Hope Holding Americans Hostage

by DamienD on July 7, 2012 in Featured, Most Read

What causes the average American to disregard the many tell-tale signs of degradation they see around them? What convinces the collective populace that no real action is necessary; that, “everything’s going to work out”? What leads the lion’s share of our citizens to believe that eventually the economy will rebound, an infinite growth paradigm will return, the housing market will emerge from the abyss, and our banking sector will loosen up a bit? Hope.

When Hope Collapses All Bets Are Off

To be perfectly honest, I’m quickly running out of food, my income has dwindled to close to nothing, and unless a miracle happens I’ll be sleeping on the street by the end of next month. Keep in mind that I’m not a drug addict or suffering from a psychological affliction. Furthermore, I’m white, from a middle class upbringing, college educated, and healthy. If this is happening to me, then what is persuading so many people out there that it cannot and will not happen to them? Hope.

Hope Helps Herd US

I’ve tried everything I could think of since getting out of college to better my circumstances. Holding a debt the size of a small mountain, I took every job that I could find, but it has never come close to being enough to stand on my own two feet. I feel like I’m being corralled into social welfare services like a mindless animal. Now the mall across the street is going bankrupt, the jobs have dried up, and I’m out of ideas. Over the last year I’ve published 14 ebooks trying to generate a little money, everything from novels to biographies, and taken countless assignments as a web content provider, but there simply isn’t enough capital in the system to go around anymore. While the government degrades itself into a squirming mass of desperate measures and self preservation at all costs, young men like me hit the streets. While they swim in trillions, we wallow in destitution. Yet when I go out, people think it’s still the late 90’s, why? Hope.

Collective Hope and Political Sideshows

Whether it’s Ron Paul or Obama, Health Care Reform or the specter of fiscal recovery, people are too ingrained to believe systemic collapse is happening now, or that it will eventually pull the rug out from under them. I know why, I’ve been there. It caused me to turn to the internet for up to 10 hours a day and publish a million words in roughly six months thinking I would be saved by consumers. It caused me to remain absorbed in an idea as old as chaos itself, hope.

I hoped that a shred of prosperity would come my way, and that the political regime would get its act together. I hoped that in light of prolific scandal and corruption, the investment class and wealthy individuals would be held accountable. Instead I got Citizens United, and the biggest tax package in American history, complete with government mandated corporate goods. Hope…

What’s Left to Hope for?

The human psyche will hold onto normality as long as possible. No amount of web articles, YouTube videos, or digital reality will convince it to act until disaster strikes. Trust me, I know. My hope carried me this far, but now it’s gone; smothered by an unceasing drive to the bottom. My fellow Greenewavers, the time to waste on hope is a precious commodity, and a luxury. We must watch out for one another, and take care of each other. Everything my generation was indoctrinated to base our hope on is vanishing. Be brave and truly accept the possibility you may be joining me on the streets if we stand around and continue to hope.

Hope Holding Americans Hostage, 5.0 out of 5 based on 1 rating

Tags: 2nd American depression, American poverty, depression, economy, hope, hope in America, obama, recession Print article