"We built this" theme of the GOP

Photos clockwise from bottom left:
Mexican farm workers, African slave with welts on his back,
Curley Bear (Car-io-scuse), a Blackfoot (Siksika) chief;
half-length, dressed in ermines. 
Photographed by DeLancey Gill, 1903, Chinese railroad builders,
White coal miners

The DNC comes to my city this week. I cannot say for certain that I will partake in it. I'm not a Democrat. I'm an Independent. If I could label myself, I would be a conservative-liberal. Ha!

There are numerous things I agree with both sides on, and numerous things I disagree with both sides on.   So in the middle is where I shall be. That being said, I have voted a mixed ticket in local elections, but each time I vote nationally, I will always vote for the Democratic candidate. 

Whereas some local Republican candidates are often reasonable and open in their governance, national candidates are not, in my opinion. I refuse to support a party that is more exclusive than inclusive. 

One thing I cannot stand is the "you must assimilate" mantra of the GOP. People cannot maintain the individuality that the party claims to support...(unless wanting to take credit for what they did not do or earn). What happened to America being a collective of the world around us? Why can we not speak several languages, appreciate the cultures of each ethnicity represented in the fiber of the country's being, or choose how we wish to live?

With the GOP, you must speak English, you must believe as I believe, you must walk lock step together with the party on every idea. It makes absolutely no sense to me. And it makes them all look like ignorant robots all too often. 

Anyway...on to the point of this blog. The Republican National Convention centered around a theme of "We Built This", stemming from a speech by President Obama where he talked about the "me, me, me" and "I, I, I" of corporate apologists, who want to take all the credit for everything good and shirk blame for anything not so good. In the speech, President Obama spoke about how even those corporations and businesses didn't go it alone, they had help. The "we" in the GOP theme is clearly a misnomer, as what they really appear to mean is: I


Which is true! Many of the companies that thrive in the US receive tax breaks, government grants, subsidies, and assistance from the government.  No no no... "my mother built her business"... "my father built his company"...somehow this all just happened out of thin air with no support whatsoever. They want to claim they pulled themselves up by the bootstraps... each, individually... not as a collective. 

But who picked the cotton for your boots laces? Or tilled the land for the animals to eat from which you got the leather for those boots? Or mined the coal used to power the plants that manufactured the boots? Or built the railways that connected the route for the manufactured products to travel? And where did they get the funding and tax breaks and assistance?

Right...the people who seemed forgotten at the RNC: The Poor, The African-Americans, The Asian-Americans, The Native-Americans, The Mexican-Americans... 
Oh, but Conde Rice spoke at the convention...so that was the representation... But what about that lady who is the mayor of that small town in Utah? Well...she didn't claim her heritage as African-American aka Black...she associated herself as an "immigrant". "Immigration" is voluntary... enslavement sure isn't. There were a couple more minority speakers...but ONLY 2% of the attendees at the RNC were African-American... 

Where were the Asian-Americans? Sure they make up a small segment of the population...but are they not American??? Did they not build the railroads too? 

Then there is this big push to get rid of all of the Mexican Americans aka "illegals" as they are called, but I could have sworn by reading my history books, that they were here first...as were the Native Americans.

Where were the poor folks? Heck...they get treated like they have the plague and pushed out on the edges of society. I will wager that the majority of the folks in that building were wealthy. No matter how many "my dad lived in poverty" stories they told, none of them actually lived it. Not ONE! If I'm lying, point them out. Mitt Romney did not build his business from scratch. He started out with a really well off family. No...I'm not railing against wealth. I champion success. But tell the truth about from where it came. 

What annoyed me about the RNC's theme was that the "we built this" mantra did not include the real builders. And the "we" was exclusive, not inclusive. You may scream "stop playing the race card" at me. But I will scream it back at you. 

Newsflash: White wealthy people were not the builders of this country. Exploiters? Maybe... Usurpers? Probably... Invaders? Most definitely... Benefactors? Absolutely... 

But the poor and minority members of this collective built this land with blood, sweat, and tears. When will they reap what they have sown?

I have to say this, every success I have, I can look around and see the many people who have had a hand in it. Yes, I received a scholarship to my alma mater, I also received a scholarship from some wealthy donors, but guess what: My mama taught me how to read before I went to school, my teachers (White and Black) gave me a little extra push and let me borrow resources to study and do reports, my family cheered me on, my colleagues gave me the heads up on opportunities.

Someone was there to help me. I will never ever claim to have done anything alone. Because there is no way possible that I could. God gives us people around to help, bless, love, and to be helped by, blessed from, and from whom to receive love. Grant, I still feel that those GOPers who buy into that philosophy are entitled to it...but I'm entitled to not associate with them.

As someone told me the other day: Teamwork makes the dream work. 

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