This is America
My heart was heavy again last night* as I watched two fresh, but not uncommon news stories unfold. First, the shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand mosques. Second, another video of police using what appears to be unnecessary force has reached national attention.
Let's start the narrative off with this: I am a capitalist. I believe in the power of free markets and hard work to accomplish a lot. Supply and demand can create wealth that is not limited and does not necessarily take from others.
We do not enjoy capitalism equally today.
The problem comes when those who already have access to resources, land, or other assets are given additional legislative or societal power to gain leverage over other people. This is not a free market. This is crony capitalism with unbridled free markets. Capitalism separated from morality is a beast ready for blood. It tears the fabric between people and lifts a few while simultaneously and necessarily squashing many people.
You might disagree with me. That's fine, but are you really o.k. with where we are at as a country? Nothing really bothers you?
Inequality and abuse of power bother me. These are multi-faceted problems, and worth thinking about in different ways.
Extreme poverty as a percentage of our global population continues to shrink, yet our population continues to grow along with our food needs. Parts of sub-Saharan Africa, like Sudan, continue to have rising numbers of extreme poverty and famine is at hand. At the same time, malnutrition and poor diets continue to be a problem.
Anecdotally, it can cost me far more to eat fresh and healthy food than it costs me to prepared or processed foods. I think this is a common experience for many people in the U.S. It's why Whole Foods may be mocked as "Whole Paycheck."
Recently, I was able to visit friends in Chicago. It was simultaneously thrilling and disheartening to visit the city and see neighborhoods which have been either completely revamped or given a new exterior in the last ten years. We know rich people are moving to cities, and Chicago is no exception. Poverty still lined the city streets in both the usual ways like dingy public housing and neglected tenement buildings, and it was hidden in the commutes of people tired and commuting to work on public transit and barely operating vehicles. Gated buildings and luxury building shared the streets with these same people, but technology and other subtle signs of disparity provided chasms of impenetrable distance.
Many thoughts crossed my mind on the trip. I was in Chicago for the beginning and end of my trip, but the middle was in the Ft. Lauderdale-Miami during most of it.
Miami Beach show-cased the dazzling wealth of the U.S. High rises and glitzy shops and neat restaurants lined the immaculate streets.
A short bus ride later and I was surrounded by people who had a whole different set of concerns. We passed a hospital, and part of my ride included a few parents who appeared to be from a lower economic background who left us at that location. I couldn't help but notice the differences in dress and attitude from those who drove Lamborghinis and Landrovers to the families who surrounded me on the bus.
I'm not going to assume I know the stories of any of those people. I do know the people on the bus appeared more tired, worn out, and like they were just trying to get to the next thing. The people in Miami Beach probably spent more on their handbags, actually I'm pretty sure of this for a couple I saw, than my fellow bus riders did on a month of rent.
This is America. It's a land of fantastic opportunity, and foregone promises. At a terminal waiting for a bus, I spoke with a guy who grew up in Detroit. He was now canvassing to get a ballot measure for raised minimum wage throughout the state. He briefly shared with me about his different experiences growing up in the North and then migrating to the South. He shared about experiencing racism in all parts of the country. He grew up in the sixties and seventies, and some things he never expected to return have.
Transit is a mixed bag in this country. While in Florida, I was able to use mass transit opportunities to reach any place I would have wanted to go. The connections were regular and abundant between buses and trains. In Chicago, the story was similar, but a greater degree of wear and tear was visible on much of the equipment. The biggest thing I kept thinking of was how little options there were in Cincinnati. Although I don't live there anymore, I still think about the city a lot.
This has been my experience of the United States though. We are united in very little. One more story though.
One night, I decided to take a Lyft to get to the beach quickly after a shower. I had already walked between 11 and 12 miles that day as well as kayaking. My Lyft driver was a gregarious individual who was willing to share about his experiences as well as give suggestions for areas to explore. He suggested Wynnwood which a friend had also recommended. We got onto the topic of gentrification, and he mentioned there were still homeless people in the area.
