I'll Just Treat America Like I Treat My Friends

James Baldwin:

I love America more than any other country in the world and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.

I have a few friends who I’ll bluntly tell the harsh truth to, simply because they need to hear it. Whether it’s sticking to a toxic relationship or questioning their drive, doesn’t matter. I love some people enough to find their bullshit inexcusable, so I call it out because I want them to be better people. I’m constantly trying to evolve and I want them to come along on this journey, because they matter to me.

I’m to that point with the country I was born and raised in. America has had nothing but a toxic history. Built on the backs of African slaves and Native American genocide. Reluctant to treat Blacks as entire human beings, literally saying they were 3/5. Hostile to different European groups until they conformed to whiteness. The Klu Klux Klan not only targeted Blacks and other minorities, but also Catholics. Women have always had to fight against patriarchy, having to fight for the right to vote, to actually have jobs, then to be paid fairly for the same job men do. If you’re gay, lesbian, bi, or trans, it’s been an uphill battle to see recognized as legitimate. I can go on and on.

This week, the majority Republican Congress pushed through a bill that will strip healthcare from millions of Americans (clinics in Nebraska are already closing due to Medicaid cuts) and cuts deeply into food stamp programs. It rolls back clean energy credits, which could cause massive job losses in the sector and allows for public lands (i.e. national parks) to have parts seized for energy (read: oil) extraction. It cuts research funding for cancer research, FDA, CDC, and pandemic preparedness. It shifts money to ICE and border patrol programs, which have already been targeting minorities unfairly due to quotas, so even natural-born citizens are at risk. It gives the wealthiest Americans larger tax cuts, leaving lower-income citizens with the burden. But hey, the small population that earns tips in their field aren’t taxed at least. Yay!

I’m tired of pro-corporation, pro-white supremacy America. I root for an America that’s more inclusive, helps one another, and wants to make itself better through education. I want an America that has better infrastructure, safer street design, and affordable living. I root for an America with cleaner air. But elected officials don’t seem interested in that, and it’s going to take some time to hold them accountable if the collective population wakes up enough to do so. I’ve never been as uncertain of the future of this nation as I am now because it feels like a select few who hold power are comfortable in running the damn thing into the ground as long as it benefits them in the short term.

If I have any optimism, it’s that despite 250 years of bullshit, this nation has carried on. There are glimmers of hope scattered throughout, that people are willing to vote for people who actually want to help over who their party told them to vote for. There are millions of people tired of the same bullshit I am. Progress is never a straight line, they say. Maybe my impatience comes from the fact that it’s really not that hard to be good to people.

So, I’ll be here, treating America like that friend who’s in that toxic relationship they don’t have the strength to leave yet. I’ll be supportive, but never expect me to excuse its bullshit.