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There is so much injustice occurring in our American democracy within these modern times. We, as a people and a country, have come a long way in our journey for equal rights for all citizens of this great country, but there is still so much more work that has to be done.
This country’s beginnings was a journey to secure freedom of religion, freedom from inequality, financial freedom and freedom of expression. Yet, we forgot the rights of the indigenous people of this country, the rights of the people brought here in slavery, the rights of women and children and the rights to pursue the American Dream. The people who came here to this country were immigrants looking for safety and freedom because their lives were at risk. Human being’s lives matter and we must remember from whence we came.
Within these modern times, black people’s lives are at risk, LGBTQ people’s lives are at risk; immigrants coming to this country for safety and freedom — their lives are at risk; women’s lives and bodies are at risk; and the elderly, the homeless and poor people, as well: all of their lives are at risk. There are too many lives hanging in the window of greed and indifference.
Feeling angry and shameful does not change the issues, nor does it allow the issues to be solved. We must be proactive as a people in order for the people to see and feel the changes in their individual lives. Making these changes could only serve to help those people at greatest risk, and the entire society we are trying to uplift as a unified people would rise with them. It cuts the other way as well: If one of us is enslaved, then all of us are enslaved.
Stewing in silent anger and resentment regarding the unfairness within the society only serves to erode the entire society.
Community matters. Black Lives Matter and the Me Too movements are two examples of a burgeoning culture of resistance to unfair treatments within our society. At the base of these movements is the basic want to achieve the American Dream as it was promised, and the positioning within our shared society to exercise their human rights of equality, as stated in our Declaration of Independence.
Selective issuing of human rights has long been a practice of American Life. While immigrants, people of color, LGBTQ folx and women have contributed to the growth of this country, they still have not been given their full rights to live freely in this country. Too many years of unspoken slavery have been in place, a slavery that allows these segments of our society to seemly flourish, but not be fully fed and supported as equal citizens.
The power struggle over the acquisition of money has been at the base of these acts of enslavement, whether it be about Black slavery and subsequent mass incarceration; Chinese railroad workers and Japanese internment camps; laws and actions to restrict women and LGBTQ from achieving equal power or recognition or even control over their own bodies and identities; or the continued exploitative use of immigrants to enhanced the quality of American life, while withholding full access to our American society.
We cannot change the history of our country, but we can change the future of our country. We, as human beings and a country, have made mistakes in our growth, but we can change the outcome by changing our actions of how we treat our citizens and the people coming to America in attempts to acquire personal safety and freedom.
We, as a country, should look into our prison systems and how they have continued a modern slavery, our banking practices which have allowed inequality in acquiring loans for business and housing, our housing practices which have continued a modern Jim Crow society and how they have impacted our American citizens and their lives. These practices have had an impact on black and brown citizens of America.
But they aren’t the only ones who suffer under the current systems of discrimination. Due to the way legislation has targeted communities of color along surreptitious lines, many families that aren’t minorities who live on the lower rungs of the economic ladder have been subjected to ever-worsening quality of living. The impact of this doesn’t bring us together, however: it encourages an attitude of separation, and a sense of entitlement, when you see people of your skin color are the most successful people. Even if you aren’t them, you might recognize that it could be you — unlike your Mexican immigrant neighbor. When all you see is a chosen few being able to profit from restrictive business practices, housing practices, and job opportunities, it doesn’t matter which side you identify with: it only drives the divide wider and pushes the unity of the country to almost become an impossible accomplishment.
Without a conscious attempt to change our unfair practices of treating our citizens with indifference, we will weaken the strength of our American nation. As long as we ignore the cracks in the American cup of plenty, we may not be able to stop the leaks that could soon leave us begging for the liquid of life to stay alive to nourish our country.
If we acknowledge the transgressions and embrace a willing to correct them, we won’t have to figure out who is to blame. If the problem is addressed, we will not have to receive the complaints in the mail, in our media, and in our streets. America should be listening to the dialogue and the cries for equality and human rights.
We, as a people, are responsible for the solution of our problems. We, as a people, should want equality for all of our American citizens. To achieve a balance of power in American society, we must fix the problems and there would be no need for blame or shame and it would be a step forward to the true United States of America.
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This post has been updated on 4/19/2022 to include additional information, and has been republished to Medium.
Photo by Tim Marshall on Unsplash