Picture a stereotypical leftist in your head. You probably think of a blue hair non-binary person yelling about the environment. Leftists are objectively bad at marketing to the average folk. In order to get anywhere, you must relate with the masses.
We have become over-reliant on social justice alone. We should position ourselves more towards economic and social equality, instead of just the latter. The average person may not relate to that if it doesn’t affect them. Sure, most people care about the well-being of everyone, but you know what directly affects people? Not being able to afford to live, because their government pension doesn’t adjust properly for inflation and their government healthcare assistance is understaffed and underfunded. People can’t afford a high quality education which keeps people from getting high paying jobs.
The education barrier keeps the working class in line for the elites to profit off until the end of time. The housing divide keeps the imaginary barrier between the lower and middle classes. If you live in a small apartment or are homeless, you’re lower class. If you live with your parents, you’re lower-middle class. You live in an average apartment, you’re in the “comfortable” middle class. But if you own a house, you’re ‘upper-middle or upper class’. This complicated divide keeps everyone in-line in the Capitalist system. It benefits the rich and weakens the people. The people stand divided and cannot rise up. If the workers and farmers stand united, regardless of meaningless class, they are the most powerful force on the Planet Earth.
All it takes is for someone to get a disease or to get in a bad accident, suddenly tens of thousands in medical debt with no way to repay it. Their life is essentially ruined. There is no way out. The people have been screwed by the system. We must rewrite the system.
Everyone shall stand united. People must realize, if everyone living paycheck to paycheck struggling to feed their families united, they would be the strongest force in history. The narrative of the American Dream keeps us thinking we’re almost there–we’ve almost made it. Just a bit more hard work, and we’ll have the dream life. It makes people think that it’s just them who are going through a rough time, but in reality the vast majority of people have a low quality of life.
Upper class, middle class, lower class, call it what you like. You’re either rich or poor. You either will have an amazing life of the American Dream, or you’ll always be fighting just to get by. You’re born into your wealth, and only the lucky few ever make it out of their family’s financial caste.
We are divided more based on quality of life and economic struggle than by race or religion. If people united regardless of culture or prejudice, everyone would do better. The elites control us by making us divided. The elites do well when the average folk are divided. Joe Biden said that we need a strong Republican Party. They would rather have a Republican than Bernie Sanders. The strong two-party system reinforced by the corporate establishment keeps the same people in power forever, doing nothing to solve the issues of our society. They run on abortion, gun laws, the economy, and everything else the other side has done wrong, only to not fix anything because it’s what keeps them in power. The people’s want for a better life keeps them in power. The people feeling hopeless keeps them in power. If they were to fix things, then how would they get reelected over and over for all of time. I swear we’ll fix it this time! Then comes the next issue that will take 50 years.
The corporate capitalist elites of the country work to earn more profits for their multinational conglomerates, at the burden of the workers. They get arrogant and overconfident, thinking they will always trick the people. Just think of Hillary Clinton: she didn’t go to Wisconsin or Michigan a single time during the 2016 election. She was establishment, and the people hated her. The right-wing populist candidate captured the attention and emotions of average working class Americans more than Hillary could.
It’s a shame that so many working class Americans vote Republican today. They have been manipulated through nostalgia and hate. People loving having someone or something to hate. The average older Republican voter has nostalgia for the glory days of the past, and subconsciously blames immigration and ‘woke-ism’ for the change they’re so opposed to. People are scared of change; I’m scared of change; it’s normal to be scared of change. But we can’t let that instinctual fear collide with our nostalgia of when we were younger and turn into hate for groups that have nothing to do with change, positive or negative.
The truth is, as the 20th century went on and into the 21st century, we have barreled towards late-stage capitalism at a quicker and quicker pace. We have become more divided by illusions of division than ever before. All of this accelerates faster and faster every moment. Eventually, the ship cannot hold. Something has to happen.
Positive change. Equality. A green future. A stable society. There will always be problems to solve no matter what, that’s just a part of existing. But Liberalism and Capitalism have failed time and time again at fixing the problems that matter to the people most. The government runs on an empty promise that they’ll make your lives better, one day, a little at a time. How much longer are the people to stand for this?
We must do something. Reach out into your community, help people when you can; it’s important to be united. We are so divided on left vs right, but the true divide is the ruling class vs the people. Spread the message of the class divide. Do your part, and vote. Voting matters for this, ESPECIALLY in the primaries. If we could get a progressive Democratic nominee, that would be amazing progress for our country.
In conclusion, I think that one day our society will progress, but we must work towards a better future. Enough of this doom and gloom, that doesn’t get us anywhere. Be an activist. Fight for your rights! Unionize against horrible working conditions. Speak up and speak out! We the people, collectively, are stronger than any billionaire or corporation that rules the government.
Footnote:
Our Twitter/X: @WiscAdvance
Article wrote by Emma (@ProgressiveEmma on Twitter/X), on September 9th, 2024.
Copyright The Wisconsin Advance
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