America the negligent AKA America Culture pollution AKA Nothing is new, America the terrible.
Who are we? Americans of course, but in our current point in history what does that now mean? What do we stand for? Who do we stand for? More than ever, if you ask the average American voter (The Average America cliché lol) they feel that our nation is now quite divided and contentious. They feel as though lines were drawn and volleys thrown to begin anew a culture war that is rupturing the fabric of the Country. They would be wrong (But I do love their optimistic view of Us).
Not wrong about the heart of that statement but rather about the time frame. This culture war, racism, and oligarchy are not some new scary problems, they are some of the oldest scary problems in our nation. It’s just that for the first time in America history everything is being revealed in a sudden and jarring way. We have pasted though the looking glass of artifice and come forward to the blunt and affronting reality of our modern-day America and this modern America is a Matt Bors-ian hellscape. All the bullshit is dried up and quickly crumbling away now. Truths that were once controversial and shocking are now so bland they have become regular comment section fodder. Many will tell you we are entering a new age of extremism. I would argue that we are simply sheading our proxy labels and embracing our deeply held values. Like the title reads nothing is new here, just more revealed. So let’s get started talking about the multiple political earthquakes happening right under our feet, I’ll start where all reflection needs to start With myself.
I’m a socialist. Yes, I’m a rose touting, union loving, human rights expansionist Socialist. I believe the purpose of the government is to provide safety regulation, job programs, and basic services to the whole of its people. I believe that by providing these basic services (Police, infrastructure, education, basic nutrition, and yes MEDICAL CARE!) they form the starting line and basic ladder of economic empowerment that is the backbone of the American dream. Today in America, we’ve stopped pretending. A significant percent of the democratic party voters are loving, caring, open-armed open minded Socialist Americans and we’re not going to pretend anymore. Now don’t get confused. I’m still a democrat, I still believe in democracy, and I still will vote for democrats in every election. Yes, even centrist corporate friendly democrats because no economic issue is worth the safety and rights of our fellow Americans. I had already come to my realization about my values before this past general election (Years ago in fact). I spent the last months of the general cranking out calls on Hillary’s online call tool focusing on the rust belt states specifically. I donated money to and campaigned for Hillary during the general because I love America and the peoples who make it up and I knew she would protect them from those who now terrorize our streets. Even if Hillary didn’t completely meet me on every economic issue I was going to pull hard to prevent the horrible reality we’ve been forced into. I spent election day doing Voting rights protection volunteer work. I was there and I was you Democratic Socialist Friend. That’s the current state of things open socialists advocating our principle vision of the future in your streets. Is this new? No I say, 2016 didn’t turn me into a socialist it simply made me feel validated enough I’m ready to be open about it. Big business leaders are downright cruel and evil, I’ve believed it and said it for years, but it still hurts to be proven so goddam right (freaking it hurts to be right). I say nothing is new in our current crisis it is simply laid more bare then in the past. Each political group is now wearing our values on our sleeves, our hearts naked and out front for everyone to see. I’m not ashamed of mine.
This same ‘naked principles’ principle is now also Appling to the republican party (Oh god naked republicans now that’s scary). Literal Nazis, Klansmen, and Corporate austerity hawks now make up the voting base and leadership of our opposing party. To clarify they have been the base and candidates of the republican party for decades (like we Democrats and leftys said but nobody would listen) but the mask is falling away. The actions they take day to day do far more then belie their white supremacist views, they down right spell them out in 10 foot tall burning letters on the national lawn. The abandonment of Puerto Rico, Resending DACA, making clear they will cut TPS (Temp Protected Status) for Haitian Americans (proving his team is racist too, cuz NO WAY in hell trump knew what TPS was), further threating to cut TPS for peoples from South/central America (Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala). I could continue listing the hateful actions and rhetoric of the past 7 months but we would be here all day and it at this point it simply isn’t necessary. Anyone unaware Trump’s disgusting shameful hate is willingly being ignorant, so let us not waste our precious life energy (lest we run out like a battery). They simply and absolutely do not care about what happens to anyone who isn’t white and money-ed. The whole spectrum of our long-suffering underbelly issues are floating the greasy surface of this polluted bay of a civil society we’ve created (sorry to get so loquacious I know it sounds childish but it is how I feel). We thought we could just throw our trash all around and it would eventually dissolve and just go away. We kept thinking that eventually all the old racist would die off and leave a better world behind with us; They didn’t. Turns out racism and bigotry are non-biodegradable. Turns out they are systems that continually produce more garbage. Mitch McConnell received awards from Southern groups in the past, they fly the traitors flag and hand out plaques with the same symbol. They act as though it “about heritage not hate”…. well that bullshit been in the sun too long. It’s done blown down the plain as shit dust. We can see them beyond it now, or rather that Average America cliché can finally see past that mask. We’ve had bullshit X-ray googles for that bull for years. Today we done even need those googles because the outer shell of bullshit and the masks are falling off finally.
None of this is new It is simply more revealed. We must not waste this chance to strike at the heart of these system. We must not be distracted attacking only the current embodiment of these horrible values they hold. We must not be tricked into fighting the clay soldiers and strawmen or the right. Now is the time to combine and fight together. This is harder for us on the left of the political world, for ACTUALLY ARE a coalition of differing groups. From full blown Anarchists to Hawkish Centrist Democrats we are a group with many different values and goals. This is simply because we are the only political party with a place for decent humans in it. So the road will be long and a hard one to walk, But I know that as long as we have humility and patience going in both directions we will win. We will find the path we need to walk as long as we remain honest and remember who our fellow decent humans are, even if we don’t always agree.
Post script
This is a unity diary. Because I think We need a unity diary right now. I love you all, that is all.
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/03/trump-dreamers-immigration-daca-immigrants-242301
http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/11/politics/next-daca-tps-temporary-protected-status/index.html