America: How Greed Trumped Freedom
Much has happened over the past week as a result of Donald Trump being elected as President of the United States.
When I woke up last Tuesday morning to hear the news, I felt like the world had ended. Shock, depression, anger, fear. I felt it all at the fact that our nation, who appeared to progress so far against prejudice in the past 240 years (officially), was being torn apart. It seems as if all that hard work and determination to create and establish change was crumbling beneath us.
But this race was always more complicated than Hillary is good and Trump is bad. Throughout his candidacy, I viewed Trump as this disgusting racist, homophobic, sexist discriminatory piece of trash. I had the same negative connotations with those who supported Trump or chose to vote for him.
There are great deal of Republicans who voted for Trump because of the promise of a prosperous economy and strengthening middle class America, rather than strictly agreements on a discriminatory basis.
However, the overall outcome is a nation divided by greed. It is greed that has long dominated and continues to dictate our nation and the people that voted for economic change rather than social change and liberty and justice for all.
And while I still have strong negative feelings toward Trump, I dislike both Presidential candidates during the election race.
We, the people, were given two steaming piles of shit candidates and told to choose the lesser evil.
Hillary Clinton’s actions didn't remain true to her country. Lying and cheating to get what you want is the equivalent of greed.
Both parties fought hard against each other. However, both seemed to be largely after one objective: the title of President of the United States. The race between these two candidates proved to be selfish at the core when it came down to power. So why were many of us shocked that this major problem that continues to afflict our society dominated this election?
Because we believed in our own abilities to change a system that often cripples many of its inhabitants. Even middle class America, who have been victims of the economic system, chose the candidate they best sought fit to reform their situation.
However, Donald Trump’s platform for "change" based on a business man’s views feeds back into the revolving concept of greed.
To complicate things further, some of the people who chose economic liberation are people we know, people we love. They are people who are capable of love and kindness. Yet, the promise of supporting one self or one's family financially won out; rather than realizing the big picture: freedom for all.
Hillary Clinton’s open arm stance on rights for all religions, races, nationalities, women, the LGTBQ community is essential and critical to this county’s well being.
The United States of American consists of a variety of people, not minorities, but people. They are our neighbors, our brothers, our mothers, and our best friends. They are us, and it is why we need to support one another. Because that is the only way we can properly function as a society, together.
The people that make up this nation who stand for equality and liberty are terrified to be who they are. Children are fearful, with the threat of their mothers and fathers deportation to the countries where they were born. Kids worry about going to school because of the taunting and chanting of white, male privilege in the hallways.
Making decisions by those considered to be voting adults, decisions that greatly affect children in America and taint the innocent lives of our country’s youth, it is not only majorly problematic. It is cruel and corrupts the good heartedness of children.
The majority of parents teach their children to do good and to do what is right. And yet, half the country made decisions for the good of the one rather than the good of the many.
It is an issue that has plagued our country for centuries. But in this election, greed has made a significant tear at our nation’s structure.
“The land of the free and the home of the brave."
These words sometimes used to describe the United States are now enforcing laws and the threat of repeals. It is making freedom circumstantial.
But that won’t stop us, each of us that are labeled as minorities or each of us that believe in equal rights for all, to keep fighting for the country that we are all apart of.
Women AREN'T Equal Yet
Recently, I posted about the issues college graduates face after the ceremony is over and they begin the struggle to find a job. However, the injustice of the job market is more complex than this.
In the past 25 years, equality for men and women in the workplace seems like it has come a long way. However, as the statistics show, this is not the case. In 1990, it was reported that the difference between male and female college graduates was an hourly wage of $17.78 (men) and $16.45 (women). In 2015, it was reported that college educated men gain an hourly wage of $19.64, while their women “counterparts” only obtain an intake of $16.56 an hour. Not only has the gap between male and female college degree holders widened, but women have only come so far as a 10 cent increase over the past 25 years. Both sexes have gone through college, and have the same debt to settle, yet one will presumably be debt free soon simply because of the sex they were born into.
There are various factors that are considered when understanding how this pay gap is broken down. Every state has a different median annual earning, and every state has a different gap percentage. While Washington D.C. has established a 90% pay gap between men and women as of 2014, the numbers are different everywhere. On the lower side of the spectrum is Illinois, for example, where women earn only 79% of men’s wages for full-time employment. Such prejudices are not only limited to sex, but also include a wage gap of race and ethnicity. The fracture in income between an African American woman and a white man is 63%. The difference between Hispanic or Latino women and white men is nearly 56%.
So how can we push forward to solve this issue? We need to put in place an equal payment plan for every individual, regardless of sex, race, or ethnicity. Whether that be taking the gap money between men and women and ethnicity, and at the very least splitting it equally among everyone. Or increasing womens’ pay to what they rightfully deserve. Either way, the system demands change, and this would be a start.
Yesterday, my mother told me that this goal would never happen by the end of her professional life-time. How can we strengthen organizations like the National Committee on Pay Equity, whose annual equal pay day was celebrated just last month. And yet made up holidays like sibling day, which is two days before equal pay day, get more buzz. Why is this critical issue seemingly tossed aside? We need to start by spreading the word. Talking and strategizing are the key to educating others, which is the first step in making this idea a reality during our lifetime. The change starts with you, the one person that can change your situation and help lend a hand in changing others’ circumstances.
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As Daniel Craig once said, “Women are responsible for two thirds of the work done worldwide, yet earn only 10 percent of the total income and own 1 percent of property. So, are we equals? Until the answer is yes, we must never stop asking.”
Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage
In a monumental, life-changing decision, the Supreme Court has voted 5-4 in favor of same-sex marriage in all 50 states today, disallowing the 14 remaining states that hadn't legalized same-sex marriage to officially recognize them by law. The ruling won't go into effect for three weeks as the losing side is given time to ask for reconsideration. However, the odds of the Supreme Court reversing their decision are slim to none. The decision comes just in time for Chicago's Pride Parade taking place this Sunday, giving the LGBT community and its supporters even more reason to celebrate.
As a huge supporter of LGBT rights, I'm ecstatic to see our country move in such a positive direction. Yes, we still face many problems, both on a local and national level, but we're at least one step closer in ensuring everybody is given a fair chance to showcase their happiness in the way they choose to. The floodgates are sure to open with homophobic, hate-filled messages, but don't let those close-minded, ignorant tweets, Facebook posts, etc. negatively impact you, because no matter what the dissenters may do or say, nothing can take away this win.
Photos of Romanticized Same-Sex Love Around the World by Braden Summers
Photos by Braden Summers
In the aftermath of Valentine's day, think of the majority of major advertisements you've seen about love... We see the same portrayals of romance solely of a man and woman. Whether it's in that loving gaze, at dinner, dancing in the rain, kissing gently or anything else that embraces that old fairy tale type love, it's rare to see any representation of romanticized same-sex love.
It is all too often that the LGBTQ community is misrepresented romantically in mainstream media, and more often portrayed in overly sexualized images. If not that, in foreign countries any gay, lesbian, transgender, or queer of any kind is hardly presented at all. With this in mind, New York-based photographer Braden Summers was inspired to create a series titled, All Love Is Equal, to illustrate his vision of a same-sex fairy tale love. What started with a fund through a Kickstarter campaign, Summers sought out subjects in Paris before traveling to England, India, Lebanon, South Africa, Brazil and the U.S. that shatters any misconceptions and stereotypes.
The project proved a success as the following images, through six different countries, prove that no matter where you are, love is equal. Check out more of his work here.
[Via Policy Mic]
