Land of Confusion

There's too many men, too many people, making too many problems

If you know anything about me, you should know my favorite sitcom of all time is Parks and Recreation. A hilarious take on local government and one woman's mission to make her town better. If you've ever seen it, you know it mirrors our society in many, many ways.. and dare I say, makes a few predictions. Pawnee is a town full of passionate people who usually sway opposite of what we would consider "good" or "normal".

The townsfolk are portrayed as mostly overweight, undereducated, and often misguided. They remove Leslie Knope from office because she infiltrated their free will - she wanted them to be healthier or better educated or more diverse... In other words, they voted against their own self interests. She herself wasn't perfect -- she constantly thought her co-worker, Tom, who was from South Carolina, was Libyan or Lebanese or somewhere not here - because he was a brown man. However, she put in the fight and she had empathy and love for the people of her town, who usually had none for her. In the show, Leslie persists and, more or less, it all works out for her.

This isn't a call to go and watch Parks and Rec - although you should if you haven't. I was on my 2000th rewatch of the series and the deeper meaning caught my eye, startling in how it mirrors our current reality. Well not current, our reality for awhile, really. And as I watch with dread as we descend a little further every day, I wonder what we can learn from a TV show. I mean, the people in her town never really changed.. she just aimed higher and ultimately left that town for bigger, greener, more white-housey pastures.

Like the show, it's never been more stunningly clear how a majority of citizens in this country vote against their own self interests. It doesn't matter if they stand to lose their businesses, their finances, health insurance, basic human rights, etc. And most of them will vote the same way over and over again (and have). The question is why? My opinion on this will probably have some of you clicking out of this post, leaving a nasty comment or maybe nodding your head in agreement. Do what you need to do.

To get to this answer (for me), we have to acknowledge at least one huge truth - unless you are a Native, we are all immigrants in this country. It's too young of a country to think otherwise. We all came from somewhere else and our ancestors settled on taken land. Or you were brought here and forced into servitude. And if you want to say these things happened hundreds of years ago and we shouldn't be bringing it up, then we also shouldn't be following laws that were created hundreds of years ago, in a much different time. You can't love your history while ignoring or denying the biggest parts of it.

Because of all of this, you can't "make America great again". In order to be great, the opportunities would have to extend to all of its citizens, not just a few. The overall treatment of citizens by its government has to be the same. It is historically not this way. If you are okay with a country being "great" because it benefits you and your kind alone, take some time for introspection and dust off your unused empathy. The worst type of person - to me (have to keep saying this) - waits for something to happen to them before they will admit it is happening. You certainly can live in ignorant bliss if that is what gets you through the day, but have the wherewithal to acknowledge there is so much suffering and hatred in this country. And if continues, it will ultimately end up on your doorstep.

There are so many attacks on people at this current moment, it's hard to keep track of. Wars against immigrants, minorities, trans people, queer people in general, disabled, elderly, women.. Let's be real, if you aren't a rich, white man, it's open season. So why do so many people, especially those outside the privileged few, vote this way?

I'm going to be very cliche' and point you to 1984. The book has admittedly been used to support the arguments of every political party, I know. To sum it up, you eliminate the middle class and keep the citizens poor and stupid. In this country, you can pull up stats across the board to see this is happening in some of our more "rouge" states. Why go after colleges? Why go after diversity? A more educated and diverse candidate pool will usually always vote a certain way. So eliminate that problem and you will have the ultimate power.

But more on the nose, white supremacy reigns large in this country. You steal a country from a people and enslave another, you might be looking over your shoulder for awhile. For fear of losing power and becoming the minority, yes.. fear of being treated the way you've treated others.. also, yes. Fear of losing wealth.. absolutely.

If what's currently going on in this country upsets you - and it should - what do you do? We are plummeting to the depths of fascism at an alarming rate and no one seems to be stopping the runaway train. I applaud the protests, we should be allowed to assemble and have our voices heard. It's in that hundreds-year old document that we cherish so much, after all. Peaceful protests are great and it's my opinion that non-peaceful protests have their place, too. This country is so far gone, it feels like it needs to be burned down to be built up again. The problem right now, is the opponent doesn't play fair. Can there be a peaceful protest that may bring about meaningful change when there are false flags everywhere? When we are calling in military forces to combat citizens who are exercising their right to be heard? We are stealing people from grocery stores, workplaces, immigration appointments (when they are doing what they are supposed to be doing to be here). I mean, come the fuck on.

I'm also concerned that a party that wants limited government in their lives is literally in the business of everyone's lives, intimately. You can't have an abortion, you can't be queer, you can't be trans - this is all apparently upsetting the lives of millions of people somehow. When it has nothing to do with you. I weep for your children if you hate people you don't know or want to stop people from doing what is best for their own lives. I guarantee your life isn't perfect, Sheila, maybe worry about cleaning up that mess, yeah? I don't know any Sheila's and I apologize to the good Sheila's of the world, Karen is a bit overplayed.

Once again, I ask, what do we do? Normally, I'd say a general strike would be in order. Hit these assholes where it hurts and halt the means of production. But we are so divided as a country that I don't know that this can ever happen. How do you start a revolution if half the country thinks what is going on is just great. I wish I had the answers. I feel like I am watching the final act of this country and I can't tell if I am rooting for its demise or its victory at this point.

One thing you can do is take stock in what you believe. If you are my generation or older, there is a good chance that you are, indeed, racist/bigoted. I'm not saying you are active in this, I'm saying you were conditioned to believe certain things about certain people. Blame the news, local and otherwise, blame the government, blame the whitewashing of history in our schools - they are all implicated in our programming. Half the battle is recognizing the problem and actively working against it. And yes, I am throwing myself in here, too. None of us are perfect, but we can be better and we can care about the people around us. We can resist asinine ideologies and false information. We can educate ourselves and be better people. We can pass this on to our children and grandchildren. Find your empathy and that will go a long way in making this country actually great.

I will leave you with the wise words of Leslie Knope, which may or may not be relevant but is a good lesson for us all, “We need to remember what’s important in life: friends, waffles, work. Or waffles, friends, work. Doesn’t matter, but work is third.”

Goes without saying, these are just my thoughts and opinions. Take them as you will.