DoY 119  (for 29 April 2021)

Who is us?

My running theme is Pogo's statement, "We have met the enemy and he is us."

I cannot speak for your neighborhood, but in the neighborhoods into which I was thrust when I was brought back to this country at twelve (in St. Louis, in Perryton, TX, in Clovis, NM, and in Albuquerque, NM), us believed a pack of lies.  Us believed men were basically decent and only occasionally erred.  Us believed the government was composed of representatives of us, instead of politicians bought and sold by the wealthy.  Us believed our government only did generous things in other countries.  Us got teary-eyed and indignant about us being "the most generous country in the world" and how people didn't appreciate our interfering in their governments.  (Us never said it quite that way.)  US fought a war for over fifteen years to show little brown men that they couldn't get away with fighting for independence from white folks (yes, Vietnam).  Us fought for years to delay granting civil rights to black folks, to women, or to non-cisgender folks.  Us is still waging surreptitious fighting to prevent their exercising those rights.  And us is still lying to ourselves about it.  Us don't like truth very much.