players, Monopoly would just be a bunch of meaningless pieces, but the game of Monopoly and the people who play it are not the same. Their behavior has less to do with what their own natural instinct is than with taking the path of least resistance and conforming to what will help them to "win." He explains that we generally have a hundred different decisions we could make about what to do in any given situation. In class, I could get up and walk around the room while the teacher is talking. At a movie theatre, I could throw popcorn at the person in front of me, I could face the back of the elevator instead of the front or not look people in the eye when I talk to them. However, all of these behaviors would cause significant resistance from the people around me. They would be considered "inappropriate" or even outright rude. Essentially, it is important that we acknowledge how much other people, as opposed to "human nature" influence the way we act and what we perceive as "normal" and "acceptable."

He goes on to talk about how, because people generally do not see the external systems they are a part of, that they judge the existence of things like sexism or racism on how they personally relate to those concepts. They think that, because they would never treat anyone differently because of race or age or gender, that, either these thoughts and behaviors don't exist or, if they do, they are someone else's problem.

The reality is that as long as we fail to recognize that we are part of a system in which certain people are being treated poorly and/or feel poorly about themselves (refer to documentary under "Movies to Watch" called "A girl like me" #2) based on gender, race, socio-economic class, and sexual orientation, we continue to be part of the problem. Whenever someone is beaten up for the way they look or the preferences they have or ignored at an interview or in a store or investigated extensively based on their heritage or the amount of money they earn and we stand by and allow it to happen, it will continue. Those who execute those behaviors are encouraged by our inaction. Us not doing anything essentially ingrains in the system and our society once more that the behavior is acceptable. Our individual intentions or values around the issue are beside the point because the consequences remain. As long as people are suffering and treated unfairly and we stand by just watching, regardless of what our heart tells us or how we feel- if we fail to act, we are contributing to the problem. We have to hold others accountable for unacceptable behavior, despite the resistance it might bring, and we have to be willing to critically examine change our own behavior as well, even if it just means acting on what we truly value.

We're part of systems that, as privileged people, we are not even meant to see. This is how I can say that Mr. Walton of Walmart may be a very nice man at a cocktail party and yet, when I am exposed to the IMMENSE exploitation, waste and greed that his vast wealth is built upon (see "The High Cost of Low Prices"), I can't help but think to myself, these are the kinds of people that go to hell. Of course, I am not condemning anyone but merely making a point that depending on which side of the story you're on, the entire system and its functionality looks very different. The same system that has created incredible wealth for some has left others more destitute than ever. Now, in a time where the world has produced more wealth than in all of history, there is absolutely no reason for anyone to go hungry, to not be able to support themselves and their own families in their own countries. But it's this game, because the game doesn't have ceilings. There's no such thing as once I turn over 1 billion dollars I should give half of that to benefit those that helped me to make my fortune or I should give health benefits to my employees once I can afford it. There's no regulation, except individual conscience, and many incredibly wealthy people are too busy playing the game of adding up millions and billions of dollars to think about the millions and billions of people who are barely living day to day, in poor housing and with a lack of basic nutrition on the paychecks they receive from the companies of the wealthy. The game never stops. It never stops until we all stop playing and decide that there is another, more productive, more beneficial system we should be creating and participating in.

The motivation to change the system we're in, though, can't just come from "good intentions" by the privileged. It has to be a consequence of us engaging with one another, realizing what we share, and embracing our shared vulnerabilities as people in an insecure, unstable game. You see, in the system where we are, all it takes is a marriage outside of the social class, a natural disaster at the wrong time, a financial mistake or bad luck for members of our family or friends of ours to fall out of being competitive in this game we participate in. We can go from being in the "right" social categories to the "wrong" ones so very quickly. Although I believe in and greatly respect the power of making "good" decisions to "move ahead." I also appreciate the fact that regardless of what many people have overcome in their lifetimes and the decisions they have made, the fact that the game exists as it does, makes bad luck or bad positioning much too influential a factor.

Ultimately we're in this together. And it's not about who donates what or how many hours of community service you put in, it's about knowing our neighbors again, about caring about what happens to people in our schools and in our communities regardless of who their parents are, what kind of house they live in, what color their skin is or what people they're attracted to. It's about realizing this game isn't good for any of us, because the more I participate in something destructive to anyone, the more I lose my own humanity and the farther I fall from peace. No amount of denial can make this go away. If we are truly one body, as I was raised to believe, then we take care of the different parts of the body, not out of some kind of charitable obligation, but because we need all the parts to function as wholly and completely as possible. It's about loving each other and realizing we need each other as well. Every life that is conceived in this world is of value to this world and nobody should ever be left to feel like they are disposable or less valuable because they are treated as if they were. Just consider the games we are participating in every day. What would you need to resist participating in them in the same way? How could you change the game for yourself or someone else? And how could you do this out of a place of connectedness, rather than a place of perpetual charity, guilt, or forced obligation.