The starting point for a 'serious' talk came few hours ago from an article posted by Duff Mckagan (you can find it here). After reading that "one could come to America and simply become anything or anyone that one wanted to be (unless you were a slave or Irish, but that is a whole different essay)" I started laughing. Why? Is The Great Illusion really alive?
The focus point of this article is how the so called (by me) Great American Dream (which, I agree, is anyway far ahead of our Little Italian Dream, but this "is a whole different essay", to quote Duff) is strictly intrinstic to what is happening beyond the ocean and, my bad, also here in Europe.
The jobless rate in the U.S. rises to 9.5 percent, 26-year high. What was happening 26 years ago? It was 1983, we were going toward the oil shock (I was too young to remember at that time, and sure I won't pretend to be acknowledge after reading some Wiki's) and capitalism looked on the verge of collapse. Was it the first time? Can we forget 1929?
At my eyes both capitalism and individualistic affirmation came not from a natural pulse of the heart, but from a well-planned strategy of 'the few' over 'the many' (I recall here my studies about Thomas Jefferson, Whitman and Emerson, all striving to create a sense of unitarian 'Americanism' in the middle of unexplored lands full of pioneers).
1929 provided us the danger of an imaginary economy, world war 2 brought to world debit, lobbies showed us control maniacs, while lately crazy bank loans made us perceive the void behind a life surrounded by objects. I have seen a TV-interview of a woman who raised about 2000$ monthly and lived in an house of 4000$ monthly.
Do you really believe America has ever be the land of free people? afro's been slaved to cotton and tobacco. chinese to railways. irish and italian to the most humble activities (not to talk about mafia-related sterotypes still in use). communist have been persecuted like witches. homosexuals start having a dignity only nowadays. mexicans still don't appear in movies setted in L.A.
To my eyes, 9.5% of jobless, economic crisis and social movements are sons of the so-called Liberty. Even Democracy is under discussion, and nationalist parties are getting power all over the world.
Maybe having given the impression that You Can Be What You Want has not been a great idea, not in a world where sheeps can't recognize disguised wolves.
The good news is that America has made something to corrects some error...Obama (or better: his election) can be a nice step forward, while the obstinacy against people like Madoff shows to me more resentment than will to understand and to change (something like "it has been YOU to stole my money, had I given my $ to someone else now I've been rich, you fool")
NOTE: this isn't meant to be an up-to-date essay, it's just a partial sharing of my general thoughts on the matter.
