The Citizens of The United States Deserve Better
I criticize the government, not the people
I harp on the United States a lot.
Out of everything I could be writing about, most often, I reach for American news networks and scan the airways for problems that need highlighting. I don’t have to look far.
I’m Canadian. Our politics follow American politics by a few years; our politicians follow your lead. Our Overton Window is closely tied to yours, so keeping abreast of what’s happening in the States is pretty important. These days, it’s vital for our national security.
Many of the people that I dearly love are Americans. They’re stuck living in this shitshow, and I hate seeing the rights and the freedoms they so dearly love stripped away like bad paint.
I had something pointed out to me by one of those people, not as a critique of what I personally write, but of something they’ve seen elsewhere.
People have always hated on the United States. Always. Long before Trump stumbled into the Oval Office.
For all I know some of my readers are walking away feeling like I look down on them because of what I write about on the daily. And I don’t want that to be the case.
I love the American people.
That probably sounds like bullshit, but I genuinely do. I used to travel through the States, specifically New England, several times a year. It’s a beautiful place. I’ve met very, very few assholes on my travels. Sure, some people I’ve come across have been… out there… but hell, I have stories from Canada-land too.
Canada isn’t perfect either, but I wish you all had a fraction of what we have here.
I want to make this very clear: I criticize the United States because I think its people deserve better than the short end of the stick that they’re currently holding.
I do not hate the American people. Far from it. What I hate is seeing them suffer because they’re dealing with systems that prevent them from living the full, happy lives that they should be entitled to.
Do you know how many times I’ve listened to my American friends tell me that they can’t afford basic healthcare? Do you know how many times I’ve listened to talk of gerrymandering and voting interference and just plain corruption from the systems of government?
Again, I’ve been hearing all of this for a long, long time. Much longer than Trump has had any power.
But to be clear, that’s not just an American thing either. If you think there’s a country on the planet that doesn’t have skeletons in its closet, I have a lovely bridge to sell you in Saskatchewan.
Also, a lovely building that used to be a very specific kind of boarding school.
I criticize America for the same reason I criticize any other government of any other country. Because it can do better. And it should.
And for the record, the people of the States deserve better than to be treated like crap about it. This may come as a shock to others, somehow, but most of them don’t actually like what’s going on either.
They also want their country to improve.
Sure, there are the indoctrinated pseudo-patriots I’ve harped on before. And boy howdy, have I ever harped on them. But we have those guys in Canada too. Not as many, but we have a smaller population. They are not a uniquely American phenomenon, and it’s ridiculous to insist that they are.
We can hate on the MAGA crowd and the racist asshats without shitting on the average American citizen who hasn’t done anything wrong. You can dump the bad apples out of the barrel without throwing out the healthy fruit.
And yeah, America does have problems.
Every nation in the history of the world has had problems.
The U.S.A. is the wealthiest nation on the planet and people are begging on GoFundMe to pay for their cancer treatments. I’ve got a whole article on the concept of Perseverance Porn — the U.S. has turned it into a propaganda artform!
There’s something wrong here, but it’s not the citizens. It’s the greedy bastards steering the ship onto the rocks, believing that they have a lifeboat.
And I think that’s why people sneer at America so much.
It’s the wealthiest nation at the front of the world stage. It catches a lot of resentment from the rest of the world because of what it represents. So, even though other countries have it considerably worse — just an example, but North Korea fucking exists — people celebrate when the States fucks up.
And they should not be celebrating. Because when a country fucks up, its people get hurt. I can’t celebrate the nation of North Korea fucking up because its people then suffer for the actions of the elites. Same with China, same with Canada, and Russia, and the same with the United States.
In fact, when the U.S. fucks up, everybody suffers with them. Just the loss of USAID alone will kill millions of people around the globe.
We can criticize governments. We should criticize governments.
But we need to remember that the government does not always reflect the views of the people it’s supposed to represent. The main problem in the States is that the government often fails to do exactly that; it fails to fight for its people’s interests.
The country of the United States of America is made up of people. Just regular human beings, living regular human lives. Going to work, eating dinner, raising families, and laughing with their friends.
There is nothing wrong with them. On the whole, they’re good people. Very good people, some of the very best people that I know. Good, hardworking people with strong values who want to stand up for the underdog and fight for what’s right.
The real patriots of the U.S.A. are some of the fiercest and staunchest warriors that I’ve ever met, and they put the fucking work in to help others when they need it.
Hating on the country doesn’t do us any good. It certainly doesn’t help them.
We must point out the harm that’s being done in America, absolutely. But even in the States where shitty laws are being passed, there are elected representatives that are real patriots, fighting for what’s right.
And some people are showing exactly what you can accomplish when they win. Looking at you, New York! Hell yeah!
That’s what America could become. That’s what we need to talk about. We need to talk about what the people actually need, not what the propaganda has taught so many of them to want, and to fear.
We need to talk about the possibilities that appear when people are willing to stand up.
So, yes. I criticise the United States, but I don’t do it because I hate the country. I do it because I want to see its wounds heal, and its people set free. I want to see its laws progress, and the voices of the marginalized actually listened to.
I want what real patriots want. Not pseodo-patriotic nationalists like Trump’s MAGA cultists.
I want to see America actually fulfill its own ideals. And I have hope that it someday will.
I want to see American citizens get what they deserve, so that someday, the American flag will no longer be seen as a symbol of oppression. I want it to stand for something good.
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Solidarity wins.