I’m not writing this on April 1st, although this blog will be published then.
The current date is 3/24/22 that is to say, March 24th, 2022, 2:15PM / 14:15.
I’m sitting in the cafe up the street from my job.
Recently I’ve just come across the idea, the concept that I don’t know enough. To be fair, I also don’t care to know more than I already do, unless it is really interesting, or can improve my quality of life.
This is really only a concern in discussions about politics, mostly, because right now, during the conflict of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many people, namely, Americans have brought up the hypocrisy of America and its own history of warfare and war crimes.
I can’t wrap my head around it. I recall an erstwhile lover saying “people that have no problems make problems for themselves.” I’m beginning to see truth in her words.
This isn’t to say that America is a perfect country with no flaws, and everyone should feel and know they are privileged to have been born and are able to afford to live here, but to act as if it’s the worst place in the world is also, incredibly naive, in my opinion.
Like when they say “don’t bite the hand that feeds you,” I feel like a lot of them are biting the hand.
And as I’ve already stated, I don’t know enough, if I know anything at all, but that doesn’t change the fact that regardless of all the bad press America gets from well, Americans, people still emigrate here. What do you make of them? Are they stupid in your opinion? Is it unfortunate that they couldn’t afford better? Which country is, in your opinion “better” ?
The way I see it, there is no country without blemish, no country without its cover up, and no country, or few countries where the value of its currency is great, far and wide. Not to mention the idea of other countries being “homogenous” which to me, implies that it’s harder to make social connections, friends, get married, and fit in, culturally, if you aren’t
A) A “desired” or “fetishized” by the people and that culture
B) Don’t look like them, speak like them, understand them culturally, or have family there. And even if you do have family there’s no guarantee you’ll get along.
I mean, if these countries were so much better, where’s there ads for being “melting pots” for having “greater opportunities to excel” ? The most I see are these endless articles about the Nordic countries with their “happiness index” and “millionaires,” but 1 million Krone does not hold the same value as 1 million USD, even if it’s easier to obtain. And even still you can find forums of people speaking much differently about their experiences in their homeland than what you see in articles. And where do you go from there?
An article making broad, wide sweeping claims? Or and individual, or many individual, albeit, anecdotal yet nuanced opinions from a real person, a citizen.
Of course it falls upon your own shoulders to discern for yourself, but this stresses me out, all the same.
I would like to say, I’m not the most patriotic American either, and frequently, during my life up until maybe two months ago, I’d regularly thinking about becoming and ex-pat. My countries of choice were Norway, Japan, and most recently, Denmark.
Going back into not knowing everything, and how much money this would realistically cost, I realized, it would be easy to run away from the problems I face in America, also being a Black, African American citizen, or at least of African descent. The mental toll it takes to process information in the news, in protests, in rhetoric is enough to make you want to lose consciousness, at will. But onward I stride.
Back to my point though, yes, running away would be easy, however, if I am so dissatisfied, like the many people marching and protesting, is there something I can do as well, to help push forward, meaningful change? Change for the better? Help America become more progressive?
Being one person, taking this task on alone is in fact, insurmountable. However, there are channels, facilities of not, institutions that can help aid your movement or help you find ways to take steps forward, whether you know of them or not. I’ve discovered that you’re never truly alone, the White House does in fact have a portal where you can write to the President, or different branches of government operating in the White House, and other branches of government have contact forms as well. I know first hand that the White House at least reads and responds to inquiries, albeit, on a case by case basis. I’ve submitted two things to the White House and only one was responded to, so, there’s that, but it’s important to attempt to be, or at least introduce the change you want to see. That’s how I think about it, anyway.
Its been about an hour and thirteen minutes since I began typing this and walked into work, so I don’t have the same train of thought, but I’d like to conclude for now with I’ve decided to take the initiative in multiple ways.
I started and stopped with submitting ideas to the President, NASA, the EPA, the Department of Justice and the Army but now, I want to incorporate financial assistance as well.
As of right now there are no bodies of government, politicians or organizations that I feel comfortable donating to.
I am however considering donating to some animal rescue initiatives, people I come across going through hard times whether that’s on social media or in person, or to places where the value of my dollar reaches further than it does here in America. And also some handouts to friends that they don’t have to pay back.
I figured, I missed the boat on having kids, and I’m not in a place where I’ve decided that I need to have to them as to knock off a milestone for adult life or some shit. Fuck that. If I must contribute to society, for now, this is how I’ll go about doing just that.