America ~ We Need to Talk

The people of America need to have an uncomfortable conversation. This 4th of July felt unlike any holiday before.

The United States of America is supposed to be a country that treats its residents as equals and that provides “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” to its inhabitants. We are meant to welcome those who come in huddled masses to our shores.

But the America of today is only offering these things to the white among us, specifically the very white and very wealthy men. 99% of us don’t get offered life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, but rather we are provided economic uncertainty, job scarcity, and uncertain health care. The poor among us are offered even less, they experience severe economic poverty, incarceration, and death.

If you manage to go to college, you’ll likely pay for it for the rest of your life. If you get sick and survive, you’ll probably pay for your recovery for the rest of your life and your family may even pay long after you are gone. You can easily get driven into bankruptcy for a myriad of reasons. If you can’t find a job that provides insurance (and fewer and fewer do), you’ll be ostracized by the system. If you are disabled or a needy child your life may be a living hell, which impacts many around you making theirs lives challenging if not miserable.

I remember when changes and cuts to workers’ benefits started happening. Businesses began to get greedy, looking for ways to reduce costs, so they changed the requirements for hire. To qualify for insurance in most cases you must work 40 hours a week, but now they hire people for 35 hours a week or less. Now, often, you have to contribute to your payment towards insurance. The medical insurance industry is ruthless and just keeps raising and raising their premiums. Businesses do what they can to pass those costs on to their employees, or avoid providing insurance entirely if they can. We won’t spend much time on this; it’s a bit of a rabbit hole. There are lots of things that contribute to the insanely high costs of medical care in America and the insurance industry is only one piece of it. They even blame massive fraud within the industry on little people when in fact the majority of offenders are people working within the system, providers, and suppliers. Frankly put, it’s their own management problem, but we are forced pay for it.

If you aren’t walking around white, you will get mistreated on a daily basis. So insidious it is, you may not even be aware of it. If you are a woman, you’ll get abused in some way on a regular basis. If you are a non-white female, you will receive a double dose of unfairness.

People may claim that America has the best medical system in the world. This claim is patently false. Taken from a recent NPR article “More American women are dying of pregnancy-related complications than any other developed country. Only in the U.S. has the rate of women who die been rising.” The conclusion of the article based on the data is that America doesn’t value the lives of women. Duh.

All of this illustrates that we are no longer in resonance with our Founding Fathers and the documents that created and guide our Country. In fact, the outrage expressed on Twitter on the 4th of July by this Administration’s supporters as NPR tweeted the Declaration of Independence is a clear sign that there are millions of traitors living amongst us.

Let me say that again, so it has a moment to sink in: Supporters of the current administration are outraged by the Declaration of Independence.

Prepare yourself for what I am about to say, because it is shocking, but it must be said. It is time to start having this conversation, now before all the wheels fall off this cart! We’re already a train wreck.

Either we find a way back to “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” for ALL or we need to tear up the paperwork and start over! There, I’ve said it.

 

So, America! I ask you, what will it be?

Please start having this conversation with your loved ones.

Don’t wait until every wheel falls off this cart and the Country is in an irreparable state, or perhaps worse, and we find ourselves in the throws of a civil war because that’s what the Bannon ruled White House is orchestrating. Many are sheep being led to the slaughter.

Let’s be proactive and become once more, the “United States of America.” Let’s show the world what it takes to stand up to fascism, racism, and discrimination, also, to gaslighting, gerrymandering and voter suppression and the onslaught of other offenses including religious zealousness, misogyny, and homophobia.

Remember #InsistOnLove! We must lead from our hearts and ask others to lead from theirs. This is isn’t about making anyone right or wrong, this movement is about finding our common ground and rebuilding our trust around our declared equality and shared interests.

 

Thanks for reading!