“Where do you think you are? Some Place like America?”
Everyone is well aware of the economic crisis we are dealing with and facing today. Or so I thought I was well aware, I thought that the problems were getting “dealt” with and it was just taking time to rebuild the many companies and restore the financial issues that tumbled down in 2008. After reading this foreword, “Some Place like America?”, by Bruce Springsteen, my opinion changed a lot. I have heard people compare our present times to the Great Depression, but I always blew it off. I almost feel like the government and all the “important” people, these who we as a country have put our trust into, have been lying to us, or at least they have been trying to keep the worst a secret from us, leading us to believe crisis really isn’t a crisis. Sad to say but they have done a pretty good job, at least with the people in my generation, who have the potential to be hit the hardest from this economy failure. This downfall in the economy never worried me before, now I am scared for my future and the future of my country.
“Some place like America” took me back through the past and let me relive in it, it brought back and referred to books written by people who lived and survived the Great Depression, the hardship and battles they faced and their will recover from this disaster. This reading made me recognize that the people we give our trust too fail us, lie to us, and surely don’t listen to us. Springsteen says its perfecting, “trillions for the titian. Crumbs for the rest.” Meaning every focus to rebuild this economy was immediately directed towards the wealthy, the ones who had money and weren’t struggling. So why are officials bragging saying our country did not hit a Great Depression when nothing has been done for the low-income Americans, who have been hit the hardest and are still bleeding. Also, the people we rely on for safety, like our police, harass homeless people who are simply just sleeping.
It is all bullshit. Our government says that we are doing everything possible to avoid a Great Depression, but it seems to me we are doing everything to sink ourselves closer to hitting rock bottom. We got ourselves in this mess the same way we got out, and our country still continues to do things and procedures the same way they did the first time, which is why we failed again. Instead of listening to the people, they just ignore us. So this is when I think back to the title, “Where do you think you are? Some place like America?” and wonder where am I? Am I in a free country, where we are increasing and advancing in life, with safety, stability, and security or am I in a place where money is always tight, living from pay check to pay check, taxes get to high, health insurance in too expensive to afford, and jobs are scarce? What America is to some people, it is the complete opposite for others.
Maggie -- work more on directly stating what it you are referring to, for example, when you say they refer to "some books," it would be more useful/incisive to refer directly to the name of the books and why these books are important.
ReplyDeleteAlso the author is not Bruce Springsteen. Springsteen provides the forward to the introduction -- who is the author -- does it say it anywhere else? You want to make sure this is clear, because it is important when you are responding to readings/viewings for your classes.
Full Credit #3