More than 40 years ago, a British game designer thought up something called Jenga. It’s a game where players construct a slender tower made of blocks, irregularly shaped blocks stacked loosely on top of each other. The object of the game is to keep the tower standing as player after player pulls one block from the shaky tower and places it on the top of the column. How long can you keep the tower standing before one removed block causes it to crash all over the table?
Welcome to the political world of Jenga. The tower is swaying as reckless players thoughtlessly and randomly jerk out foundational pieces that keep the tower standing; in this case, keep the political order intact. With no plan, no deliberation, no collaboration, pieces of our national structure are trashed for the immediate satisfaction of power and revenge. One block too many stripped because of selfish motives will cause the tower to collapse. Even more alarming, the towers of countries and continents are connected. When one goes, they all could go. We would do well to listen to the warnings and advice of economic market experts who tell us that once the critical block is pulled, there will be no going back.
There is no inevitability about the American dream. It can become a nightmare if Jenga politics continues. The impact of the collapse will be more than we have imagined. Jenga is a game. Our future is not.
Sonoran Desert Writer 