What happened?
Remember when government used to be "for the people?" What happened to the ideals of those who drafted the constitution? Those who thought a "representative" body would consider the needs of their constituency and not the outdated ideas of the party hardliners or the businesses that fuel their re-election campaigns?
What happened to equality? Equality in gender, orientation, marriage, race and beliefs seem to be on constant attack. Believe what you want to believe, but why actively believe in taking away someone else's happiness or options? We have come such a long way with civil rights, why backtrack now? Why do we ignore that the majority of this country supports LGBQT rights but decision makers still think that the Bible trumps all? The Bible also says it is a sin to wear clothes made from two different types of material, but you don't see conservative christian fashion police protesting Macy's new summer catalog.
What happened to personal privacy? What happened to outrage over the Patriot act? If the government wants to facebook stalk me like a jealous ex that's fine, but at least leave me passive aggressive photo comments to show me you still care.
What happened to education? Remember when our parents said we could always fall back on a college degree? You may have forgotten, because that was 80,000 dollars in loans ago. Perhaps we should live within our means, but when our means are barely enough to make ends meet each month, why not try and strive to do better? Why should the government and big banks be making 7% interest on student loans, and then refuse to hire people at entry level wage because the CEOs need a raise?
Why is it that a group of people who are a majority of older white males get to make the decisions that affect the lives of thousands of women (and men) who are convinced they have a say in the matter but when they exercise the right of petition it falls on deaf ears? Why, when a woman does come into a position of power, the focus is first on her appearance, then on her morals, and finally on her words and ideas.
Why don't people think for themselves? Disagree with me until the cows come home, but don't do it because of something you heard from Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Joe Scarborough or even James Carville. Why don't people take the initiative to check their facts, as opposed to blindly telling everyone the nation made a huge mistake electing a black Kenyan muslim to the white house?
Why is it that I can travel around the world, and meet amazing people of all walks of life, and explore insanely awesome places, but still think that I am from the best country on Earth? Why is it that when I hear about these ridiculous things happening in the USA, whether it be the name of Kim and Kanye's child, Paula Deen's former days as a racist chef, Wendy Davis's struggle to have the State Legislature of Texas listen to what she has to say, or the NSA flagging me as a potential threat for this exact facebook comment, I still think that I wouldn't want my passport to represent any other nation.
What happened? We all stopped caring. We do what I am doing now. We talk shit on our various social media outlets and hope that someone will like our posts and then we can feel better about our opinions at the end of the day. We think that nothing we can do matters. We think that everything is beyond our control...because it is.
But the reason I love being from the US, is because we have proven ourselves before and we can do it again. We can take control back, albeit ever so slightly. We can come together and cheer for 15 minutes to delay a sexist bill in a state legislature. We can lend our ears to protesters in countries like Brazil and Turkey so they know we support their fight for freedom also. We can educate ourselves on the places we find so scary, like why Syria is in ruins and China isn't as much of a threat to our economy as we would like to believe it is. We can shut down a whole city to find a terrorist suspect to make sure they never attack innocent lives again. We can pay less attention to useless celebrities and pay more attention to social issues and how they REALLY affect our lives. We can make it known that things like rape, abuse, violence, murder and terrorism are not tolerable, and focus on the victims of these offenses as opposed to those who just want their 15 minutes of fame or want to use tragedy for personal or political gain. We can pay each other fair wages, not because of any government mandate, but because business owners should recognize that an assistant who works overtime and goes above and beyond the call of duty can be paid more than 30,000 a year, if you cut down on a fraction of the 7 figure income of the CEOs who sit at their desks all day or meet other big wigs for golf meetings. We can rely on government not for handouts, but for help in pursuing greater goals, without having to sell a pound of flesh, or pay insane student loan interest rates, to do so.
Let's all stop trying to take away each other's rights and liberties. Let's stop making this such a game of tug-o-war. Let's re-prioritize the country and where we stand. I love the USA so much, sometimes I wish it would love me back just a little bit more.
What happened? Nothing in response to every... and that's the biggest problem.
