As the “glorious” 250th birthday of the good ol’ USA approaches, my partner Darlene and I have been feeling mounting… dread. And deep sadness. The vast contradictions between our nation’s self-image and on-the-ground reality have become so glaring and horrifying that the very idea of celebrating this milestone now feels like a sick joke.
There’s not much left to “celebrate,” these days. Trump, the MAGAs, Christian nationalists, über-wealthy broligarchs, and hateful white supremacists have seen to that. They’re busily and eagerly remaking the US in their own (twisted) image — and in the process, reducing the once-proud USA to a grim, decaying shell of its former self.
Case in point: the ongoing, absurd nonsense surrounding Trump’s ego-driven “remake” of the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool. This week’s headlines have been dominated by the (maybe) peace agreement with Iran and… the idiotic woes of a botched — and very expensive —DC pool “restoration.” Trump’s much-touted pool project has gone terribly wrong, due mainly to the poor workmanship of the inexperienced contractor Trump unilaterally chose.
But then… Trump did what he always does. He finds some “enemy” to blame, in this case supposed “vandals” and “extremist DUMocrats” who want to wreck what he so graciously arranged to honor America. The new paint is peeling, the pool is filled with bright green algae, and the whole project needs a massive re-do — which will cost many millions more. Now an ugly chain-link fence is going up around the vast pool (to “protect it from vandals,” I suppose.).
It’s a very current and sickening symbol of the rapid decline of the US. The symbolism couldn’t be more apt.
In truth, the upcoming July 4th holiday feels far more like… a funeral. And, this essay resembles a pained but necessary obituary. Something essential to our nation and society has been slowly and steadily dying. Now, all we’re left with is a moribund, collapsing corpse of a nation.
RIP, USA.
Killing off compassion and democracy
How did we fall so far, so fast? It’s actually been a long time coming. But, the rapid rise of all the above groups and ideologies over the past decade pushed the process into high gear. What process, exactly? The process of our own willful self-destruction.
- Only in our “new, improved” (bonkers) America could a noble, vital process like human awareness and awakening be rejected and reviled as “wokeness.”
- Only in our new, depraved America could compassion and empathy be labeled “weakness.”
- Only in the Trump/MAGA version of America could racist hate, misogyny, and bullying be recast as “patriotism” and “strength.”
How did we get to this pathetic state? I’d say there are two main causes: “we the people” sold our souls for a consumeristic, fantasy-fulfillment society… and lost our way. Totally. Simultaneously, our selfish, greedy overlords — the super-capitalists and CEOs — swooped in to make a killing. And kill they did.
- They killed off caring and sharing.
- They killed off civic virtue and real patriotism.
- In the end, they killed off democracy.
As is obvious by now, predatory super-capitalism is utterly incompatible with democracy. It funnels wealth and power upward while keeping the lower classes helpless and “in their place.” That’s exactly why the GOP and the capitalists are always anti-union. They want to keep the working class powerless and helpless — so the über-wealthy can keep abusing workers and amass even more wealth.
When wealth and power are concentrated in the top 1% of the population, what we’ve got is a blending of oligarchy and plutocracy — the rule of the wealthy and powerful. What we don’t have is a functional representative democracy. That’s been killed off — quite intentionally.
The “dark alliance” takes over
We’ve all watched these horrors unfold and strengthen their grip on the US over the past decade. It looks like the racists, greed-heads, and hateful Christian nationalists have won, for now. They’ve effectively taken over our federal government and many state and local governments, as well. Though they are not in the majority — far from it — they have worked together tirelessly to form and propagate a potent “dark alliance.”
In turn, this dark alliance has ruthlessly trampled many of our most cherished rights and freedoms — all while trumpeting their “patriotism” and Americans’ “precious freedom.” It’s one of the ugliest and most dangerous spectacles of total hypocrisy, ever.
These folks don’t care one bit about democracy, equality, equal opportunity, or “justice for all.” What they care about is raw power, getting their way — and subjugating or even eliminating all who are “different” or stand in their way. And their subjugation ideologies and active plans are all proceeding full steam ahead. Their plans have been amazingly successful, overall. These selfish haters and racists are remaking the US to be what they, the minority, want.
The rest of us be damned.
A nasty, painful 250th birthday
So, here we are. Our country is falling apart, or rather being torn apart and shredded, bit by bit.
Most of us dislike or even hate what’s happening here. But, we feel — and mainly are — powerless to stop the momentum of this rampaging leviathan. The worst part is, we let this happen. We let this momentum build and build. We sat back and watched this insanity unfold, grow, and spread over many decades, and refused to fully engage and reclaim our semi-democracy. We blew it. And, of course, the power brokers and white supremacists were always there, just waiting to sow hate, distrust, and fierce partisan warfare.
Yep, here we are, in exactly the terrible place we’ve collectively created and/or surrendered to. “We the people” basically gave up, and it shows. We’ve allowed ourselves to be dominated, oppressed, seduced, lied to, and sidelined. We’ve been semi-willing partners in our own societal demise. And now, many of us can feel the approaching, darkening death spiral.
By the way, the coming midterm elections will NOT save us, even if the Democrats retake the House and possibly the Senate. Things in the US are just too far gone, now, as chaos and collapse loom ever larger.
So NO, there’s not much to celebrate in our 250th year. I wish I had more positive feelings and attitudes about the direction of the US. But any latent sense of positivity keeps getting trampled under the dark alliance’s onslaughts.
Enjoy your nasty, painful, depressing birthday — if you can. Whoop it up! Guzzle burgers. Watch lots and lots of fireworks. Go USA!
[Sob.]
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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Photo credit: iStock.com
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly truth of America has always been there.
Disguised as virtue or moral superiority. At least now we can all see clearly who and what we are. It’s not everyone, thank God.
The depressing fact of what we all could inspire to be and what we’ve become is clear.
Everyone keep on speaking the Truth and keep on being sensitive and kind. That is something we all do have control over.
Peace!!