America Unraveled

As the holidays approach, it should be time for unity and community; getting together with those you appreciate, those you love, those you don't see so often. The holidays are a time to purge all the bad of the year and come together to enjoy the cold season with loved ones, family, and friends.

Unfortunately, this years black friday sales were anything but loving (but then when are they?); consumerism eats this holiday in a single bite as many even skip Thanksgiving to sit for a day or two in the cold to buy an inexpensive big TV or laptop or whatever. The deals are good but your time is more precious; what good is being out there verses being with your family, enjoying the time with them? You buy two big TVs so you can spend quality time with your kids? Of course not, you buy them to get away; you encourage your own distraction away from them.

What's worse, if you don't give a crap about your holiday, fine but employees were forced to come in for some stores' insane, midnight openings; these employees were made to miss Thanksgiving because they had to work that night. It's unfair but people just hark on that it's lucky they have a job; sure it is, unfortunately we are getting close to the analogy of the men and women in single color overalls on the factory line doing some meaningless task everyday of their life, toiling away for those with money to afford cheap toilers. We all have families, we all deserve to be with them regardless of our economic strata. I know a father that works all the time; he's a work-a-holic but his kids have zero regard for him because he doesn't feel like a father to them, they have no respect for him; he's a stranger in his own home because he chooses work. Those employees were not given a choice unless that choice was work or be fired. Scrooge has come home and Crotchet is going to be working this Christmas; fuck that cripple Tiny Tim. That's the message of America today.

The holidays aren't the only onslaught of peace and good-will towards man; a personhood amendment in Mississippi that sought to, eventually, fight abortion rights, a racist town in Montana collecting more racists and weaponry, statements from politicians like "gay marriage would make our country fall," the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops wants the right for religiously affiliated hospitals, charities, elementary and secondary schools, as well as colleges and universities to refuse women birth control, plus let's not forget all the police violence as Occupies around the country were brutally broken up. These are all examples of our willingness to do atrocious harm to each other; few give any care or regard to anyone outside their household and that's not what society is; that's not what it means. We ought to be closer than ever but we are more divisive now than ever before; lines are drawn deep and thick, separating us from those who spread their butter-side down.

Newt Gingrich recently declared that "child labor laws are stupid," and said that schools should have a master janitor (getting rid of all unionized janitors) and the kids could do the work and get a little money for their efforts. It sounds like an okay plan (crappy for those who are employed as janitors) but why do we want to instill that mindset in our kids? The world is already cold and revolves around money, there is no reason to taint our children by saying, "Here, you work, you get money...that's America." Kids should help (not work) around their school because they have a pride in it and for it; because the teachers are good and make the lessons informative but also fun so you encourage socialization and participation along with learning, because the class sizes are small and you get the help you need, and other such idealistic thoughts about the educational system. Kids shouldn't be working for money; what of the lesson that sometimes you just do good things to be good, maybe to feel a little warmer, feel connected to people and the community; be apart of something bigger than yourself that isn't the Almighty God but people, beautiful community; neighbors working together. It's a dead dream but hold it; I know I will.

Monotony of the Educational System

All children should go to (and be enthusiastic about) school as it encourages worldliness and social interaction but it's unfortunately just become a monotonous, odious ritual which kids struggle through each day. School is about learning and growing but how can such things happen when kids are falling asleep or mouthing off because they don't see the point in monotone, dull lectures and readings from unnecessarily crisp new books while last year's version sits in a landfill.

School should never stop being fun; every day should be an experience in learning and growing; talking to your classmates, to your teachers; an exchange of ideas. Students should be exploring their own creativity, finding their passions, forming hopes and dreams, things they want to achieve. The knowledge of history, math, science, all these things are needed but they shouldn't just be facts presented by a teacher with no passion for living, let alone the teaching of blossoming young minds.

Today's educational system is about callous and careless evaluation; students aren't people, they are statistics and numbers which tell you only how the school does overall but, with something as important as school, overall doesn't cut it. Students today are merely prepared for the monotony and suicidal nature of being a cog. Those who are deemed worthy (Somethings) are lifted up and shown they can do anything; those unworthy (Nothings) are show that they exist for the Somethings, that they play a part to them; Somethings do, and Nothings watch them. They'll convince the Nothings that as minuscule and as shitty as their task in life might be, it's for the benefit of all of us. 

Just another replaceable cog in the machine.

No Room for Love in America

As I write, I realize I am a throw-back to the 60's; a stereotypical hippy who basically wants the world to love one another. The retreat from Vietnam changed America; suddenly, cogism and conformity was in, for the greater good. The yuppies, with their business degrees and monetary intent, took over and hippies, with their 'love all' mentality, died out. Today, the hippy influence seems next to none; everyone has accepted money as their first Lord (as our lives are ruled by nothing else).

So why can't we all love each other? Because capitalist business can't run if you actually love all your customers; you'd ruin yourself. Business requires rules and regulations, it requires structure and facelessness to avoid any preferential treatment to any one customer.

This attitude of coveted love carries to other aspects; we make our relationships hard on each other, we make our friendships more difficult. We find letting ourselves go to another person to be too invasive yet all we want to do is physically invade and that practice is much more widely accepted than sharing ourselves, our thoughts and feelings.

We don't philosophize anymore; we don't sit and think for two seconds about the world beyond our reach. When we vote, we vote purely for ourselves; we care for ourselves, we love only ourselves. And money.


This is what America, and the world, has created for today; for our future.