Thomas Jefferson wrote, "...vast accession of strength
from their younger recruits, who having nothing in them of the feelings or
principles of ’76 now look to a single and splendid government of an
Aristocracy, founded on banking institutions and monied in corporations under
the guise and cloak of their favored branches of manufactures commerce and
navigation, riding and ruling over the plundered ploughman and beggared
yeomanry."
(Sometimes interpreted as, "The end of democracy and
the defeat of the American Revolution will occur when government falls into the
hands of lending institutions and moneyed incorporations.")
I've been pissed off all day over something one of my FB
friends shared. It was an article
written by some organization called "liberalamerica.org." with the
sarcastic title "SHOCKER! Study Shows Most Trump Supporter Really Are Poor
White Trailer Trash." I'm not
pissed off because of the so-called "News" (I still think Mr. Trump
is very shallow and not at all presidential material). I am because this group, whoever they are,
can get away with mocking a large part of our American society. This is typical whacko, elite liberal activity...bashing
poor whites. If the same thing was said
about poor blacks, there would be a huge outrage. The article mocks that these folks consider themselves
"Americans." Not Irish...not
Celtic...not Russian...not German...not whatever, but
"Americans." My God, how can
these people be so screwed up?! Everyone
is supposed to wear their heritage nationality like some kind of a badge of
honor.
My first real "exposure" to these "Real
Americans" was many years ago when I worked summers in a furnace
production factory in Oneida, NY. These
men and women were some of the hardest working people I've ever known, making small
wages with no health insurance or retirement, that got one week of paid vacation
a year and basically lived payday to payday, and stopped work when they died. I thoroughly enjoyed working with them, and
felt very comfortable around them. They
knew I wasn't of the same "cloth," but accepted me, and one of the
men became a very good, long-time friend.
Like in many US towns and cities, that factory, along with
every other factory in Oneida is long gone.
Why? Because the same products
can be made so much cheaper in China (furnaces, coffins, paper products...you
name it), and that means that the corporations can keep raising prices on us (not
passing the savings along to us) and make a lot more money for the top 1%. So, these Americans are really pissed off about
losing their jobs to workers abroad and not being able to find work here in the
US...and I don't blame them. I'm pissed
off about it too!
A segment on PBS News hour a short time ago was about the groups of Americans
with the highest suicide rates. Yep,
lower income and low-middle income white folks, with the unskilled/skilled
laborers in those groups being the highest with college educated folks of this
"class" being second highest.
So, the next time somebody or some organizations accuses me
of being too much American (and not enough Irish, Italian, German or whatever)
I'm going to take it as a complement and be proud of it! And the next time I hear people mock
"poor white trailer trash" I'll remember all of my PWTT friends and
silently thank them for the contributions they made to my life. (I'll keep hoping that Thomas Jefferson was
wrong in his thinking, but I somewhat doubt it).
