The Two Americas

After perusing some reader comments about a recent New York Times magazine edition on hunger in America exacerbated by the pandemic, I am struck both by the expression of heartfelt empathy, but also by the lack of reflection on the true problems.  Amidst vows to donate to food banks and volunteer more,  real solutions and actions are obscured in this fog of misery.  There has always been poverty in America, as it exists in most places in the world for a myriad of reasons.  But the wonder of it has been "How can the richest, most powerful nation in the world let its citizens live in such conditions of poverty and despair?".   Of course, there are many failings, especially in cases of mental illness and systemic bias.  Yet, at least in most all the Western world, there is some minimum safety net, some government effort to help those most in need.

But not in America.  It’s a republic with a two political party system.  And one of the parties has dedicated itself to eliminating any vestige of the governmental support structure.  No more welfare bums.  Fight tooth and nail against any sort of universal Medicare.  All so that taxes can be kept low, especially for those of the uber-rich - you know, the kind of people whole donate millions to politicians to ensure policies that engender many more millions. Yet, the hard part for me to understand is that the very people who are struggling to make ends meet, who barely keep their heads above the poverty line, form a significant portion of the base support for this party.  Supposedly, they still buy into the ‘American’ dream of upward mobility.  I tend to think that there is a substantial cynicism also at play here, the belief that ‘others’ will steal or take more than their fair share when government support is available.  Their tax money will be wasted in the swamps of Washington bureaucracy.

Admittedly, this segment of the population does not include the ‘illegal’ immigrants or refugees, the homeless or mentally ill, those in prisons or former felons, and all the otherwise disenfranchised.  But they don’t vote, so it does not really matter.

So this is my view of the two Americas.  First, the rich and comfortable, with medical insurance and stable incomes, able to house, feed and educate their children.   Second, those living in or just above poverty, living day by to somehow find a roof over their heads, enough to eat and send their children to some sort of educational institution.  The pandemic has just made this division more stark and ever farther apart.  Of course, one still supports the other.  Just not in the direction it ought to be.