The America We Choose to Be

I’ve been pretty silent here lately. Some of that is due to business elsewhere. Some of that is a burnout with engaging in political matters via the Internet. This isn’t a political blog per say but I did like to ruminate on things from time to time. Well, the last few years have been pretty heavy and I’ve felt I couldn’t write here about other random things without engaging that political firebomb.

So why now? The recent success of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the Democratic primary in New York has finally sparked some hope in me. Maybe, just maybe America might finally be ready to become the country we pretend that we are.

Now, this was only a primary election and there’s every chance this democratic-socialist will lose in the general. Or that her victory will be the only one. Or that she’s really not as wonderful as media reports make her out to be. Or that the Republicans, and Democrats, will continue to undermine the whole electoral system until we tumble into a civil war and/or true dystopian dictatorship.  But maybe, just maybe, this could be the spark that lights the fire that brings the corrupt system down.

And, yes, that was a deliberate allusion. My last post came on the heels of seeing Star Wars: The Last Jedi. In it, I described how I came out of the theater not sure how to feel about the movie. Since then, I’ve settled on I like it. I still have some issues with parts but that’s true of any movie if I think to much about it. Overall, I enjoy it. But, boy, has a certain segment of the internet population really come down the other way.

That vitriolic hate is another thing that has kept me from writing my own personal thoughts. And I think the two are related. There is an undercurrent of the Dark Side running through the country right now. Fear, anger, hate. They are directed at different things. They are caused by different things. But it’s everywhere.

I didn’t want to contribute to that hate. I don’t hate Republicans or Democrats. Or Capitalism. Or people who didn’t like TLJ. Or even Trump. But I do disagree with them. The hatred, fear, abuse of power, indifference, and exploitation needs to be countered before it consumes us all.

So here’s hoping a little democratic socialism can make America greater. Not great again. Greater than we are now.