This Is What Weβve Come To
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πβπ π πππ β βππ€π π£ππ π‘ πππ π‘ππ’πππππ π ππππ ππ π π‘πππ
ππ‘πππ ππ π‘βπ πππ πππ‘. . . . ππππ π‘βππ, ππ π‘βπ π πππ,
π»πππ π π’ππ π π βππ‘π‘ππππ π£ππ πππ ππππ , π€βππ π ππππ€π,
π΄ππ π€πππππππ πππ, πππ π ππππ ππ ππππ πππππππ,
ππππ π‘βππ‘ ππ‘π π ππ’πππ‘ππ π€πππ π‘βππ π πππ π ππππ ππππ
πβππβ π¦ππ‘ π π’ππ£ππ£π, π π‘πππππ ππ π‘βππ π πππππππ π π‘βππππ ,
πβπ βπππ π‘βππ‘ ππππππ π‘βππ, πππ π‘βπ βππππ‘ π‘βππ‘ πππ;
π΄ππ ππ π‘βπ πππππ π‘ππ, π‘βππ π π€ππππ ππππππ:
ππ¦ ππππ ππ ππ§π¦πππππππ , πΎπππ ππ πΎππππ ;
πΏπππ ππ ππ¦ πππππ , π¦π πππβπ‘π¦, πππ πππ ππππ!
πππ‘βπππ πππ πππ πππππππ . π
ππ’ππ π‘βπ πππππ¦
ππ π‘βππ‘ πππππ π ππ πππππ, πππ’πππππ π πππ ππππ
πβπ ππππ πππ πππ£ππ π ππππ π π‘πππ‘πβ πππ ππ€ππ¦.β
Percy Bysshe Shelley, βOzymandiasβ
This is what weβve come to:
- In the 21st century, 157 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, 66 years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and 56 years after the Civil Rights Act became law, Black men and women are still murdered by police and self-styled vigilantes. More than 1,000 people, most of whom are unarmed and a third of whom are Black, are killed by the police each year.
- In the 21st century, 157 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, 66 years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and 56 years after the Civil Rights Act became law, White men are still harassing Black delivery drivers.
- In the 21st century, 157 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, 66 years after the Brown v. Board of Education decision, and 56 years after the Civil Rights Act became law, White women are still calling the police to lie about the behavior of Black men, hoping theyβll be brutalized and arrested.
- In the 21st century, 224 years after the first successful use of vaccines, 166 years after the founding of the science of epidemiology, and 161 years after the publication of On the Origin of Species, we have an intellectually incompetent man in the White House who refuses to follow scientific recommendations for coping with a pandemic that has killed over 108,000 Americans.
- In the 21st century, 58 years after the publication of Silent Spring, 50 years after the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency, and 30 years after the publication of the first report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we have failed to significantly reduced our impact on the environment. Our children and grandchildren are condemned to a future of climate catastrophe.
- In the 21st century, 87 years after the end of the Great Depression and 84 years after the publication of The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money, 40 million Americans are unemployed, at least 39.7 million people live in poverty, and at least 27.5 million people are without health insurance during a pandemic.
- In the 21st century, 75 years after the defeat of the Nazis and 31 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, we spend more on defense than the next 10 nations combined, we have 800 military bases and outposts in over 70 countries, weβve spent $6.4 trillion on war since 2001, and more than 60,000 U.S. soldiers have been wounded or killed in the never ending War on Terror.
- In the 21st century, 75 years after the defeat of the Nazis and 31 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, following the orders of a narcissistic, authoritarian man, soldiers are patrolling the streets and establishing checkpoints in Washington DC.
- In the 21st century, 75 years after the defeat of the Nazis and 31 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, following the orders of a narcissistic, authoritarian man, military helicopters are flying low over the streets to intimidate protesters.
- In the 21st century, 75 years after the defeat of the Nazis and 31 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with the encouragement of a narcissistic, authoritarian man, thugs are beating people in the name of βprotecting the president.β
- In the 21st century, 244 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, 237 years after the American War of Independence ended, 231 years after the Constitution went into effect, and 155 years after the end of the Civil War, we have a terminally vainglorious man in the White House, who emulates strongmen and lies compulsively, who enriches himself at our expense, who seeks to divide rather than unite, who threatens other nations with economic, political, and military violence, and who ignores laws and democratic norms.
- In the 21st century, 244 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, 237 years after the American War of Independence ended, 231 years after the Constitution went into effect, and 155 years after the end of the Civil War, we have a bigoted, xenophobic man in the White House who incites violence against his enemies, Black Americans, and immigrants.
- In the 21st century, 244 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, 237 years after the American War of Independence ended, 231 years after the Constitution went into effect, and 155 years after the end of the Civil War, we have a cruel and frightened man in the White House who attacks those seeking to exercise their right to assemble and seek redress from government, and who encourages violence against the press.
- In the 21st century, 244 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed, 237 years after the American War of Independence ended, 231 years after the Constitution went into effect, and 155 years after the end of the Civil War, our democratic republic, a livable environment, and the prospects for human civilization are slipping through our fingers like sand sifts into ruins.
