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Outside it's America
Dec. 5th, 2006 12:53 pmThere are so many times when I'm at work that I just fill up with everything. Just riding to work today, I was looking out the window at Lake Street, and just filled with awe. This is America. Right here, a few scant miles from where I live, this is America being remade in front of our eyes. Once you turn onto Lake Street, you see more signs in Spanish than English, the people getting on the bus are at least half of them Hispanic, and here I am with my Spanish book open in front of me, learning the imperfect subjunctive.
One of the signs caught my eye. It was for a Chiropractor's office, and, in Spanish, it just said, "No more pain. All welcome." The doctor's name didn't look Hispanic, and while I don't for sure know anything about it, it was a very nice sign for the section of Lake Street it was located on, and all I could think of was that some doctor - a chiropractor, no less, not even a general practioner - had decided to slum it, to come down and offer services to people who would never see someone like him if he didn't go to them. And I was pleased.
And today, I read an article at work about the man we have speaking at conference this year, and he speaks about how we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Maybe at RF, we are discriminated against for our sexuality or gender roles, but maybe we are educated white males who can still stand up for ourselves. Maybe we are women, but we are still rich and educated. Maybe we are black, but still men. Maybe we are disabled, but still straight and white. Whatever the combination, society gives certain groups power, and unless you have been denied everything, you have to fight for those less advantaged than you. Just because you have one strike against you, or even two or three, we're all in this together, and we cannot cry about our own problems unless we are prepared to help others where we can.
There is not one fight. There are a thousand, every day, but they are all the same fight, against injustice in the world. It's not fair. It's our job to live as if it were, to pass as much as we possibly can down to the next generation, hoping that every time, we turn a few more to the light.
In a similar vein, I was staring out the window, still during the ride to work, and I looked out at the ice on the water as we crossed the river, and I suddenly realized that capitalism really is dumb. I mean, it was so obvious once I'd said it, but... this was my moment of revelation. That yeah, communism will never work, I agree, but here's the thing - capitalism doesn't work either. We have 90% of the world's riches in the hands of 10%, we have people starving and homeless and illiterate and being stepped on by their governments, and capitalism is just putting it there, more and more.
Socialism is the only system that will remain forever, the natural mode of human interactions, and while capitalism is a stable mode of growth, it's not healthy, in the long run. Socialism is much better. I always thought that, I just didn't realize WHY until today. Or I didn't feel it. But yes. Socialist awakening.
One of the signs caught my eye. It was for a Chiropractor's office, and, in Spanish, it just said, "No more pain. All welcome." The doctor's name didn't look Hispanic, and while I don't for sure know anything about it, it was a very nice sign for the section of Lake Street it was located on, and all I could think of was that some doctor - a chiropractor, no less, not even a general practioner - had decided to slum it, to come down and offer services to people who would never see someone like him if he didn't go to them. And I was pleased.
And today, I read an article at work about the man we have speaking at conference this year, and he speaks about how we all have our strengths and weaknesses. Maybe at RF, we are discriminated against for our sexuality or gender roles, but maybe we are educated white males who can still stand up for ourselves. Maybe we are women, but we are still rich and educated. Maybe we are black, but still men. Maybe we are disabled, but still straight and white. Whatever the combination, society gives certain groups power, and unless you have been denied everything, you have to fight for those less advantaged than you. Just because you have one strike against you, or even two or three, we're all in this together, and we cannot cry about our own problems unless we are prepared to help others where we can.
There is not one fight. There are a thousand, every day, but they are all the same fight, against injustice in the world. It's not fair. It's our job to live as if it were, to pass as much as we possibly can down to the next generation, hoping that every time, we turn a few more to the light.
In a similar vein, I was staring out the window, still during the ride to work, and I looked out at the ice on the water as we crossed the river, and I suddenly realized that capitalism really is dumb. I mean, it was so obvious once I'd said it, but... this was my moment of revelation. That yeah, communism will never work, I agree, but here's the thing - capitalism doesn't work either. We have 90% of the world's riches in the hands of 10%, we have people starving and homeless and illiterate and being stepped on by their governments, and capitalism is just putting it there, more and more.
Socialism is the only system that will remain forever, the natural mode of human interactions, and while capitalism is a stable mode of growth, it's not healthy, in the long run. Socialism is much better. I always thought that, I just didn't realize WHY until today. Or I didn't feel it. But yes. Socialist awakening.
