The White-Washing of America

Why don’t we change our national symbol of the free flying American Bald Eagle to a set of broken down washer and dryers gathering dust in front of the White House. Not since the time when the Klan ruled the South has America been thoroughly white-washed by the not so silent majority. From the lack of respect of “You lie,” to “Obama the Magic Negro,” for some reason we’re ready to take off our white sheets and say, “It a damn fine time to be Caucasian again.”

The idea that whites are under attack and that there is a movement afoot that the America we knew is slipping away, is evident as it resonates with Tea-baggers and others who feel their right to say, “We want our country back!” But back from what?

I think, when it gets down to it, what they’re saying is, “Could we turn the clock back just a year.”

I have theory. Half of this country wants George W. Bush back. Y’know the guy you could have a beer with and talk knowledgeably about how fucked up this country and who the real problem. And of course, when talking about the real problem, being a Bush supporter, we know who the enemy is. Everyone who isn’t us.

See, we feel more comfortable with someone who looks like us at the wheel. We like someone who does the thinking for us. If you’re going to start talking about personal responsibility and accountability, you can count me out. Unless you’re giving me slogans that are hard to oppose in the fear of looking un-American, I’m sorry, I can’t relate.

I really believe there are those people who harkens back to the days of Enron, World-Com and Corporations Gone Wild. They were a much simpler time. We never knew we were getting ripped off until it was too late.

Take health care. As Americans walk away from mortgages.  When our neighborhoods are dotted with empty houses and dreams, land value is decreased because of the economy and the way one tragedy can cause a family to lose everything, we still don’t get it. Then you have the Power of No. Seriously, how is it possible politicians can stand before their constitutes and tell them that they don’t need the kind of health care that they currently have. And they hammer that home. Over and over telling the frustrated and angry with big smiles, “Trust me, you don’t want what I have. You’re better without it.”  And because the face in front of them is vaguely familiar, it makes sense. Plus, Fox News and others are agreeing. I’m mean, it’s on the news. They don’t lie. I’m saying, the news I watch doesn’t lie. All the others do.

I said many years ago when the Oklahoma Federal building was attack, nothing will happen if the perpetrator was white. And specifically, if he was a part of a militia. See, we does love our militias. Because, it’s us. It’s our neighbors. Militias are made up with plumbers, cops, carpenters, and their wives and children. We don’t attack our own. Sure, the culprit who did it was sentenced to death, but that’s where it stopped. We went no further. Not into our hinterlands and the deep, scary woods.

There’s speculation that more Americans have perished in Haitian earthquake than on 9/11. But the blow of 9/11 was so great for all of us, we couldn’t sit idle. For some, violence is the only answer. We need to a good shoot ‘em up to feel good. Sometimes it doesn’t matter where we bomb. Face the facts, bombs are not about people on the ground, it’s for us. That release you get when someone else pays for your frustrations. It’s like a punchline to topical joke, it just feels good.

We are in era where good citizens are lending their help and guns to protect our borders. It doesn’t matter when these very same patriots are found guilty of drugs, rape, gun-running and illegal killings. They’re us and we are them. We’re not going to throw the book at these good people. They’re just trying to help.

We’ve become a nation of bullshit artist. We preach one thing but close our bridges to other Americans during crisis. We’ll say were all in this together, until it comes time to be counted. We blame the poor for our housing troubles. “Too many bad loans to people who didn’t deserve it.” It is always someone else besides ourselves who is to blame.

I have friends who bought investment properties who had no felt they would be stupid if they didn’t. Everyone was doing it. And now they feel the burden. When it gets down to it, it always about money. So now we find ourselves hurting. So who’s to blame? That is the question.

We need someone to blame. That’s the American way. If it’s not comic books or Rock and Roll, it’s that damn MTV and those Marilyn Manson videos that’s the problem. It’s Hollywood and those liberal agenda movies like ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and now that crazy Avatar with its unchristian theme of helping people and the planet while not mentioning God’s help once.

We need to fear what we don’t understand. And in that fear, all bets are off when it comes to our behavior. Anyone can tell you, when you feel your back is against the wall, you go into survivor mode. We will flail and strike at anyone who is seen as the enemy. And when the dust settles and the toes are tagged, that is when we make our excuses.

The one excuse that resonates the most, “We’re just trying to save this country and bring it back to where it was.”

I’d say, bring back George Bush. Or if we don’t want to amend the Constitution, he’s got a couple of brothers. The same guys who ran the White House for W., can do the same for the other siblings. At least it would be a familiar face.