Marley: From the title, I thought you were going to take this articles in a certain direction that I would not appreciate. But you have surprised me before — and have done so again.
About a year ago, the Atlantic had a article that explained the USA to me. There is a new aristocracy in the USA.
I believe that that aristocracy is chock full of active members for both political parties. And by active, I mean these people are not just attending the rally when the circus comes to town and writing a check for $100: this aristocracy is organizing these rallies and sending more money than $100. While they are saving America from the other party, they are networking among themselves for economic opportunities common people really don’t have access to. In other words, they are collectively protecting their aristocratic privilege (probably not deliberately, but that is the result).
If the D’s decide to chase after the disenfranchised white voter rather than the African American, they have done a calculation towards where they think their best electoral success is. In their minds, they say “Where’s the African American voter going to go anyways?” The D’s know 50% of Americans do not vote. If they can get 10% of that demographic to vote the D way, it will be a pretty big sweep of Congress (maybe not a 2/3 majority, but the prez, house, and senate could be D). They might not get that if they openly cater to the AA vote. Anyways, they probably have some smart people behind the scenes to figure the best path for them. Balancing the needs of one group over another has always been a part of politics. And in today’s USA, this artform is being enhanced.
On a side note, my wife is from South Sudan. We are often attending Sudanese cultural events in Calgary, where the community rents out halls for their gatherings. Often it is a poor district in Calgary called Forest Lawn. The hall provides basic needs for a community. Once we went to Fish Creek, a wealthy suburb. Their hall was elaborate, complete with tennis courts, basketball courts, soccer field, and a well maintained outdoor hockey rink. Government money subsidizes both halls. But which one gets the perks? My experience inside political parties in Canada as that wealthy people are over represented in the internal workings of those parties. They know how to get money for their community hall. The residents of Forest Lawn are less skilled and less connected to find that money. And their government representatives may not even live in Forest Lawn, but parachuted from a place like Fish Creek.
The kids growing up in Fish Creek have better recreation opportunities than the kids in Forest Lawn. With that recreation comes better life skills to manage their opportunities. I am sure you see this pattern all across USA. I don’t think it is a direct racism thing; it more about the aristocracy subconsciously taking care of itself.
If we really want to change this arrangement, you know I have a solution.
