This is the America I’ve Always Known
Election Day Summary
On the final day to vote, these are my last words about the upcoming election. They will serve as my summary of the America I have known for 74 years. However this election turns out, we have a long way to go before we are a great country.
“This is not the America I know” is a popular slogan that promotes collective denial.
My slogan? This is exactly the America I’ve known since the days of the Vietnam War.
It’s the hidden underbelly of the America of slavery and native genocide. It’s the meddling America that topples governments and wages never-ending war. It’s the America of religious zealots and wacky homegrown churches. It is the America of angry white men who have always felt entitled. It is the America that steals the lion’s share of world resources, a land of perpetual overspending and personal debt and excesses. It is the nation of gluttons with declining health. This is the America of poor working conditions and pharmaceutical drug addictions. It’s the America of willful ignorance and stubborn illiteracy. It’s an America of pollution, waste, and overindulgence. We’re a nation of hyper-consumerism on steroids. This is the America of rampant gun violence and horrendous school shootings.
Most of all, America only values money.
There is nothing that we create to help citizens to improve their lives. Every single accomplishment was motivated by the drive to make money. Everything! We will sell our freedom to the highest bidder. The rich overlords of America are the true rulers and will never be interested in my well-being. Our system is bought and paid for by the oligarchs. Any well-meaning person who goes into politics with the desire to change things will be thwarted by the system itself. And, if a truly evil person gets into power, watch out.
When we do make progress, it demands a valiant struggle.
However, it doesn’t take long for a movement to evolve that wants to take us back. We have danced the two steps forward one step back dance since the beginning of this country. Once we take a step back, it requires decades to regain what we lost. Thus, we must always remain vigilant.
That’s exhausting and probably humanly impossible.
We’ve lost a lot in the last eight years, but even if Trump loses this election, the nightmare will not end. Congress, Governors, and Mayors are destroying our civil rights. It will take a generation to reverse the damage done to women’s rights and our environment.
I grew up in this America, as did my parents and grandparents. Living in denial may be a human coping mechanism, but it slows down change.
This is the America I was born into 74 years ago. I didn’t get to choose where I was born. It was the luck of the draw. I don’t owe this country my undying allegiance. No amount of patriotic propaganda will ever change my mind.
I’ve seen too much, but I choose to REMEMBER.
Of course, I’m hoping that Kamala wins. I will sigh a huge sigh of relief. It will get me four more years of scraping by. Maybe we won’t lose what we still have. We could even make a little progress. When the next election rolls around I’ll be 78 and closer to dying. That’s a blessing on many levels.
No matter who wins, however, the system will still be corrupt.
Our culture will still worship money and nothing else. We will still need to watch our backs lest another grifter tries to trick us. This election is unique only because it has given us a glimpse at who we are and always have been. The problems lie deep within the system. America is not just in need of a facelift. It is in dire need of a heart and soul, a total rebirth.
This is the America I have always known.
This election is forcing us to look at our own ugly reflections in the mirror. So, look at it! Take a nice long look. Then, instead of saying that “this isn’t the America you know” change your slogan to “this isn’t the America I want any longer”.
We’re too old for fairy tales.
Teresa is an author and professional myth buster. You can find her books on Amazon.
