America: the evil stepmother.

So, my friend and I were talking about the protests taking place all across the country. Hopefully, you have seen or heard about the “Occupy Wall Street” movement (and locally, the "Occupy Atlanta" protests). Of course I began to think of the greed and materialism that America evokes in all of us, but that's a given. BUT then I started to think about the other disappointing aspects of my country:

We just celebrated a holiday that commemorates a man’s ignorance and elitism. Columbus claimed land that was not his while spread disease and discomfort amongst millions of Native Americans. He exploited their agricultural brilliance and resourcefulness to dehumanize them. Most importantly, Columbus’ colonization paved the way for numerous other countries after him. If you think colonization and imperialism is a thing of the past then you are sadly mistaken. Some economically weaker countries are still under the dictation of other countries and/or suffering from the effects of colonization (Somalia, Ghana, India, America etc). 

Imperialism is one of the most backwards concepts that the world has seen. It is essentially a bloodthirsty wolf dressed in Grandma’s wool nighty. American pretends to spread democracy and “light” to the unenlightened masses but there are two problems with this. One, with democracy usually comes capitalism and greed – this often times devalues the eternal things that indigenous people hold close to heart. Second, who the hell are we to think we should impose our beliefs and practices onto other countries? Are we not in a trillion dollar deficit? Are we not executing men without just cause? Are we not a country of injustice and manipulation? Why are we acting as though our societal structure is ideal? It's so egotistical and ignorant to dismiss other cultures as "less progressive" because they fight over beliefs instead of paper with printed dead presidents on them. killing is killing. 

We have been at war for over a decade now. When I was a child in elementary school, I would read textbooks that said America was at war for numerous years and I was so empathetic. I thought, “That must have been so scary to be getting bombed and gunned down for years and years.” After 9/11 I learned that America could be at war without its citizens feeling a damn thing. Could you imagine being scared to walk outside and be shot in the head? Can you imagine hearing bombs crashing down the street or troops invading your homes and livelihood? Can you imagine being afraid of rape every single day while your husband went to fight in war? Could you imagine fearing for your children’s lives. Of course you couldn't. As Americans, we are quick to condone war as long as it’s not in our backyard. Yet, if it takes place in a third world country then it’s “all good”.

America the beautiful.