America’s heart goes out to the Bahamas
The America I know, the one that permitted immigrants like my parents to enter without barriers is the America I know feels devastated for the destruction of the Bahamas. When I say our hearts go out to the Bahamas, I mean the people I speak to everyday. We all feel horrible for the loss of life and ways of living on those two islands. It is hard to imagine the destitution caused by Hurricane Dorian- homes have become ponds and people live without access to food, healthcare, and drinkable water. Haitians hide in demolished villages, preferring to feel safe rather than fed. Most Americans visit the Bahamas for vacation without consideration of the people who built and maintained a place people wanted to visit. The large amount of work Bahamians did is only surpassed by their welcoming nature. Tourists were welcomed and an economy flourished to the benefit of us all. Hurricane Dorian demolished a vibrant place that people love. Our hearts go out to them, but American efforts to aide those in need are futile at best. This is not the fault of everyday people, who also struggle financially in what was once called ‘The Land of the Free’. Within an oppressive social system, it is difficult to provide pennies we don’t have to relieve those in greater need than ourselves. What a shame to lose the Bahamas we all love without the ability to help them rebuild. The Bahamas need support from countries all over the world, including the United States of America. I fear If we do not start making some policy changes regarding our climate or the assistance we give to other countries, then we will have more natural disasters that will completely alter the geography of our earth. We may not have all the pennies that the Bahamas need, but we do have a voice in American politics. We do have to ability to enact laws that will reduce green gas, save the Alaskan wildlife reserve, and institute infrastructure that works to massively reduce pollution everywhere. We live in the technological age and we should use this technology to help our Earth and the people who live on it. The America I love altered world politics and fought against tyrants. The America I love played the role of hero in both World Wars. The America I love helped countries in need and invited immigrants to live and relive the American dream. The America I love would save the planet so that future generations could cherish living. I know that within those great ideals there were horrific happenings of racial/social injustice. However, within that space everyday people came together to fight for equality and justice. We won major social battles although it feels like we are losing the war now. For us to truly assist the Bahamas we have to look at the grander picture of climate change and its horrifying impact on us as a collective group of people who inhabit the earth. This is not a call for socialism whatsoever, but it is a call for us to make democracy work like it did in the past. It’s a call for us to unite the way Americas did during the American Civil War, the Great Depression, The World Wars, the Civil Rights movement and every single other time we came together as citizens to decide what is best for America. As one of the major world powers, we the everyday people need to unify and decide to stop climate change and other acts of injustice. The America I know innovates and finds solutions to overcome insurmountable problems. Other world powers mimic us and it is our duty to give them something worth copying. The America I love no longer exists, but we can choose to make a better America, one that we will love more. We can choose who we elect. We can lobby for new legislation that yields a reverse of climate change before it’s too late. Our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren and so on need a planet to live on. It will be our fault if tey don't have one. Before it’s too late we must instigate change. It bewilders me that we spend so much on military spending, especially when no country alive has the technology or weaponry that we have, yet there are poor Americans. They are the Americans who don’t have pennies to offer the Bahamas. However, what we do have is a legislative voice that will reshape how the whole world does things. Now is the time that we use our voices as American citizens. Now is the time to make democracy work for the people the way it was intended. Now is the time to make democracy work.
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I must admit that I am so sad to the point that my soul is weeping for the face the that hates to cry. The recent weather changes we all experience from now on might just make Dr. Chet Snow’s Map a reality (see image below). During the past three years upon moving to Cleveland, I have experienced dramatic changes to the weather that directly affect me although I am far away from the ocean’s currents or torrents. In the past year, the weather in Cleveland was extreme with a polar vortex/near Antarctic temperatures to consistently oppressive 90 degrees weather for all of summer. We even had an earthquake that most people did not feel, but we had one just the same. This is in Cleveland, Ohio mind you and now for the first time in history, window air conditioners line the streets.
What about the people that live near our ocean’s currents, now torrents? What about the islanders who no longer have a place to call home? What about our planet? It appears to me that Dr. Chet’s map is starting to happen. America is both burning and drowning all at the same time. I want to know why. When I imagine the American South without Charleston, South Carolina, I feel perplexed. I cannot imagine life without Charleston, a historical and beloved town near the ocean. The architecture speaks to you with stories of the past, and the greenery sings tales of long ago. I wandered on streets, where my eyes met charming sights each path I took. I realized in this precious place how to accept, know, and understand me better. On this land, my already strong moral compass enveloped me and shortly thereafter, I felt free. I left my self-blame in Charleston and I will never take it back or forgot that. Now this beloved place may no longer exist, if not in this year, then in the ones that will come too soon. Something had to give a long time ago. We are to the point where natural disasters wreak havoc all over the world. My point is this- if we do not begin to protect our planet, we will create a complete alteration of its makeup. That means, many places we love will be consumed by sea or fire. I think that time to act was a long time ago; however we can never go back and undo what has already been done. What we can do is to take better care of and be deserving of a planet that loved us enough to provide for us and sustain existence. If we do not reciprocate this love then we will lose the most precious thing we have….life on this planet Earth. |
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