America: The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave - Or is It?
America: The Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave - Or is It?
[[I want to clarify from the start that I am well aware that there are MANY Americans fighting with unwavering bravery. That said, I'm still forced to ask: where is the freedom?]]
When the American people said "NO!" on the repeal of the ACA so our President decided to dismantle it away piece by piece with executive orders, that is not freedom.
When Native Americans who have inhabited a (small) area of land for generations that we "gave" them are told that a harmful pipeline would be running directly through their sacred burial sites as well as threaten their water supply said "NO!", they were attacked with military force, facing water cannons in freezing temperatures, rubber bullets, unconstitutional arrests and censored media coverage. These were attacks on AMERICAN CITIZENS - citizens who have been here longer than we have. That is not freedom.
When I am struggling with the effects of PTSD due to an assault that took place not even seven months ago and I cannot get access to my treatment right now because my insurance is frozen, that is not freedom.
When a (non-violent, clean record) man is followed from his place of work, apprehended and taken to a detention facility for deportation strictly because he was not born in the US, that is not freedom.
When the wealth gap is greater than it was prior to the Great Depression, that is not freedom.
When we somehow give the President of the United States a pass on sexual assault, treason, reckless behavior, racism, sexism and homophobia (amongst other things), that is not freedom.
When the wealthiest citizens are hoarding away billions of dollars overseas while the rest of us count the days to our next paycheck, that is not freedom.
When educated and qualified individuals are denied a work opportunity because of their sexual identification, race or country of origin, that is not freedom.
When Nazi demonstrations are still allowed to take place in this country (that's not free speech, that's a hate crime), that is not freedom.
When you can't throw a rock without hitting someone who is on at least one or more antidepressants dispensed to them after a 15-minute consult with a doctor who has a lineup of patients to roll through and an incentive from Big Pharma to ensure that every man, woman and child in America has one of their products in their hands, that is not freedom.
When Flint, Michigan STILL does not have clean drinking water, that is not freedom.
When Puerto Rico is treated as a territory of second class citizens and blamed for "blowing" the national emergency relief budget after a devastating hurricane and STILL does not have power in parts of the island, that is not freedom.
When our President is taunting other world leaders who possess weapons that would incinerate entire cities (there is no "hiding in the basement" - if a nuke hits, we're gone), that is not freedom.
When politicians don't keep their word and our voices are not represented, that is not freedom.
When the President believes he is above the law and might actually manipulate a way for him to be treated as though he is, that is not freedom.
When single mothers (or fathers) are working three jobs to put food on the table and are not only ostracized for being "poor" and "getting themselves in that situation" but are also STILL not able to feed their children, pay their phone bill, rent and other essentials in the same month, that is not freedom.
When it's considered a victory that the minimum wage was raised to $11, a wage that is not sufficient to live on, that is not freedom.
When we aren't given the full story in the media, that is not freedom.
When our POTUS gives a pass to "accidentally" hitting (with a car) protestors who are standing in the street exercising their first Amendment right to protest, that is not freedom.
When we bail out big banks who intentionally cheated the system and dramatically harmed the American public yet do not do anything to bail out the people, that is not freedom.
When high school students have to forgo extracurricular activities because their parents rely on them to help put food on the table, while kids 30 minutes away enjoy the fleeting joys of youth, that is not freedom.
When our planet's glaciers are melting, the ocean temperature is warming up, animal species are becoming extinct, scientists are BEGGING for the government to pay attention so that we don't literally kill our planet and yet we ignore it, that is not freedom.
When black, unarmed kids are being shot and killed by police, that is not freedom.
When we say that slavery, segregation and racism is a thing of the past, that is not freedom (that is ignorance).
When a large majority of Americans wake up every morning worrying about money and scraping by, that is not freedom.
...I think it's fair to say that this is NOT the land of the free (at least not for all). Further, if you know anything about our history, for some of our fellow Americans, it never was...
I didn't write this blog to complain but to hopefully educate (not from a soapbox but from a place that inspires us to fearlessly examine this question for ourselves). It has been agreed upon in many scholarly discussions that EDUCATION is the best way to affect any real change. I hope that by talking about my struggles as well as the injustices that I see, I can inspire others to do the same.
Further, I truly hope that we are an American people BRAVE enough to say that we know we can do better and we won't go complacently into the divide, shackled to the idea that this is our existence.
We can do better. Talk, educate, shed the income shame; get together with others who are also speaking out and brainstorm. Write to your congressmen, to newspapers, the media... tell your story.
It's time we hold ALL Americans accountable for creating a land of the FREE and the home of the BRAVE.
Thank you for reading.
Feet on the Ground, Not Backing Down.
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