Opinion: The Hopeless Nation
Photo created by Cassandra Jones
“But is America honest or do we bask in sin?” -Kendrick Lamar
On Wednesday, January 20 the United States of America welcomed a new president, Joseph R. Biden, Jr.. While our government has followed the traditions of inaugurations past, I watched on and peered at the TV screen. I was lost in thought. I felt confused. My emotions swirled through me, fighting with each other to see which one will come out on top. None of them win. In my mind, I thought about the momentous victory of getting Donald J. Trump out of the White House. Quickly after, my thoughts soured when I thought about the damage that has been done over the past four years. The repetitive incitements of violence, racism, discrimination, and injustice can not be hidden nor forgotten. Many of the same politicians who supported Trump’s destructive antics are the same politicians with masked smiles. A standard is set back into motion again as we Americans lighten our shoulders and breathe a sigh of relief that Trump is gone. However, we must not forget that the fight isn’t over yet.
As President Joe Biden speaks of a great America and calls for unity, I am reminded of everything that America is not. I am reminded of the America that works against me, a young Black woman in a neighborhood covered with poverty, and everyone else like me. I am reminded of the true dark underbelly of America. The America that is built on greed. The America that lives and thrives off of oppression and control. The America that is unfair.
The United States of America continues to live off of these corrupt ideologies. The capitalist system that survives in America divides Americans even further. There continues to be a significant gap between the wealthy 1% and the struggling 99%. This gap, along with America's inequities, will continue to divide us further.
What many white Americans like Joe Biden fail to realize is that America is not a country. America is a system. The American system provides stability and wealth to the few men in power. The same men that control the government, run companies and corporations, and control the assets of the world. Since March 2020, the net worth of the world's richest men rose by $540 billion dollars. The founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, has seen his net worth increase by an estimated $88 billion dollars. Since most of the world's population has been required to stay home, people have turned to online shopping and Amazon has benefited greatly from it. While Amazon workers beg for hazard pay for risking their lives during this pandemic, Jeff Bezos continues to be one of the richest men in the world. Essentially, these same men, like Jeff Bezos benefit from modern day slavery. They take people in poverty, overwork them for the smallest cost, and then they reap all the benefits. These same men would have done well for themselves if we were living in 1619. The inequality of incomes between the wealthy and the poor shows the America made for the few.
During President Biden’s speech, I tried to listen to his words and feel them. I couldn’t. As Biden shared his hope for unity within this America, mine shredded. This idyllic America that is fair, just, and equitable has never existed. The very basis of America’s beginnings are morally corrupt. From Native American land being stolen, to slavery, and leading all the way to present day police brutality shows the blood that America continues to be built on. While the high profile few tie the strings of their shiny boots, they step on millions of barefoot Americans to reach the next step of their own wealth.
As America moves forward through the next four years and beyond, we need to abandon the idyllic America that we present to the world. The last four years have shown the world who we really are. From the racist neighbor that proudly uses the N-word, to the politicians who thought it was fun to wear blackface in their college years, We see the reality of this America. The only way to address this and create real change is to face this head on. The more that we get lost in ideas of “We the people” and unity, the more damage will be had in the future. The illusion is gone. An America that is fair, just, and equitable has never existed. And who knows if it ever will.