AN AMERICAN DISGRACE
Once upon a time, there used to be a country called "The United States of America." By no means, was it ever "perfect" although some American citizens prefer to think it was.
No, this country was founded by egocentric, wealthy, White Anglo-Saxon Protestants who believed in slavery, the removal (genocide) of all Native Americans (who were here first) and their own white "supremacy." Coupled with the belief of the original Puritans who arrived here via Plymouth Rock in 1630, who adhered to the credence that their group, within the Church of England, should eliminate all practices and ceremonies not based on the Bible. They wanted to create a model of reformed Protestantism in the New World.
Not quite a great start for what would come to be known as "the greatest country in the world."
Every single thing that was good and worthwhile for the so-called "common folk" had to be fought for, and fought hard. And took many, many years to achieve. The elimination of the Native American tribes across the land was happening, simultaneously with the Southern landowners who chose to fight a Civil War to hold onto their slave labor and retain their wealth. Countless human beings died for these "causes." But hey! As Bob Dylan observed, "You're better than them, you were born with white skin..." (Only A Pawn In Their Game.)
And then came the Robber Barons who, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, managed to acquire obscene riches thanks to little or no government regulation, no income tax, taking advantage of the poor working class, and creating the unequal distribution of wealth because of the huge divide between the "haves" and "have nots." These men ~ the Vanderbilts, the Rockefellers, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, et. al., cared little to nothing about the people who kept them in business. They were strictly in it for the money. Period.
When the 20th century began to unfold, people were beginning to wake up. Women fought long and hard for the vote. Workers formed unions, and began demanding fair wages, safer working conditions, the elimination of child labor, family-friendly hours and work environments, etc. And decades later, after two world wars where soldiers were still segregated, people of color slowly began demanding the respect and equality they were rightfully entitled to. In this country? Sadly, that fight will never end. The South continues to fight their own ignorant civil war, continues to believe that they will "rise again." And fly their Confederate flags proudly.
After World War II, America began to slowly clean itself up. Conditions were improving for the "have nots" and the world looked at the USA with admiration. But it didn't take long for us to gain the term "the ugly American" when traveling abroad. Arrogance and false pride gave rise to that particular term.
I grew up in the 1950s, right after World War II ended. Born in 1946, the vanguard year of "baby boomers," I remember the pride I felt being American, and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance every morning in school. America had regained some sort of innocence in those years, and some reasons to feel proud. We had a president who was a highly-regarded general during the war ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower ~ and we looked upon him with love, respect, almost like a grandfather. Jobs were plentiful, well-paying, and people could still maintain a one-job family, including a new home in the suburbs and a car!
Then John F. Kennedy was elected in 1960, and Camelot was born. Young, vibrant, none of us were yet aware of Joseph P. Kennedy's nefarious dealings and resemblance to the earlier Robber Barons. JFK was "our" president, as he said during his inauguration speech, "born in this century" and we loved him, and his entire family.
We were not yet quite as embroiled in the Vietnam war as we would be later on, and President Kennedy planned to withdraw American troops and get us out of a place we never belonged. For that, and so many other reasons, the powers-that-be in government, big business, and yes, organized crime, felt that he was a threat, and decided to get rid of him...by arranging an assassination that would shock the entire country, and the world. And so, on November 22, 1963, Camelot died, along with our young and beloved president.
As I recall, things began to slide downhill from that point on. Nixon, the monstrous Reagan, Bush I and II, we never again had a president we could be proud of...until Barack Obama. Even so, the afore-mentioned "huge divide" has been reestablished, allowing billionaires to not have to pay taxes, and dumping it all on the working class. Once again. "Everything old is new again."
And then America truly went from the sublime to the ridiculous (and worse.) We elected a "man" who represents the absolute worst in any human being. In a nutshell:
A man who said "When you're a celebrity, you can do anything. You can grab women by their pussy." And even worse statements from this lowest possible form of life.
And after deliberately inciting a riot on January 6, 2021, causing his brainwashed devotees to storm the Capitol in Washington, DC, this man was elected President of the United States again, on November 5, 2024.
Still think America is to be admired? I don't. I find myself wishing that my grandparents never emigrated from Italy all those years ago. And, quite honestly, if I were younger and had more money? I would move to another country, just to not be here for the next four horrible, miserable years.
I no longer recognize the country to which I pledged my allegiance. I no longer recognize it because of the the hatred, bigotry, xenophobia, abject racism and ugliness all rearing their ugly heads because one "man" gave his permission to do so. A man who called southern neo-Nazis "very fine people." A man who cheats, lies, steals, rapes, and was best friends with a pedophile.
THIS is who Americans voted into the Oval office. Not once, but TWICE. Upon reading some comments from other countries, America is now pitied, laughed at, and scorned, deservedly so. If this human excrement can be elected to the highest office in the land, what else is there to do?
To say that I am angry, disgusted, and disillusioned more than ever before in my entire life is putting it mildly. I am furious and hope that every single moron who voted this Frankenstein back into office will read this and understand how truly ignorant and short-sighted they are.
SHAME ON YOU! AND SHAME ON AMERICA!
November 5, 2024 will officially go down as the blackest, most horrifying day in the history of this country.
And for those who continue to say "God bless America"? For what?? Tell me, for what?? These sad days, it feels like the exact opposite.
