The country was burning.
Though the days of quarantine repeated endlessly like the same diary entry written over and over on an ancient palimpsest, now there was a real change, and it came in flames.
The stones that laid the foundation of the country rested atop the blood and bones of the peoples who previously lived on the land and on the backs of stolen peoples forced to build the structures of this new great nation. Each injustice: whether it was the lash, noose, infested blanket, bullet, blade, or humiliation that was taken out on these people was now being repaid, with interest.
The catalyst was yet another black man killed in broad daylight, live on video- a blue knee pressed deeply into his neck for almost 10 full minutes. The peace-keeper acted calmly and nonchalantly, like he had done this a million times, but this time he lit the flame on a wick that was hundreds of years old, and soaked in an accelerant that was just waiting for the right match.
On top of the generations of pain, oppression, and suffering was the current state of the great nation. A global pandemic that had killed over 100,000 citizens of this great nation, unemployment numbers not seen since the Great Depression, and hunger in the richest nation in the world all came to a tipping point on this night.
Rage poured out of cities across the country. First it started with calm protests, prayers, and speeches. But as night fell the energy turned into flames. People bashed in windows, burned banks, and stole what they could from stores. The National Guard had been called in to cities, but as of tonight, the rage ran unchecked.
On this same day a different kind of fire lifted a crew into space for the first time in a decade, and crowds celebrated. It was such a strange juxtaposition of images. One, of what the country could do if it worked together, celebrated science, and set goals to help all of humanity. The other image a broken country coming apart at the seams, unable to work together and do a simple thing- treat and respect people equally. It was such a simple concept, but one this young nation was unable to get past.
What future would this nation choose to be? Nation and world with colonies on Mars and the Moon, where people of all backgrounds worked together in a StarFleet type of unity with the mission to peacefully explore the galaxy? Or a desolate wasteland of a people that had descended into tribalism, destroyed their own world and sat on the edge of their own self-made extinction?
She felt small and stupid in her safe home, watching the world burn.
Though the days of quarantine repeated endlessly like the same diary entry written over and over on an ancient palimpsest, now there was a real change, and it came in flames.
The stones that laid the foundation of the country rested atop the blood and bones of the peoples who previously lived on the land and on the backs of stolen peoples forced to build the structures of this new great nation. Each injustice: whether it was the lash, noose, infested blanket, bullet, blade, or humiliation that was taken out on these people was now being repaid, with interest.
The catalyst was yet another black man killed in broad daylight, live on video- a blue knee pressed deeply into his neck for almost 10 full minutes. The peace-keeper acted calmly and nonchalantly, like he had done this a million times, but this time he lit the flame on a wick that was hundreds of years old, and soaked in an accelerant that was just waiting for the right match.
On top of the generations of pain, oppression, and suffering was the current state of the great nation. A global pandemic that had killed over 100,000 citizens of this great nation, unemployment numbers not seen since the Great Depression, and hunger in the richest nation in the world all came to a tipping point on this night.
Rage poured out of cities across the country. First it started with calm protests, prayers, and speeches. But as night fell the energy turned into flames. People bashed in windows, burned banks, and stole what they could from stores. The National Guard had been called in to cities, but as of tonight, the rage ran unchecked.
On this same day a different kind of fire lifted a crew into space for the first time in a decade, and crowds celebrated. It was such a strange juxtaposition of images. One, of what the country could do if it worked together, celebrated science, and set goals to help all of humanity. The other image a broken country coming apart at the seams, unable to work together and do a simple thing- treat and respect people equally. It was such a simple concept, but one this young nation was unable to get past.
What future would this nation choose to be? Nation and world with colonies on Mars and the Moon, where people of all backgrounds worked together in a StarFleet type of unity with the mission to peacefully explore the galaxy? Or a desolate wasteland of a people that had descended into tribalism, destroyed their own world and sat on the edge of their own self-made extinction?
She felt small and stupid in her safe home, watching the world burn.
Comments
Post a Comment