Recently I’ve been having a hard time processing anger. It just keeps building and building - that feeling like the cards are stacked against me, so why even try? The author of this essay doesn’t shy away from being pissed off. That’s refreshing and real. Especially because it’s so thoughtful. Just because there’s no solution, doesn’t mean there’s not work to do. And the work is the way.
We’re flawed. All of us. Period. It’s not the end of the world. It’s the beginning of the story.
Yeah, there's nothing easy about any of this. I think we all forget that USA has been an experiment, and experiments of this scale are rife with all sorts of failures. It's funny -- we all just kind of assume that race shouldn't be an issue. And that what America is doing is the right thing. Is it? Maybe this sounds crazy coming from me, someone who absolutely has taken advantage of the open-door policies of this nation (well, the door is still technically open) and will always be grateful. But who really knows, right? 500 years from now, a historian may look back and say:
"Boy, those Americans sure struggled mightily, didn't they? And for what? It was never going to work out. I mean how did they even think that a country that was built on enslavement was ever going to succeed? The melting pot became a melting fiasco. And democracy? What a joke! Capitalism was always doomed to fail. But they did try, so I guess we should at least acknowledge that much."
This article resonated with me in ideas similar to yours The “melting fiasco” we find ourselves in reminds me of something my dad once said. “America is my hero, but Croatia is my home.” Both of my parents immigrated from Croatia and found opportunity and brief peace on these shores. Is that enough? No way! They struggled for years to feel accepted. When comparing photographs of their time here in the states to time spent visiting their native island, I dare say that no one could deny the sheer joy that radiates from their faces in being “home” what is home? The state of our nation is in peril due to the conspicuous consumption of luxury. Our need to obtain more and elevate our person are exemplified within this young woman’s research and familial experience. The American Dream? Isn’t that what it’s all about? No. No longer a dream, but a nightmare if not altered/challenged by the dreamer.
I needed this.
Recently I’ve been having a hard time processing anger. It just keeps building and building - that feeling like the cards are stacked against me, so why even try? The author of this essay doesn’t shy away from being pissed off. That’s refreshing and real. Especially because it’s so thoughtful. Just because there’s no solution, doesn’t mean there’s not work to do. And the work is the way.
We’re flawed. All of us. Period. It’s not the end of the world. It’s the beginning of the story.
Yeah, there's nothing easy about any of this. I think we all forget that USA has been an experiment, and experiments of this scale are rife with all sorts of failures. It's funny -- we all just kind of assume that race shouldn't be an issue. And that what America is doing is the right thing. Is it? Maybe this sounds crazy coming from me, someone who absolutely has taken advantage of the open-door policies of this nation (well, the door is still technically open) and will always be grateful. But who really knows, right? 500 years from now, a historian may look back and say:
"Boy, those Americans sure struggled mightily, didn't they? And for what? It was never going to work out. I mean how did they even think that a country that was built on enslavement was ever going to succeed? The melting pot became a melting fiasco. And democracy? What a joke! Capitalism was always doomed to fail. But they did try, so I guess we should at least acknowledge that much."
This article resonated with me in ideas similar to yours The “melting fiasco” we find ourselves in reminds me of something my dad once said. “America is my hero, but Croatia is my home.” Both of my parents immigrated from Croatia and found opportunity and brief peace on these shores. Is that enough? No way! They struggled for years to feel accepted. When comparing photographs of their time here in the states to time spent visiting their native island, I dare say that no one could deny the sheer joy that radiates from their faces in being “home” what is home? The state of our nation is in peril due to the conspicuous consumption of luxury. Our need to obtain more and elevate our person are exemplified within this young woman’s research and familial experience. The American Dream? Isn’t that what it’s all about? No. No longer a dream, but a nightmare if not altered/challenged by the dreamer.