I am sickened by the state of this country. We are all living in fear and/or cognitive dissonance 24/7.
Moderate leaders are afraid to take a stand, face the truth, and accept that the reign of white supremacy and patriarchy is over; they failed to make it great, ever. They are afraid of failing when the irony is their courage is what failed them. Their inability to see beyond their position or the public’s perception will cause catastrophic losses for everyone else, and in many cases it already has.
Our denial over how we started as a country and inability to deal with the truth of racism and rape culture will lead to our end.
Capitalism led by American exceptionalism did not work. Our “democratic nation” is an abject failure, period.
How we treat indigenous people, Black people, Latina/Latinos, Asian people, Jewish and Muslim, and LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, immigrants, women and non-binary: this is how we treat ours families, neighbors, tribes, communities. They are us; they are not “other”. We are doing this to ourselves.
The idea of a melting pot, a home and safe haven for all asylum seekers is a lie. We’re completely lying to ourselves; they are liars too.
We’re not a refuge from teaming shores. We’re letting everyone drown, but wealthy white people have life jackets.
We’ve failed to protect all citizens & provide opportunities for everyone to thrive.
We’ve failed to provide basics needs and follow the declarations of human rights we helped write.
31 human rights violations, yet we go around telling other nations how to behave. Why not make equal rights of American humans priority #1?
We allow 250 year old documents dictate gun laws even after an elementary school full of kids get shot, 26 five and six year old kids and teachers were slaughtered.
We can’t go to the movies or grocery stores or malls or universities or nail salons or the gym or churches or mosques or synagogues without fear.
Women and non-binary people can’t walk alone anywhere without fear.
Trans people can’t seek support without fear.
Disabled people and neurodivergent cannot go to work without fear.
Immunocompromised can’t leave the house without fear.
Victims of abuse can’t stay in the house without fear.
Immigrants can’t answer the door without fear.
Kids can’t go to school without fear.
Black and Brown kids can’t go anywhere without fear.
Black people can’t exist without fear.
Why not make safety a priority?
We prioritize law and order over equitable and accessible.
We prioritize gun rights and big oil over human rights and the entire earth. Why not put people or the planet first?
We added firing squads when lethal injection became messy. Why not end capital punishment?
We ended mask mandates and CDC director tweets how sad it is 1 million died. Bill Gates declares he’s stopping the next pandemic? Why not fix this one?
We obsess over Musk and Bezos and the egos of two dozen billionaires and let them suck up all the air and treat employees like garbage. Why not tax them to fund a green new deal?
We watch an insurrection, a racist, misogynist, xenophobic ex president do illegal thing after illegal thing claiming votes will save us rather than arrest him for treason after he has secret meetings not recorded with our supposed enemy. Why not stop paying taxes?
We run out of ways to feed babies, provide zero social support, remove any pandemic support that existed years before it ended, and our government wants to have more babies by force and put more people in poverty and trauma. Why not pay for care work and invisible labor and deal with the climate crisis causing fertility issues?
Why won’t those with money and power be bold and do more?
Because they’d rather have the money, power, & control rather than ensure everyone is safe, healthy, and free.
Why not ask for help from the rest of us? Because asking for help is considered a sign of weakness.
If that’s not a failed state I don’t know what is.
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This post was previously published on medium.com.
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