Between Maps and Meaning

This is an idea for a short essay I am considering writing this month. Part of my new year’s resolution is to write at least 1 essay per month. I’ve thought long and hard about what might be my choice this month. I want to utilize these essays as learning opportunities, and to explore ideas/thoughts. Although I have many ideas, I think this first essay will come to answer a question. When did we lose America?

With Epstein List worries, Somali daycare scandals, and politicians carelessly participating in insider trading to name a few issues we face in our day. It’s very easy to assume we cannot trust any party or government leader. You begin to think about the Bush’s ties to CIA, Clinton ties to Epstein, and Trumps refusal to release anything to do with Epstein after championing the cause for years. These are just the men at the highest level of our government this does not even get into the weeds of all the three letter agencies running around. The point being regardless of affiliation I find that I do not trust at all on any level that my government is working for me. This did not happen overnight. When did this start, and are we finally at a point in our society where we all can realize it without having to defend this party or that one? The second part of that question would be too hard to answer for me as I’m a simple mind, working a regular job, and looking to explore ideas for fun on the side. The first question though… When did our government first start working against the majority of people it governs?

When did we lose America? My initial thought is it has to start at least at JFK’s assignation. Regardless of any conspiracy theories it is undeniable in the decade or so to follow we faced a war we had no business being in, toppling South and Central American Governments, and not to mention Watergate. These are just a few things within a decade or so of the JFK assassination. Of course lots of good things happened during that time, civil rights, regulations to protect public health, land, and animals. But of course for some reason my mind is drawn to the world wars, and great depression. Were our politicians working for us then? I have to be careful because making bad political or economic choices may not have been done with ill intent in mind. There could have been policies or choices made because it was thought at the time something good would come of it. For example I don’t think the housing crash in the late 2000s was some government conspiracy to hurt everyday Americans. I think it was our governments fault for having little to no oversite, but that is just being bad at their job. Not working for someone else.

That last thought is helping me to maybe find a goal or a place to start with my research. The more I think about this issue, the more I am starting to understand it will need to be answered in multiple essays. This is why I enjoy these brainstorming sessions here. To my readers (perhaps just myself) it might be a bit all over the place, but that is the planning that must happen. Back to that point, maybe the starting place for this research is to find examples across time periods and presidencies where policies or choices were made to benefit a small elite class, but directly hurt a majority of Americans. For example, watching all our manufacturing jobs leave this country. That in itself is a topic to discuss. I imagine parts of this country still have not recovered.

That shall be my part 1 of this series for now “Losing America.” Perhaps I will change the name down the road. But Part one and my first essay will be a research and summary of examples in American history where Elites were served and the public hurt. Very hard to define who the elites are in any given era, harder to define what hurts the public.

Part 1 Losing America: A History of Serving Elites

Part 2 Losing America: A History and Summary of Money in Politics

I wish to end this by saying I love my country. I love it and will defend her with my heart. I am not asking for an end to this country, but I am not foolish enough to romanticize her to a point to think it’s perfect and always has been. I also want to note I am in no way a communist, an anarchist, or a radical on any level. I say this because of my use of the word Elite. There’s elites in every society, from lords, to rich merchants, even religious elite (look to India for that). You have to have elites to function as every society since the dawn of man has had elites. A good society balances between allowing Elites to well be elite, and allowing its mass to pursue happiness. For example one of the richest men at the time of the American Revolution was Robert Morris. He paid the continental army with his own money when US congress could not. He was an Elite, but was not given enough rope to play with by Britain at the time, of course this lead to him being a crucial doner, funder, and loaner of money to win American freedom. If you don’t keep Elites happy they cause revolt. That being said I look forward to researching and writing these two parts. I hope you enjoy them when they come.