:::trips off soapbox:::
Remember when government used to be "for the people?" What happened to the ideals of those who drafted the constitution? Those who thought a "representative" body would consider the needs of their constituency and not the outdated ideas of the party hardliners or the businesses that fuel their re-election campaigns?
What happened to equality? Equality in gender, orientation, marriage, race and beliefs seem to be on constant attack. Believe what you want to believe, but why actively believe in taking away someone else's happiness or options? We have come such a long way with civil rights, why backtrack now? Why do we ignore that the majority of this country supports LGBQT rights but decision makers still think that the Bible trumps all? The Bible also says it is a sin to wear clothes made from two different types of material, but you don't see conservative christian fashion police protesting Macy's new summer catalog.
What happened to personal privacy? What happened to outrage over the Patriot act? If the government wants to facebook stalk me like a jealous ex that's fine, but at least leave me passive aggressive photo comments to show me you still care.
What happened to education? Remember when our parents said we could always fall back on a college degree? You may have forgotten, because that was 80,000 dollars in loans ago. Perhaps we should live within our means, but when our means are barely enough to make ends meet each month, why not try and strive to do better? Why should the government and big banks be making 7% interest on student loans, and then refuse to hire people at entry level wage because the CEOs need a raise?
Why is it that a group of people who are a majority of older white males get to make the decisions that affect the lives of thousands of women (and men) who are convinced they have a say in the matter but when they exercise the right of petition it falls on deaf ears? Why, when a woman does come into a position of power, the focus is first on her appearance, then on her morals, and finally on her words and ideas.
Why don't people think for themselves? Disagree with me until the cows come home, but don't do it because of something you heard from Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, Joe Scarborough or even James Carville. Why don't people take the initiative to check their facts, as opposed to blindly telling everyone the nation made a huge mistake electing a black Kenyan muslim to the white house?
Why is it that I can travel around the world, and meet amazing people of all walks of life, and explore insanely awesome places, but still think that I am from the best country on Earth? Why is it that when I hear about these ridiculous things happening in the USA, whether it be the name of Kim and Kanye's child, Paula Deen's former days as a racist chef, Wendy Davis's struggle to have the State Legislature of Texas listen to what she has to say, or the NSA flagging me as a potential threat for this exact facebook comment, I still think that I wouldn't want my passport to represent any other nation.
What happened? We all stopped caring. We do what I am doing now. We talk shit on our various social media outlets and hope that someone will like our posts and then we can feel better about our opinions at the end of the day. We think that nothing we can do matters. We think that everything is beyond our control...because it is.
But the reason I love being from the US, is because we have proven ourselves before and we can do it again. We can take control back, albeit ever so slightly. We can come together and cheer for 15 minutes to delay a sexist bill in a state legislature. We can lend our ears to protesters in countries like Brazil and Turkey so they know we support their fight for freedom also. We can educate ourselves on the places we find so scary, like why Syria is in ruins and China isn't as much of a threat to our economy as we would like to believe it is. We can shut down a whole city to find a terrorist suspect to make sure they never attack innocent lives again. We can pay less attention to useless celebrities and pay more attention to social issues and how they REALLY affect our lives. We can make it known that things like rape, abuse, violence, murder and terrorism are not tolerable, and focus on the victims of these offenses as opposed to those who just want their 15 minutes of fame or want to use tragedy for personal or political gain. We can pay each other fair wages, not because of any government mandate, but because business owners should recognize that an assistant who works overtime and goes above and beyond the call of duty can be paid more than 30,000 a year, if you cut down on a fraction of the 7 figure income of the CEOs who sit at their desks all day or meet other big wigs for golf meetings. We can rely on government not for handouts, but for help in pursuing greater goals, without having to sell a pound of flesh, or pay insane student loan interest rates, to do so.
Let's all stop trying to take away each other's rights and liberties. Let's stop making this such a game of tug-o-war. Let's re-prioritize the country and where we stand. I love the USA so much, sometimes I wish it would love me back just a little bit more.
What happened? Nothing in response to every... and that's the biggest problem.
:::trips off soapbox:::
