Beginning Over, 20. The Death of A Dream.

July 4th was the celebration of Independence Day in the United States. It was a day to celebrate the founding of a nation based on certain basic freedoms. People usually have barbecues, watch fireworks, go to parades, and shoot at other people.

It is so ironic that one of the amendments on the Constitution that helped to create that country, made sure that mass death could happen on the anniversary of its founding. Fireworks, parades, and guns. So American. 

America as a free country is dead. I'm sorry if I anger some people, but that is my opinion, and that of many. Growing up, I had heard comments about how long strong countries, empires really, could last. Two hundred years, more or less, was the answer, at least as a world power. In name, they can last longer, but be a mere paper tiger. The United States was founded in 1776, almost two hundred fifty years ago. It is now headed to its death.

Economically, militarily, it is still strong. But, morally, it is deader than a doornail. Who are they to tell anyone how to do anything when they are now openly oppressing women and minorities at home? Who are they to talk about race relations when a young black man who ran from a traffic stop was followed, shot at a hundred times, hit sixty, and had his hands handcuffed behind his back when he was already a corpse? Yet, the young white man who sprinkled death and panic at a Fourth of July parade with his automatic rifle, when he was stopped due to a traffic violation and ran, was apprehended without one shot fired. The first was unarmed, the second was considered armed and dangerous. Where's the outrage among those with the power to do something about it? 

Who are they to criticize the Taliban when they will now force women to give birth in half the states of the nation? It won't matter whether or not the woman can care for the child, or even if the pregnancy is viable. To the fundamentalists who promote the illegalization of abortion and contraceptives, the greatest achievement of a female is only to be a mother, whether or not they die in the attempt, or she and the child die of starvation. No, a woman isn't a person, she is a potential mother; all other definitions don't even come into play. What does it matter if a woman doesn't have to cover her face, if she is considered less than her male brethren? 

What is a life worth in the United States? That depends. It's worth nothing if you are a woman, a minority, a child, an immigrant, an elderly person. If you are a white, rich, cis-gendered man, that's when you are worth something as a person. Everyone else is there to serve you, and make sure your life runs smoothly. 

America is fast descending into madness. Yes, there will probably be another civil war. When? That depends on how many triggers are pressed. What will come out of it? It will depend on who wins, but the present world order is about to be finished off. If we want a beacon of light in this shadowy world, Europe better step up and take the flame. Otherwise, we'll be left with the likes of Russia or China to run the show. The future looks bleak. I pity the children born today. Their future is in the past. 

Life continues. Maybe.