You Want To Take America Back To The 'Good Ole Days?' Really?
- Details
- Category: Lifestyle/People
- Published: Thursday, 24 September 2015 04:11
- Written by Cynthia Wheeler
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by Cynthia Wheeler
A few years ago friend of my mom came across this video "Harvest of Shame" and shared it with us. When we watched the video my mom recognized many of the people in the video. The people in the video were of my grandparent's generation. Who knew they had reality TV back then. My Mom is 68 years old. This documentary is based on my home town of Belle Glade, Florida. Belle Glade and the surrounding towns of Pahokee, South Bay are often referred to as the Muck and Belle Glade has been compared to a 3rd world country. The unemployment rate in the Glades is around 50%. Belle Glade is also famous for producing football players and a high rate of HIV/AIDS especially during the early years of HIV.
My life was not perfect but I would never consider awful. My childhood was much different from my
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mother's. I have never been hungry, I have never been without light, running water, clean clothes, shelter and health care. My mom was a US Marine, has 2 bachelor degrees, and is presently employed as a registered nurse, my mother was a social worker and child and elderly abuse investigator. My "American Dream" included attending college, owning a home, a car, children. The only thing different in my version of the "American Dream" would be my realistic view that marriages don't last, and you don't have to be married to have children. Despite of the stereotypical image " I too sing America".
I achieved portions of the American Dream. I attended college, earned a degree, have a career as a registered nurse since 1997, had children, and even purchased a home in the crazy housing market. My income would classify me as "middle income". The only thing different about my "American Dream" is I did not marry the father of my 3 sons. Relationships don't work out even when people are married but many married women also find themselves as single parents just like myself; our journey may have been different but we ended up at the same destination "ex-wife with children" is the same as "baby momma" and many of the struggles are the same.
Related: Here is a link to the video I mentioned: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJTVF_dya7E
"We study history so we are not doomed to make the same mistakes of the past" but in my opinion America is regressing or has come almost full circle from where my mom started out in life. I followed the plan, education, career, no public assistance but America is almost back where my mother started out. People that grow food in America still cannot afford to buy food they grow.
I hear all types of rhetoric being spouted by Republicans wanting to take America back to the "good ole days". Well the "good ole days" weren't good for everyone. It scares me to think all of the women's rights, civil right, employment protections that have been achieved over decades will be undone by mostly the "GOP" that want the "good ole days back". Women will return to being abused by the "good ole boys" aka husbands, that may not have been. I don't like the term but disposable white people like the ones in the video aka "poor white trash" will also be impacted by proposed changes these money hunger, power hunger, people that buy into the crap Donald Trump and similar republican politicians are spouting.
What is crazy is how many people want to be part of a "team" or belong to something that they will accept the disingenuous welcome of the "GOP" and a great many republicans just to be accepted. The say what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas but I say what happens in the voting booth stays in the voting both. People need to vote their interest and if you are middle income especially in Florida a "right to work state", "no fault" divorce state, you better vote your interest. After the elections are over, the celebration done, you will have to live with your votes.
If you think the upcoming election is a black thing, white thing, think hard, my white sisters and brothers the white people in this video can be you if you listen to the fakery, a false welcomes of the GOP.