When I asked if people in the area were getting jobs and their situation was improving, he thought so. Overall, he thought money being invested in neighborhoods was a good thing. He was a second generation Jamaican immigrant, and his parents had taught him to work hard in school and life. His perspective was that although there was poverty and homelessness in the U.S. it was overall a much better place to be for opportunities than majority world countries. The poverty he had seen firsthand outside the U.S. showed him it was good to be here.
I end on that story to share a summation of my feelings.
We live in a country of great opportunity. I still believe in opportunity offered by free markets. We must do better though. We can't pretend like racism has been eradicated. We can't pretend there are not giant gaps between the rich and the poor in this country. Our infrastructure is crumbling around us in many places. Mass transit can be a benefit to all people, even if it costs a lot to implement. When we invest in ourselves, we invest in our future. For those who do not care to invest in who we are as a country, I believe this type of selfishness gets us nowhere fast.
The way we talk, the way interact with one another matters. We must find ways to bring our country together or we will fail as a nation. Sometimes, it seems like that is what some people want. They are more concerned with their own little kingdoms than they are with helping to see our country grow and prosper. If we want to continue to be the land of opportunity, this single minded selfishness cannot continue. Nationalism which only looks out for the U.S. as well "prepper" mindsets alike have devastating consequences to both society and the individual. Callous individuals who only look out for themselves or their families will only come to dust.
What does potential police brutality have to do with all this? I believe there are good police, just like there are good people in any profession. There are also bad police. As a society, we must be willing to face this reality. We must also face the reality there are good and bad police procedures, laws, and systems. A society which only seeks to preserve power will find itself in ruin. The preservation of power as such does not protect you as an individual when the system shows its weaknesses. Juries which always protects police because they "fear for their lives" even when a preponderance of evidence is to the contrary do so because they want to believe power is on their side. They think the victim of police violence has somehow erred and that by preserving power, they are preserving their own safety and security.
The opposite is true. When we do not have clear accountability and only uphold power, we are all in danger. We all may become the victim of unwarranted search, seizure, or violence. We all may experience loss at the hands of unfettered power.
We have public transit projects which benefit many people, and we have some sorely in need of repair. In the same way, justice becomes an uneven project in this country. We should and can do better.
When we do better with our money and our justice, we can do better at being a true leader in the world. We can and should care about the rest of the world. This is America. Let's lead.
*This was a post I started, but couldn't finish on 3/15.
Let's start the narrative off with this: I am a capitalist. I believe in the power of free markets and hard work to accomplish a lot. Supply and demand can create wealth that is not limited and does not necessarily take from others.
We do not enjoy capitalism equally today.
The problem comes when those who already have access to resources, land, or other assets are given additional legislative or societal power to gain leverage over other people. This is not a free market. This is crony capitalism with unbridled free markets. Capitalism separated from morality is a beast ready for blood. It tears the fabric between people and lifts a few while simultaneously and necessarily squashing many people.
You might disagree with me. That's fine, but are you really o.k. with where we are at as a country? Nothing really bothers you?
Inequality and abuse of power bother me. These are multi-faceted problems, and worth thinking about in different ways.
Extreme poverty as a percentage of our global population continues to shrink, yet our population continues to grow along with our food needs. Parts of sub-Saharan Africa, like Sudan, continue to have rising numbers of extreme poverty and famine is at hand. At the same time, malnutrition and poor diets continue to be a problem.
Anecdotally, it can cost me far more to eat fresh and healthy food than it costs me to prepared or processed foods. I think this is a common experience for many people in the U.S. It's why Whole Foods may be mocked as "Whole Paycheck."
Recently, I was able to visit friends in Chicago. It was simultaneously thrilling and disheartening to visit the city and see neighborhoods which have been either completely revamped or given a new exterior in the last ten years. We know rich people are moving to cities, and Chicago is no exception. Poverty still lined the city streets in both the usual ways like dingy public housing and neglected tenement buildings, and it was hidden in the commutes of people tired and commuting to work on public transit and barely operating vehicles. Gated buildings and luxury building shared the streets with these same people, but technology and other subtle signs of disparity provided chasms of impenetrable distance.
Many thoughts crossed my mind on the trip. I was in Chicago for the beginning and end of my trip, but the middle was in the Ft. Lauderdale-Miami during most of it.
Miami Beach show-cased the dazzling wealth of the U.S. High rises and glitzy shops and neat restaurants lined the immaculate streets.
