Well, I tried.
And, I failed.
My experiment in repatriation proved to be a disaster.
Why, you ask?
Many reasons…not the least of which was getting off to a very bad start.
Nevertheless, it was another eye-opening experience. And in that light, it was beneficial to have suffered it. I had a handful of folks genuinely pulling for me…and I sincerely thank you all for that.
But in the end, it just didn’t work.
And what revelations and epiphanies transpired in my mind, heart and soul from all the trauma?
It all sort of comes down to this opinion, conclusion, warning, or however you want to couch it…
The U.S.A. is in deep trouble.
No, not because of 8 years under Obama. If anything, his presidency has been successful in a myriad of statistical ways…but it has not reversed the trend…
the slide into the abyss…
In fact, his presidency seems to have marked an acceleration.
We can drill down on that a bit more and rephrase it: the super rich are getting superbly richer whilst the rest of us are growing more and more downtrodden…
and the great swath of American society called the “middle class” appear to be completely oblivious to this alarming trend.
Rather than look up to the problem, they look down in blame…or over at Obama.
Obama is not the source of the problem. He does acknowledge it, but he’s been pretty powerless (or unwilling) to do much about it.
Obama’s presidency has in no measure changed the increasingly factual reality that our country has become an outright oligarchy.
The super rich class control the levers and they’re making damn sure that their ass is insulated from the turmoil that’s coming…
The shit may be close to hitting the fan folks.
And the election of someone like Donald Trump could really be the proverbial straw…to continue on with this annoying string of clichés.
What we don’t need is exactly what a fellow like Trump proposes.
And that is, the privatization of, well, everything. The idea that everything works better if it works for profit…
And for whom does that profit work?
Well, certainly not for me…
You perhaps?
Doubtful as well.
What do “we” all really want…the normal we…not the private jet-set crowd…but regular run-of-the-mill blokes, like you and me?
Well, if this problem continues unabated much longer, it won’t be.
One reason I feel more at ease down south…way down south…about as far removed from the culture of materiality as you can get…
is that, while people are generally poorer than poor, in terms of American standards…
they are exquisitely happy, dignified and life loving folks.
They work good and hard…but their work doesn’t define them. Their decreased desire to accumulate reduces that pressure.
And what I witnessed during my five odd months of U.S. repatriation is that THAT is just not true up there.
The downtrodden are just that, downtrodden, and rightly pissed off about it. The culture that tells them they are worthless wretches for not having more gives rise to their anger and frustration.
What could possibly release it…the pressure that is?
Perhaps the election of someone who really cares about THE PROBLEM.
Someone who doesn’t ignore it, or make short shrift of it as being part and parcel of a dreaded “progressive” (translated: communist) ideology.
The problem will persist (and grow like a cancer) regardless of how you choose to label it…
Labeling is not the solution that will make it go away.
I’ve learned the hard way that the strategy of ignoring (or belittling) my problems generally only leads to their becoming larger.
So, in a little over a year, America will be faced with a very important choice…
if we’re fortunate enough to get to that point.
I’d suggest it choose wisely.
The trumpet call is sounding…it’s time for less words, more action.
image credit: alxinhim2 via Compfight cc
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