I wish I didn’t recognize my country anymore. I hope that makes sense from the jump but if it doesn’t then I’ll explain further by saying that absolutely nothing that is horrendous or deplorable shocks me in the least. I hear people saying all the time “what has this world come to?” and I just think….really? You really think all of this civil unrest and visceral hatred just popped up out of no where? This is America!
People on both sides seem to have some fantasy about the past that I just can’t understand. Matter of fact you could make the argument that things are actually getting better its just that because of social media you see everything that happens now so it seems worse. Not that long ago, in this very country, Kyle Rittenhouse wouldn’t have even stood trial. I remember my Granny telling me one time about a cousin she had who got this girl pregnant. Since they were unwed in the 20’s and her daddy was a Christian this was a particularly scandalous situation and one that the daddy felt he needed to take care of himself. He invited the boy over one night to have a chat and then slit his throat from ear to ear. Now as fate would have it the boy didn’t die right yet and was able to get it sewed up. He only died after against doctors orders his momma gave him a glass of warm milk and he puked it up causing the stitches to burst. He bled out right there. The law in town decided that the Daddy had done what all good Daddies would do if someone dared have relations with their daughter out of wedlock.
That’s right…. taking the law into our own hands and not listening to doctors is nothing new I’m afraid.
If something like that had happened nowadays you would have at least heard about it but back in “the good ole days” there was no 24 hour news cycle and we weren’t all glued to our phones trying to figure out what is trending. There are no telling how many situations like that went on that other Grannies told their grandkids about it’s just that those grandkids aren’t me: A self righteous attention whore with a blog:)
To see people celebrating Kyle Rittenhouse as some sort of hero is absolutely insane, disgusting, and very telling. There is pretty much only one conclusion you can draw about the people currently doing that and it does not paint the picture I would want painted of myself. Some people value guns more than they value the lives that they claim they have the guns to protect. That is a fact. I am afraid there is no way of reaching these people. That is a learned behavior and it was learned from the most violent of teachers: The United States of America.
Yep, I wish I could say “I don’t recognize this country anymore” but if I’m being honest with myself it has never been more clear. What we are seeing today is exactly how it was drawn up in the playbook. The system isn’t broken, our spirits are. I don’t know what we are supposed to do and I don’t think writing this has helped anyone but me. That’s probably the most American thing I’ll do today.
Till next time. Love y’all
Corey
Ain't That America
Thanks Corey. As a fifty three yeAr old white chicago woman, living a suburban grandma life, I HAD NO IDEA! Until I met my now farmer husband 14 years ago, I did not think Illinois had even racist children.
Your perspective is enlightening. Your hometown justice story, ending in death by doctor denial, is a doozy. Wow. I just cannot imagine that happening in my town but I can in my husbands small town. There is an “honor culture” thing I don’t get but am learning it is everywhere.
Thanks for teaching me while being hilarious.
Very well put Corey. American exceptionalism, gun culture do not blend worth a crap. Add to the mix MAGA it becomes dangerous and impossible for the forward movement and growth in society. All be best. Glad your bout with Covid is over!