A short bus ride later and I was surrounded by people who had a whole different set of concerns. We passed a hospital, and part of my ride included a few parents who appeared to be from a lower economic background who left us at that location. I couldn't help but notice the differences in dress and attitude from those who drove Lamborghinis and Landrovers to the families who surrounded me on the bus.
I'm not going to assume I know the stories of any of those people. I do know the people on the bus appeared more tired, worn out, and like they were just trying to get to the next thing. The people in Miami Beach probably spent more on their handbags, actually I'm pretty sure of this for a couple I saw, than my fellow bus riders did on a month of rent.
This is America. It's a land of fantastic opportunity, and foregone promises. At a terminal waiting for a bus, I spoke with a guy who grew up in Detroit. He was now canvassing to get a ballot measure for raised minimum wage throughout the state. He briefly shared with me about his different experiences growing up in the North and then migrating to the South. He shared about experiencing racism in all parts of the country. He grew up in the sixties and seventies, and some things he never expected to return have.
Transit is a mixed bag in this country. While in Florida, I was able to use mass transit opportunities to reach any place I would have wanted to go. The connections were regular and abundant between buses and trains. In Chicago, the story was similar, but a greater degree of wear and tear was visible on much of the equipment. The biggest thing I kept thinking of was how little options there were in Cincinnati. Although I don't live there anymore, I still think about the city a lot.
One night, I decided to take a Lyft to get to the beach quickly after a shower. I had already walked between 11 and 12 miles that day as well as kayaking. My Lyft driver was a gregarious individual who was willing to share about his experiences as well as give suggestions for areas to explore. He suggested Wynnwood which a friend had also recommended. We got onto the topic of gentrification, and he mentioned there were still homeless people in the area.
When I asked if people in the area were getting jobs and their situation was improving, he thought so. Overall, he thought money being invested in neighborhoods was a good thing. He was a second generation Jamaican immigrant, and his parents had taught him to work hard in school and life. His perspective was that although there was poverty and homelessness in the U.S. it was overall a much better place to be for opportunities than majority world countries. The poverty he had seen firsthand outside the U.S. showed him it was good to be here.
I end on that story to share a summation of my feelings.
We live in a country of great opportunity. I still believe in opportunity offered by free markets. We must do better though. We can't pretend like racism has been eradicated. We can't pretend there are not giant gaps between the rich and the poor in this country. Our infrastructure is crumbling around us in many places. Mass transit can be a benefit to all people, even if it costs a lot to implement. When we invest in ourselves, we invest in our future. For those who do not care to invest in who we are as a country, I believe this type of selfishness gets us nowhere fast.
The way we talk, the way interact with one another matters. We must find ways to bring our country together or we will fail as a nation. Sometimes, it seems like that is what some people want. They are more concerned with their own little kingdoms than they are with helping to see our country grow and prosper. If we want to continue to be the land of opportunity, this single minded selfishness cannot continue. Nationalism which only looks out for the U.S. as well "prepper" mindsets alike have devastating consequences to both society and the individual. Callous individuals who only look out for themselves or their families will only come to dust.
What does potential police brutality have to do with all this? I believe there are good police, just like there are good people in any profession. There are also bad police. As a society, we must be willing to face this reality. We must also face the reality there are good and bad police procedures, laws, and systems. A society which only seeks to preserve power will find itself in ruin. The preservation of power as such does not protect you as an individual when the system shows its weaknesses. Juries which always protects police because they "fear for their lives" even when a preponderance of evidence is to the contrary do so because they want to believe power is on their side. They think the victim of police violence has somehow erred and that by preserving power, they are preserving their own safety and security.
The opposite is true. When we do not have clear accountability and only uphold power, we are all in danger. We all may become the victim of unwarranted search, seizure, or violence. We all may experience loss at the hands of unfettered power.
We have public transit projects which benefit many people, and we have some sorely in need of repair. In the same way, justice becomes an uneven project in this country. We should and can do better.
When we do better with our money and our justice, we can do better at being a true leader in the world. We can and should care about the rest of the world. This is America. Let's lead.
*This was a post I started, but couldn't finish on 3/15.
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