America did not turn out like I hoped back when I was a kid. I always thought the bad guys would do us in if we didn't hang tough. I can remember seeing Eisenhower on tv. I saw him as a great war hero that had beaten the Germans almost by himself. (We didn't talk much about the enormous sacrifice Russia made.) Then there was Kennedy standing up to that shoe pounding Russian. We practiced in grade school hiding under our desk, like that would help in a nuclear war. And then there was the evil Castro. There was always someone to be afraid of ... always someone to justify building a bigger military.
The bad guys were always on the outside. Move to modern times and there was the terrorists. Someone else to be afraid of ... Even those evil black people marching on Washington and rioting in the street, they were to be feared. And Mohammed Ali was supposed to be the bad guy when he refused to go to Vietnam (except I always liked him ... more than that, he was a hero to me). Perhaps he was the first one to start a small crack in my view of the establishment.
I have to admit, I never saw it coming. I wonder if the Romans saw it coming. I never remember when our god in America became owning more stuff than the Jone's. But, one day, there it was, our god was owning stuff. Soon we stood for little more than our GNP. We became great at making money. Everything became about money, our gods became the rich. We started forming the American dream around them. We started making all the rules work for the rich, because one day, we do were going to be gods.
And now, 40 years later, I live in the world where our gods are the rich and I see the world we have created. While the rest of the world has become more compassionate, caring for their weak, we have made America the best place in the world for the rich, one of the worse places in the civilized world for the poor.
Since we equate rich with being all powerful, we squander our resources in trying to control the world, in physical wars, in propaganda, in wars against black people that do drugs, in hate against the Muslim nations/religion, in beating down the Palestinians (via our proxy) and in punishing immigrants because they broke the law (we are completely innocent). We have become so petty. We have become so poor, not only in wealth, but in spirit. We think we are brave because we kick ass on the battlefield.
But bravery is about doing the right thing for those that are weaker than us. This nation has begun to fill up with the homeless, the helpless, the hopeless, the unemployed, the fatherless, those buried by school loans, those unable to go to college or trade school, those unable to get help with drug abuse, and those looking for their first break. Our country is drowning in wealth, the rich have never, ever been richer. The poor have never been so many, or so poor. I am talking about America. Poverty is improving in the rest of the world, especially China.
Martin Luther said our lives start to end the day we become silent about things that matter. That applies to countries as well as people. In every case we have chosen our battles over protecting our wealth, over oil. And it is not about protecting the American people and assuring them that they have energy ... we put a tariff on cheap ethanol coming from Brazil of $0.75 a liter.... we are protecting the rich who own and sell the oil from the Middle East. WE All KNOW IT and we LAUGH ABOUT IT. But, its not about oil or wealth, its about selling our soul, its about the end of our lives as Americans that stand for more than money.
This is not the America I dreamed of ... I dreamed of a compassionate America that took care of its own. I know, there is a little bit of Hippy in me, love and peace and all that good stuff. But, that is okay, it is the stuff that matters to me and it is what keeps the blogs rolling out ... one day I will find those that see the world as I do and hope for an America that is about more than owning stuff.
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