The Land of Opportunity

A few days ago, President Barack Obama gave a speech that could, possibly, maybe, (hopefully) signal a change of course for our nation. He spoke in Osawatomie, which is a town in Kansas, which is a state that should vote Democrat in every national election, but always votes Republican instead. If you haven't read or skimmed Thomas Frank's book, "What's the Matter with Kansas?," you should. In brief, it describes the irrationality of a state that continually votes for a party that champions intangible and unfulfilled social-religious issues all the while quietly executing economic policies adverse to the middle-class citizens that comprise a majority of Kansans. It asks a simple question: Why has Kansas allowed the Boogeyman to be scare it away from supporting the party that most supports it? Of course, the former is the GOP, and the latter is the Democratic Party. But enough to that.

Obama referenced Teddy Roosevelt often. You remember TR, don't you? One of the greatest Republican presidents in history, right? Well, here is something TR once said:

"The essence of any struggle for healthy liberty has always been, and must always be, to take from some one man or class of men the right to enjoy power, or wealth, or position, or immunity, which has not been earned by service to his or their fellows. That is what you fought for in the Civil War, and that is what we strive for now... We grudge no man a fortune in civil life if it is honorably obtained and well used. It is not even enough that it should have been gained without doing damage to the community. We should permit it to be gained only so long as the gaining represents benefit to the community.
This, I know, implies a policy of a far more active governmental interference with social and economic conditions in this country than we have yet had, but I think we have got to face the fact that such an increase in governmental control is now necessary."

Obama has never even dared stick his little pinky toe out to the degree that TR demanded wealthy Americans make their own cause - for moral, ethical, and patriotic reasons. And current republicans call Obama a socialist! (Of course, anyone who calls Obama a socialist is a either a liar or a complete imbecile. During Obama's presidency, corporate profits have doubled, more than 500,000 government employees have been laid off, and he has ended two wars. For those still not understanding, that is the complete freaking opposite of socialism. Stop talking. Read a book. Speak when spoken to, and better yet, maybe not even then. Better for others to suspect that you are a moron, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.)

Now, to my point.
Obama spoke about the gross economic inequality that has come to define our citizens' well-being first, the future of our nation second, and the state of our politics third. His speech marks an important point in our nation's trajectory. Presidents don't give speeches for no reason, and especially so on the eve of an election year. By making a major speech on economic inequality, Obama signaled his intentions to campaign for reelection on a platform that endeavors to implement policies that create a tide that raises all boats. In contrast, for two months the GOP supported Herman Cain, a man that told the poor and disadvantaged that they have no one to blame but themselves. This in the age of corporate profits numbering in the billions while unemployment pushes 10%, when unemployment benefits and education spending is being slashed-and-burned like an amazon forest, when the 1% control the pursestrings of Congress, and the 99% vote for no reason.

And that is what I want to talk about. I've written often about the economic inequality that has spread like wildfire over the past 30 years. Middle class income has stagnated, lower class income has decreased, wealth has been localized in the top 5%. At no point since WWII has the top 5% held more wealth more than it does now, and that divergence expands every year, every month, every day. Yes, we live in a land of Armani-suit-wearing robber barons. But I want to take you a step further.

As I see it, while our economic inequality is reason enough to tear down the system and rebuild it anew, economic inequality is not the worse crime. No, the greater crime against this nation is the destruction of opportunity. Opportunity inequality is what infuriates me the most. That is what this is really about.
I am a Christian, a progressive, a realist, a hard worker, a pragmatist, an independent person, and a liberal. I don't believe in a hand-out, but I do believe in a hand-up. I am perfectly fine with not achieving the earning power of others, even if some of them did less than me to earn it, and only benefitted from a better starting point in society. As a realist, I accept that without argument.
But what I do object to is the lack of opportunity that I sometimes feel, and millions of other Americans know to be a cold hard fact. They myth of America encapsulated many things, but one of the most enduring was the promise of unbridled opportunity.
They story went like this, "Here is where you can do whatever you want. Here, hard work and persistence is all that is required. Here, you can make all your dreams come true."
Make no mistake. This type of thinking wasn't created in some Walt Disney studio. Historians across generations have reaffirmed American exceptionalism.
We can save Europe. Twice.
We can overcome discrimination of gender and race.
We can elect a dirt farmer from Georgia for president.
We can have a high school dropout and two college dropouts start the personal computer revolution.
We can elect an actor from California for president.
We can create a robust middle class, for which a home, a family car, and college educations for our children do not push us to the verge of insolvency.
We can have another college dropout ignite the flame that spread social media to every corner of the world. The revolutionaries in Egypt used Twitter and Facebook to communicate. What started as a simple, online-social-experience ultimately helped brave men and women topple a tyrant.
These are the things we are capable of.

But now, for the first time since FDR told us that there is nothing to fear but fear itself, this American exceptionalism, this Land or Opportunity is decidedly a myth. No longer does simple hard work, persistence, and kindness to others, guarantee life worthy of the blood and sweat that was offered as payment.
I am twisted up into a knot by such a reality. But I cannot ignore it, because I am a realist.
I see that the obstacles between where people like me are, and where we want to be, are taller than they have been in 80 years.
Such unchecked Difficulties are the knives at Opportunity's side.
The recognition of these obstacles is incompatible with the American Dream.