We have become a divided nation.
Today is July 3rd 2013. Maybe it’s the jinx of
unlucky numbers bringing me down, but as
I watch TV, read blogs or listen to people talk on the street, I struggle to be
excited about this pending celebration of American Independence.
I see the George Zimmerman trial junkies arguing about words
like “punks” vs. “creepy-ass crackers” as if we should be appalled by one and
snicker at the other. I see Don Lemon of
CNN fame walking the streets with papers in his hands. On one is printed the
word “Nigger” on another “Cracker”. “Which
is worse? Which is more offensive,” he
asks unsuspecting passers-by.
Does it matter which is worse? What’s in a word like “Cracker” or “Creep”? Is it the inherent value of what society deems
most heinous or might intent be paramount? I suggest the latter.
We Americans are divided and it’s evident in our language as
we prepare to celebrate our sovereignty.
We use words to describe “us” and “them”. We use hyphens to separate ourselves into
claims of higher ground, lower sympathy or just plain prejudice.
It’s not enough to be American. Just plain ole American means white and
over-privileged these days. Americans
have no plight, need no sympathy and empathy cannot be fathomed. Nope.
It’s the hyphenated Americans who need all that. The African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Mexican-Americans,
Immigrant-Americans, Disabled-Americans, Under-Privileged Americans, Homosexual-Americans, Creepy-Ass-Americans … This list
cannot be complete no matter how hard I try so now I pause.
When will we Americans stop using hyphens as excuses for entitled
respect? Hyphens do not represent entitlement to respect, we have to earn that as individuals. But on this, the eve of American Independence Day, can we agree that other Americans are not "they" or "them"? They are "us". They are "we".
Let's drop the hyphens. What d'ya say?