Sigh.

Sometimes you have to wonder if it’s worth it. If it’s worth bothering trying to change a system that glorifies and rewards our worst impulses. A system that consistently rewards greed and anger and hate, and spits at those who would inspire us to be better.

It’s enough to make me think about quitting. If America was a job, I’d probably submit my resignation letter this morning. I hate the thought of my little boy spending his formative years surrounded by this culture of mediocrity, answering to leaders with small minds and ugly hearts. He doesn’t deserve to grow up in a country that was built on the backs of slaves, a country that revels in the death of one of its citizens.

And try as we might to make things better, it seems this place is tainted forever by its history. America can never aspire to anything truly great, because its every accomplishment is stained with the blood of people who were basically just unlucky enough to be born poor, brown, and in-the-way. Even when hundreds of thousands of people suddenly stand up and say “WAIT! THIS IS A MISTAKE!”, we still can’t help ourselves.

Every dollar in our pocket is blood money. We can wash our hands as many times as we want, but they aren’t going to come clean. At least not until we make some kind of effort to live up to our ideals, instead of stooping down to our worse impulses.

Good god, but am I ever tired of ugly.

51 Notes/ Hide

  1. mkimarnold said: “Liked” does not seem an appropriate response to what you so eloquently express. Thank you for expressing it. There is some comfort, at least, in that.
  2. centeroftheuniverseashlandva reblogged this from froggeek
  3. steelopus said: There’s a lot to agree with here, but American history is also full of a lot of positive figures, actions, and events. To overlook those is doing somewhat of an injustice to the people who took part.
  4. beefranck said: I believe that people are inherently good, and that people who are hateful have just lost their way. Some days it is very difficult to hold on to that belief. Today is one of those days.
  5. froggeek posted this