The American Experiment

It's America's birthday and every year it feels like she is getting closer and closer to dying, despite the endless stream of lies stating that we are getting great again. My biggest problem with our divided country these days is not the differences in opinions. Differing opinions is healthy for democracy. But we've entered an age where it's not differing opinions that are expressed, but different facts. 

When both sides are adhering not only to opposing ideals of what progress should look like, but are also adhering to opposing perceptions of what is truth, then democracy inevitably fails. One of the things that is not essentially new, but certainly more pervasive today, is the complete dismissal of opposing political views. There is no debate in that kind of atmosphere, there are only insults and accusations. 

Unlike some, I don't believe that Trump is the cause of this further breakdown, but rather a symptom and an enabler. He subscribes to a strengthened divide. Her perpetuates the division. He, like the GOP has done for decades, tries to paint the other side as Anti-America...which ultimately the most anti-american thing one could do. We've all fallen into the trap, and sadly, on this day of reflection, I don't see a clear way out.

Happy Birthday America!

Given the current state and backwards progression of this nation that I love, I choose to celebrate a fictional rendition this year...here's hoping for a better year ahead.

America, I Hardly Knew You...

It's been a strange year for America, but they always say the 241st year is a weird age. For so long now, we've been locked into combative view points and seem to have lost the gift of communication and compromise, two foundations that have contributed to every great social progress this nation has ever made. 

Instead of discussing our various opinions, we've mostly chosen to listen to echo chambers that spin the news in such a fashion that it all agrees with the beliefs already concreted inside of us. Our politics and policies have also fallen victim to this narrow mindedness. It's not about solutions, it's about winning and losing the news cycle, about grabbing headlines and possibly swaying another voter onto your side to get the slightest edge within the gridlock. 

The result of this way of life is that our country has become a paralyzed shell of the greatness it once represented. It is crumbling from within, not only figuratively, but literally as our infrastructure deteriorates due to a lack of political consensus. Our society has become polarized as well. On one side, we are becoming more tolerant, but on the other side, we are becoming more rigid and have no room for opposing thoughts.

Of course, as with any individual who has ever lived, I have only my lifespan to compare things to. Sure, I have the gift of history and the recorded knowledge of the past, but as for observations, mine only begin with America's Bicentennial. And though what I've written sounds perilous, even in my forty years, I can say we've been here before and we can make it out of here. We just have to demand something better, just as Americans have always done.

America's Last Birthday?

On it's 240th Birthday, America may be facing the limits of its lifespan. I'm not suggesting that it's going away or that the stars and stripes won't continue to fly for a long time. What I'm saying is that we are a point where the democracy that was founded in 1776 is on the verge of destroying itself. 

One could point to rampant voter fraud, corporate influence, and corrupt party control over our election process as signs of the Republic's demise, but I won't. Those elements have been in play since the very early days of the nation. The idea of democracy comes with the notion that there are those who go to any means to be the power behind the reins. What is new this time around is that one of the men who could possible hold those reins will act and assume the powers of a dictator. 

If elected, Donald Trump will essentially be the last American president. Nobody with an ego that large will ever bow to the demands of an unpopular and weak Congress. Trump will do whatever his whims tell him to do, and with that, will change the very nature of the Executive Branch which is already unbalanced in its power. 

As we celebrate today, I ask you all to think about what this country means. The ideals of this country are not about walls and guns and killing. Search your soul, read the declaration of Independence, and find out what it truly means to be an American, one you can be proud of.

The Land of You and Me

It's America's birthday once again, and like any birthday, it's time to celebrate but while celebrating, it's also time to reflect. I can't help thinking that it's an interesting time in our history. We seem to be at a crossroads with the ideals of progressive thinking splitting drastically from traditional conservative views. Nothing illustrates this more than the recent reactions to the Supreme Court ruling which propelled us out of one element of our backwardness. In the land of the equality, we can now hold our heads up knowing that our laws allow for equal protection of love. 

