Yes, disillusioned...

Yes I’m disillusioned. It isn’t about where to live or what country is better than America. That tactic is the type used to distract people from the facts of what has happened here in the USA. We were a republic founded on basic human tenets that have been evolving in western society for thousands of years. Our democracy was a culmination of human clarity with regards to human dignity.
It has become a polarized country where the extremes of the political spectrum dictate the course of our future. Both sides claim to be sanctioned by god and trust that they have the right to impose their beliefs on others. The truth, the way forward, is as it has always been a moderate, middle of the road compromise that takes the best of both sides of the discussion to maintain our core freedoms and beliefs.
It is amazing to me that the argument becomes, “where else would you live”, or “America is the greatest country in the world”, which is just hyperbole designed to galvanize weak minded, ignorant people, that have no understanding of history or are incapable of thinking for themselves. During their education the importance of history is never explained to students and how it gives context to our place in time. The USA is just the latest of places of which people felt the need to migrate to. It used to be where hunting grounds were teeming with animals, or where learned men gathered to listen to each other’s ideas, or where people could just live without the threat of others invading them.
In our short history of just over 200 years, we wiped out entire native civilizations, fought a war over state’s rights (their right to enslave people), despoiled our own air, water, and land, waged wars based on lies, convinced everyone that owning things is more important than being sensible and honorable, and corrupted the very values and freedoms this country was founded on to nurture.
In every discussion about our economy the word “growth” is the core factor for the good health in this regard. It is repeated until any that listen to it become inculcated with the message. It is a form of brainwashing, used to great effect by Rovian neo-conservatives, to justify its ulterior motives, which is to subdue, control, and manipulate the citizens of this country into subservience. Unchecked growth in nature most times results in nature pushing back in ways that the growth does not anticipate. In humans it is cancer, in economies it is recessions and depressions, in nature it results in the massive die off of the offending entity after it has depleted the host environment.
What I am most offended about is the drumbeat of capitalism, entrepreneurship, and consumerism. That these activities are the epitome of human evolution and their ends justify all means. This attitude is the driving force behind the destruction of public transportation, the super sizing of homes, and the Hummer, which in turn has culminated in our dangerous dependence on foreign energy sources. This dependence then justifies the military industrial conglomerate that is tasked with maintaining, protecting, and usurping those supplies. In turn the consumerism that promotes growth (cancer) is allowed to flourish. The problem is for most American citizens, that we are saturated with material goods, as far as it pertains to consumer markets. The result of this is our manufacturing and electronic based services are exported and outsourced, which are euphemisms for given to other countries. This is done to create new middle classes that are not saturated with material goods and they become the new viral consumers. It is also the reason why illegal immigrants are tolerated and allowed to continue. It is also the reason why all the regulations earned by our American labor are not enforced overseas, along with the lack of controls in the manufacturing process, and the destruction of the labor movement in this country. Thus growth for corporations in every sector is maintained while the standard of living diminishes for a majority of American citizens, and supposedly the standard of living in other countries is improved. If we were to try to lift the rest of the world to the apex of our standard of living, well it just isn’t possible, nor in retrospect should it be an aspiration.
Yes I’m disillusioned.