America Is On The World Stage, And The World Is Laughing

                

             

            I was cleaning my kitchen on the morning of the fourth thinking about this blog. I have generally clear thoughts about the state of our union. For whatever reason, it felt difficult to articulate for this assignment. Then, Trump went to Mt. Rushmore and it felt much easier. During this pandemic, Americans gathered to see the president speak and watch fireworks over the monument. Sounds pretty great if you don’t think about it at all. That’s not really what these blurbs are all about, so let’s think about it. The U.S. President went to Mt. Rushmore, dragging a storm of MAGA supporters with him. They congregated on land that was taken from the indigenous population, negotiated through treaties to be given back to them, and then never returned. The president then gave a divisive speech with the obvious aim of creating a common enemy for Republicans. 

 

            For a moment, let us forget about the content of the speech. Let’s focus on the people from the area. Locals from the native population spoke out prior to the event. They expressed concerns about the small population that has mostly flattened the curve of the COVID-19 in the area being infected by the influx of visitors. In particular, there was concern about Trump supporters specifically not adhering to scientifically supported measures to prevent the spread of the virus. Watching these events unfold, my mind went straight to the great dying. Was our president really going to do this? Of course he was. 

 

            Now, back to the president’s regularly scheduled message of division and hate. The president is using a classic “us VS them” tactic. He is creating a common enemy of everyone not adhering to far right political views. By polarizing the country he is hoping to create a stronger base of voters. A part of this message is that immigrants are taking American jobs, and stripping the country of moral standards. Trump’s efforts have had a particular emphasis with equating leftist political views to criminality. Do you know when this type of message about immigrants was previously present? Look at the ten-year period leading up to WWII. Anti-Semitic sentiment ran rampant in the United States. The main concern was that Jews had and would take more American jobs. Look back to almost any large immigration event to the United States. Similar views were present. 

 

            So, let’s get back to me cleaning my kitchen. I heard this song: Novocaine by The Unlikely Candidates. 

 

“I can't change!
Guess you can blame it on my left side brain
I should know better but you know
I know, I know I ain't never gonna change, yeah”

 

            This is America. Our country is a beautiful melting pot of people; people who came to the country for a better life. Every generation of immigrants is taught to be afraid of the next group. The message from the Republicans of our country never changes. They will always preach fear of immigrants. What they won’t tell you is that it’s not immigrants taking blue-collar jobs. It is the country’s refusal to keep up with STEM. The United States is falling behind. People are losing their jobs and unable to find new ones because they don’t have the right skills. The United States is front and center on the world stage right now. Unfortunately what we’re showcasing is an inability to understand basic scientific knowledge. More than that, we’re showing the other world powers that our population is not educated. It’s the traffic equivalent of waving someone driving behind you to go ahead and pass. America is saying:

 

“I can't change!
Guess you can blame it on my left side brain
I should know better but you know
I know, I know I ain't never gonna change, yeah”