Of course not everybody sees it that way. There are those who want to keep the status quo. I listen to them use religion as a shield to justify bigotry and know they are the same people who decades ago used religion to justify separate but equal, who a century and a half ago used it to justify slavery. What's infuriating about this argument is that allowing gays to marry has absolutely zero affect on their religion. When I hear them talking about county clerks not issuing marriage licenses because of religious objections, I can't help but think that if your religious beliefs interfere with your government job, then you are not qualified to serve in a country that clearly lays out a separation of church and state.

While there are certain things that give me hope, there are far more that cause frustration. We are still an incarceration nation, one where kickbacks and the big prison industry are controlling sentencing and destroying people's lives. We still live in a country ruled by the richest of the rich, whose money buys endless influence among the politicians who pretend to represent us. We still live in a country where corporate profits rise and rise and rise, while wages stand still and prices of goods go up. We still live in a country that spends exponentially more on the business of war than on the business of bettering the lives of its citizens. 

This current presidential election cycle, one that really began three years ago, I feel more disillusioned with our government than I ever have in the past. I see very little difference between the parties, except for the same social wedge issues. Not that it really matters if there are few differences, because none of them seem to be talking about anything that matters...with the one exception of Bernie Sanders. His campaign of ideas gives me hope, but that hope rests on the chance that my fellow Americans will finally wake up and see how they are being manipulated. Not sure that will happen, but for the sake of my daughter's future, I hope they do.

America the Beautiful

Independence Day is a time when we are supposed to reflect on what it means to be American. For most people, that means getting lost in the enjoyment of swimming pools, cold beer, and the taste of our finest cusine cooking on the grill. It's a time to celebrate all that we have, all that we've accomplished, and all that we might accomplish in the future. It means that for me as well, but it also means more. Because reflection is not supposed to be a forgetting of all our troubles. In the spirit of the holiday, it's also a time for each American to examine the state of our nation and see if we're living up to the promise of our founding ideals.

America is place of many contradictions. It is the land of free, but has more incarcerated people than any other democracy. It's a nation that celebrates its outlaws, while demanding justice. We pride ourselves on individuality, yet tend to throw blame on anyone but ourselves. These contradictions are perhaps clearest in our political landscape, where we've never been more divided since the Civil War, a division that seems to be getting worse by the day, and threatens the lasting continuation of our government's functionality.

So on America's 237th Birthday, where do we stand? On one hand, the growing acceptance of same sex couples and their rights moves us one step closer to fulfilling the promise of "All men are created equal" and that is something worth celebrating with massive amounts of fireworks, because it means we are still progressing. And while there are large groups of people who oppose this measure, voicing their objection shows that the right to personal opinion still exits. 

On the other hand, we have states like North Carolina and Texas and Ohio trying to enforce new voter restrictions to suppress opposition. This is a huge step backward, trying to ensure that our government does not represent all the people, just those with influence and like-minded ideas. And we also have the huge mess created by the Patriot Act, the most ill-named bill in the history of this country, serving to undermine our most basic freedoms, and which, left unchecked, has the very real potential to lead to a police state. We have corporations dictating policy with their abundance of influence that the average citizen can't possible compete with. We have politicians bent on serving the will of the few over the needs of the many. And we have a population that for the most part doesn't seem to care as long as they are placated with materialism and entertainment. 

America is far from perfect, despite the popular myth we like to tell ourselves. It is a deeply flawed nation, but at least it's one that never seems to content to live with its flaws. I love this country. There is no other place I'd rather live. Because despite all the problems, it is still a place where I can write this and share it openly without fear of retaliation. I love this country because even with all the tension, it truly is an example to the rest of the world for how so many different kinds of people, with completely different traditions, beliefs, and customs can live side-by-side in relative harmony. We are a nation that comes together, shown time and time again in the face of tragedy and adversity. I just hope we can come together again in the near future to make sure our nation truly reflects the best of interests of all her people.