Maybe Brother Ali had it right after all. We preach freedom, safety, the American Dream while politely support any regime advocating for mass genocide in places like Gaza, Vietnam or El Salvador.
I’m tired. Tired of hearing how we are the greatest, when I know even with my limited experience of the world, that we most definitely are Not. Even. Close.
You’re welcome to disagree with me, but please do your research and study the history before you do. And I challenge you, if this article already makes you feel uncomfortable, to stick with me. Then we can have a discussion about it after!
Because after all, political dissent is inherently American. We SHOULD be critical of government and hold them to a higher standard to be better. Even with all its flaws. (I've worked for government, I get it.)
Boy, this post could take about a thousand different paths because I’m angry at and exhausted by so many things. But I’ll try to distill it down into two general areas:
1.) America hates the poor & houseless
2.) America loves their tools of the State: police & defense contracts
I was raised in a classically Midwestern area of the country. Where folk’s blood runs Republican and their support for the police is unmatched. Oh and everyone was white. Things worked pretty well in the cornfields of Southern IL (as far as I knew). But as I’ve traveled around the country, I’ve experienced a different America. One weaved of many different tapestries, with nuances I never grew up with.
What I’ve come to realize is that America is for sale to the highest bidder. If you’re poor, down on your luck or god forbid a minority, things are going to be much tougher for you. But good luck with those bootstraps they keep talking about...
See, I’ve lived in my van for the past 7 years. I’ve been so poor that I've run a negative balance on my checking account, used credit cards to pay for living expenses and still struggle with plenty of student loan debt. And that’s all without paying for housing on top of that. I’ve struggled to simply exist as law enforcement, security guards and those with money hunt me down on the streets like I’m some common criminal. The car is perfectly ok, as long as you’re not in it. What a world we live in.
Yesterday, I had a breakdown. As a strong Midwesterner, it’s rare to see me cry. But yesterday was different. Because I'd learned that the Israeli government, supplied by United States of America’s powerhouse of an arsenal, bombed the fuck out of a refugee encampment. There’s nowhere else for them to go. It’d be harder to hit fish in a barrel. And our government and the general public are a) acting like it’s purely Palestine’s fault or b) demonstrating the most egregious apathy I’ve ever seen.
Because America might have been founded on concepts like freedom, and liberty, and justice for all, but it’s truly always only been for the wealthy. Only the rich can afford the realities behind these three ideals.
As former Senator Frank Church wrote in 1984, regarding Central America (though it’s all too true everywhere), we supported a “selfish property-owning minority,” an “indifferent middle class intransigently protecting their privileges,” and ignored the “limitless misery” of a majority that often “lives on the margin of subsistence.”
Does that sound familiar in these times where Palestine feels a world away & the US/Israel duopoly can do as they please? Or in a country originally founded upon tax evasion and owning humans as property which still perpetuates slavery with the 17th Amendment and its prison clause? Or as more people in our country are going houseless because of medical debt, being forced out of the housing market, drug addiction or other choices indicative of a society gone off the rails? Or, or, or…shall I keep going??
And all too often, the US is quick to provide support if it involves military might. They’ve got all the money in the world for “defense” and police budgets. But when social programs that would help stabilize our country are on the table? Wow are we broke!
I know many more feel the same way I do as we’re tired of rising cost of living, unchecked capitalist greed and a money machine that eats its own young. It’s really hard to be happy for the economy, stock market or the ultra-rich with their 4-5 business houses while I can barely make ends meet without working an insane amount of hours, or opting out of the housing market entirely.
When I first started #Vanlife, I did it because it was fun, supported the kind of lifestyle I wanted to pursue and it was economical. I was one of the lucky ones who wasn’t forced into dwelling in their cars by necessity. I realize that. But now, I’m not sure how easily I could go return to proper housing.
As I write this blog, the interest rate on a home loan is 7.8%. If I wanted a modest 1,000 sq. ft. home in many places in the US, it would cost around $300,000. Even if I had a 20% down payment ($60,000), the loan would amass an additional $382,000 over the course of its lifetime, turning a $300,000 home into a whopping $682,000. How is this sustainable? In every major metro area in the country now, it’s cheaper to rent than it is to buy. And you don’t even get anything with that.
It's so expensive without money in this country:
If you’re broke, there’s overdraft fees.
Credit slumps? Interest rate’s gone up.
Can’t afford healthcare or lose a job with healthcare attached? Don’t worry, suck it up, just don’t die, we need your labor.
Accidentally got pregnant? Well that’s too bad because abortion is becoming outlawed, besides, we need more pawns to prop up the never-ending system reliant upon growth.
On nutrition assistance? Most of the country will despise you while adore corporations like Walmart and Amazon who put you there in the first place.
America has perfected its war against the poor.
And when folks step “out of line” or misstep, don’t worry, the Team America World Police will be vigirously assisting the capitalist with a swift punishment. ‘We the People’ love the Don’t Tread on Me flags as long as it’s someone else getting tread upon. I can't help but point out the disparities between the police response on college campus' recently contrasted to the actual mob-led assault on our nation's capitol in 2021.
I pulled into a gas station in Utah two days ago and saw 5 state patrol vehicles swarmed around a piece-of-junk car with two emotionally distraught teenagers. They were complying, the cops were tearing apart their vehicle. Were the handcuffs truly necessary as the young teen girl cried her eyes out while she was strip searched? Once she’s in the vehicle, she can’t go anywhere anyways, but it’s to make a point. And the officers were standing uncomfortably and intimidatingly close to the young boy as they asked him all their questions. Just another technique in the playbook of intimidation they’ve perfected since the early days of Jim Crowe.
Some folks looked on approvingly saying things like “yep, looks like the police are really doing their job around here,” while I saw other would-be patrons make an abrupt u-turn to avoid any interaction with law enforcement entirely.
Because it seems to me that these are two realities in America: The people the police actually work for and those they actively work against.
I want you to examine the times that you’ve interacted with law enforcement and do an honest check-up. How did it go? Were you assumed to be law-abiding at first glance or did they already assume you were up to no good? Even if you fly a thin-blue-line flag, take a moment to reflect. Is your experience different than others in this country?
I can say that even as an average white man, I’m very uncomfortable around law enforcement. Have I done anything wrong? No. But it’s just the eerie, heavy-on-the-chest feeling I get when they pull me over or even when they walk into a restaurant I'm enjoying. When I see a police officer, my first thought is never 'Serve and Protect.' I think intimidate and enforce. I don’t feel peace of mind. And it doesn’t bring me much more when I see them cower when they can actually make a difference with all that tactical gear, such as with school shootings.
Because here’s my hot take: the peacemakers are in place to ensure order, perfect compliance and to maintain a capitalist system that’s trying to oppress us ALL, from the city kid in Chicago to the “upright citizen” in rural Texas. And perhaps undying apologist support for this kind of enforcement isn’t what we should be glorifying in this country.
I have many friends and family members from all walks of life. And our experiences vary immensely. So I challenge you to take a good hard look at how you view the poor and houseless, countries like Gaza, the police, everything. Because the rich and powerful have done a masterful job at sowing distrust between us. They are terrified of what would happen if we realized our true power. There are so many of us and so few of them and they beg of you, “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” like from the Wizard of Oz.
I challenge you to throw that motherfucker aside and peer into the dark underbelly of the United States of America.
Please feel free to leave any comments below but know this: I will not tolerate hate, prejudice or opinions not supported by factual information.