America. Land of the free. Home of the brave. In America we have been indoctrinated with superficial patriotism. We have been indoctrinated with images of pride and freedom. We have been imbued with an almost overwhelming sense of self righteousness. If you allow the average American to tell it, America is a free and open country where anyone can be and do anything regardless of race, creed, color, sexual orientation, or religion. This image persists even in the face of the undeniable fact that nothing could be further from the truth.
You see there is America and then there is the America that exists in our minds. There is the real America and the America that has been manufactured and indoctrinated into the hearts and souls of it's citizens. What's amazing is that the manufactured, illusory image of America is always the dominant one. We consistently reject the truth. We always accept the false image. In fact, not only will we consistently reject the truth, we will take issue with anyone who even attempts to speak it.
For example, we are taught to believe that the Founding Fathers of this country were champions of freedom who discovered a new land and built a nation where all men and women could live free and prosper. We eat that image up. But it's not the truth. The truth is that the Founding Fathers were slave owners who saw blacks as 3/5 of a person. They were misogynists who believed women did not have the right or even the intellectual capacity to vote or own land. They were murderers who drove Mexicans south and brought the Native Americans to the brink of extinction.
Now those are facts. I didn't make a single word of that up. But if I were to speak that truth, most Americans would lose their minds. They would seethe with rage and anger. I would be called everything from racist to unpatriotic. I would told things like "If you don't like this country, LEAVE!" Even though nothing I've said is false.
I'll give you another example. America is a racist nation. That is an undeniable truth. America was founded on white male supremacy. Again blacks were considered 3/5 of a person. Women did not possess the same rights as men. Native Americans were viewed as savages and pushed from their land. America has a history of racism, discrimination, and civil unrest. Less than 50 years ago Dr. Martin Luther King was violently shot and killed. Dr. King fought tirelessly for equal rights and change. He was an advocate of non-violence, even in the face of it. Even as he was stoned, jailed, and attacked he still refused to raise his hands to his opponents. Ultimately he was shot in the head. Even today black people do not enjoy equal justice and opportunity under the law. Blacks still make less than their white counterparts per average for doing relatively the same work. Hate speech is a regular occurrence. Then there is the criminal justice system. One has only to ask the families of Eric Garner, Mike Brown, and Tamir Price about justice to understand that the criminal justice system sees blacks in particular as criminals almost by default.
Again, those are facts. Harsh facts to be sure. But facts nonetheless. But if I speak those facts aloud? Well, I shouldn't have to tell anyone what will happen and what will be said about me.
It's not just from whites. Should I speak the truth to power many other black people will rage as well. I've learned a long time ago there are black people who are completely invested in Illusory America. I like to compare it in some ways to the Matrix. It doesn't matter if they aren't really eating steak. As long as they believe they are eating steak, that's all that matters. When given the option to see America as it exists versus illusory America, they will choose illusory America 10/10 times.
So here we are. Living in two Americas. The America that exists in reality and the one that exists in our minds. What's sad is that the more the America that exists in reality asserts itself, the harder we cling to the America that exists in our minds. Because of this, any progress we make toward making our nation truly better will be slow and painstaking. You don't fix what you wont acknowledge as broken. We will never escape the hell as long as we collectively cling to the illusion that we are living in heaven.
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