George Washington called this country "a great experiment".
Experiment.
Like the founding fathers did not know if the US constitution would be the basis of a lasting nation or not.
Like the constitution was not meant to be carved in stone, but rather to be tweaked and improved.
We, the people, have failed to keep us at the head of the curve.
Most nations, stable nations, nations that decided against monarch's, against, dictators, against supreme leaders that are treated like gods, have surpassed us in their respect for human rights, the pursuit of happiness, and the acceptance of people that are not living in the middle of the bell curve.
We traded our soul for money.
We traded our desire for equality, justice, and freedom for a desire of sameness: make everyone do everything the way "we" want. But which "we". Who are these "we" deciding what is good for us all.
Sadly, the whole thing seems to be a push to keep most of us focused on trivia so the rich and powerful can stop the experiment completely. They like leaders that clearly favor Oligarchs. They like it if most of us are viewed as replaceable widgets in the corporate machine. And a bunch of folks thinking that a return to the 1830's would stop the inclusion of women, nonwhite people, and nonchristians would mean that they are once again powerful.
Don't tell those white men that even in 1830, the average white man was almost as powerless as an enslaved person, as powerless as an indigenous person, as powerless as a woman----they don't want to hear it----even though, if they would use their brains, look around themselves, open their eyes, they would notice that the powerlessness they feel now is not from brown people, not from immigrants, not from women or LGBTQ but from the rich and powerful men that have never, ever, ever treated the average white man like part of the rich and powerful crowd.
The prince of Saudi Arabia is part of the rich and powerful, as is Kim Jong Un in North Korea. Netanyahu is rich and powerful. The dictator of China, the head of Apple, Facebook, multiple petroleum corporations, the heads of the corporations that make up the military industrial complex as well as the generals are rich and powerful.
But the average US citizen, male, female, heterosexual or not, white or not, natural born or not, christian or not, has only their vote, a job that may or not allow them to save toward retirement, purchase health insurance, and take a little time for themselves without losing anything. That is not power.
The experiment should not be over. It can be improved. Finland, Iceland, Denmark, and countless other countries that were still living in feudal conditions when our experiment started, have figured out that healthcare is a human right not a luxury. Shelter, nutritious food, potable water, clean air are human rights not luxuries. And a life, not just work, not just NOT killing people at work, not just giving people time off for death or illness but for life, children, family, is a right because life--LIFE--is what we all have and the condition we all share.
Come on, America---we can do this. (i'm betting those countries that have pulled ahead will even let us use their methods.) Next stop, respecting all life, not just the humans.
