WHY CAN’T AMERICA MOVE ON?
Why can’t America move on? This is the question that every politician, feminist, and minority rights activist is asking themselves constantly. Yet, no one has ever been able to give a clear and definite answer as to why the United States is at a stand still. Perhaps it is due to the fact that there is no one certain answer, but a multitude of overlooked problems that add up to one monstrosity of an issue. America’s problems and misunderstandings are becoming this monstrosity day by day, as more people become affected by it. But how do we solve it, and make it stop? We must first accept what we continue to do, and make our amends when we have a realization of our injustices. We must reach deep down into the depths of our souls, and ask ourselves, “Why can’t America move on?”
Why can’t America move on? Because we accepted a man who speaks of grabbing women’s genitals , who pathologically lies, and who racially discriminates against those that came to our country hoping to live the “American Dream”, as the face of our country. We let him parade right into the distinguished Oval Office without a second thought in our minds. Every scandal, accusation, and idiotic statement was overlooked because we were ignorant. We were naive. We should have seen from the very start that perhaps instead of making excuses for actions that will always be inexcusable, we should have opened our eyes and seen the disaster that was about to enter our lives. But we didn’t. And we still haven’t. America cannot move on.
Why can’t America move on? Because despite the fact that in accordance to law we are equals, women are treated as property of men more often than not. Due to the fact that we have breasts, we are sexualized and seen as nothing more than slaves to the instincts of men. We are not taken seriously in work and school environments, we are instead seen as less intelligent, less qualified, and less skilled, and the eternal wage gap reflects that. And in the 228 years that America has been electing Presidents, not one of them has been a woman. We have faced discrimination and hinderance for wanting to be seen as equals among the male population. We are mocked for having a menstrual cycle in the modern media as a form of satire. Women are disrespected every single day in America, because we are women. America cannot move on.
Why can’t America move on? Because we target people of color because they are people of color. We use racial slurs, we tell them to go to back to *insert stereotypical country here*, we ban them from travelling to America. We see other races as inferior, and we judge them before we even know them. We see a black man walking down the sidewalk and are immediately threatened for no reason at all. We make excuses such as, “He was walking suspiciously,” or “He was acting shady,” for our prejudices. Not even the police, our supposed protectors, can escape these thoughts, as if the deaths of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling weren’t proof enough. We treat them unequally and unjustly based on something that they cannot change, and we know we are wrong. Yet, many of us ignore these thoughts and make no effort to mend their improper thoughts, never fixing the problem at the hand. America cannot move on.
Why can’t America move on? Because we are no longer the land of the free, and the home of the brave. We allow men to get away with rape by making excuses such as “He was a good kid,” or “It would ruin his life.” We allow the murders of innocent people. We take pride in attacking peoples’ characters and seeing them fail. We cower in fear when something doesn’t go our way. We use our finances to take advantage of people. We utilize and abuse whatever it takes to get our way and make it to the top. We no longer have kindness and compassion for the other human beings around us. We only care about ourselves. We are cowards. Our desires have become distorted. America cannot move on. America cannot move on if we continue to let these problems grow until they are uncontrollable and unstoppable.
We must act now if we want to change America back to the way it was originally intended to be. Stand up. Let your voice be heard. Don’t back down. Fight for what you know is right. Let the world know that you cannot be silenced, and strive to change for the better. America can move on, but only if we attempt to make it do so.
