My readers, like my friends and family, know I’m a stroke survivor who was initially denied something we all pay into our whole lives: disability insurance. Initially, my denial was based on me being too young (under 50). After I turned 50, and despite all three doctors in court agreeing I was disabled, I was denied by the judge for “administrative reasons.” No one ever explained what that means, but I have an idea (see: my name). My family has struggled since losing everything, including our house and cars, and we have yet to recover since it happened in 2014.
Millions of people endure similar circumstances every single day. Many end up homeless and on the streets due to medical bankruptcies. Escaping poverty is already nearly impossible, thanks not just to the structure of U.S. society, which benefits the few, but also because voters are largely against each other, not united against the people in power. Black people, Indigenous people, Latinos, and even poor white people are being left to fend for themselves after various oppressive systems take everything from them and hand it to billionaires.
Instead, many voters celebrate their chosen candidates as if they’re infallible. Criticizing any one of them more often than not results in sycophantic followers who, despite your complaints about any elected official being more than reasonable, will call you every name they can come up with while ignoring those same oppressive policies. The discussion about so-called “illegal” immigration is one of the most recent examples. Rather than reforming the system, both parties united in passing oppressive enforcement-only legislation that has led us to where we are today.
“According to a June Gallup poll, 75% of voters favor “allowing immigrants living in the U.S. illegally the chance to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements over a period of time,”” I recently reported. “The same poll shows only 39% support “deporting all immigrants who are living in the United States illegally back to their home country.” Quite the contrast from the policies we’ve seen over the last several years.”
Meanwhile, rational people know that oppressive policies in the United States are nonpartisan and supported by the majority on each side of the aisle. Rational people know that no human is infallible and all are subjected to the influence of the people they surround themselves with. That includes your favorite and least favorite presidents. Anyone who knows my work is keenly aware of my not showing anyone favoritism and criticizing them all equally. Because when we don’t, justice is weakened and the victims of injustice suffer. People, not politicians, suffer.
I recently wrote an article discussing where we are today, how we got here, and which policies are the most popular across the political spectrum. From immigration reform, the surveillance state, and foreign policy to universal healthcare, hunger, and the “housing crisis,” voters are speaking to lawmakers and top-ranking party leaders on both sides of the aisle aren’t listening. Instead, they are equally focused on culture wars and are motivated by the same logic: do anything, including lie about people and issues, to stay in power.
“A recent Gallup poll shows that a whopping 74% are “somewhat” or “very dissatisfied” with the availability of affordable healthcare, and 84% said they personally worry “a great deal” or “a fair amount” about healthcare availability and affordability,” I reported in my recent article. “Sixty-four percent said they believed the government is responsible for making sure “all Americans have healthcare coverage.””
The bipartisan issues among voters today include reining in the surveillance state and the data centers that power it, alongside stopping the funding of foreign wars and genocide. Meanwhile, we see bipartisan support in Congress for Trump’s oppressive “maximum pressure” sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, and other countries during his first term, and we’re seeing the same support for his current policies against those countries and more. That support, with very few exceptions, is noted by the gross silence throughout Congress about policies that are killing scores of people at home and abroad.
“Not only is sending weapons to escalate and perpetuate wars a major point of contention today, but so is the abundant use of unilateral U.S. sanctions that kill more than 500,000 people a year globally,” I reported in my recent article. “As if to further illustrate that point, the Trump administration is building on decades of bipartisan oppression against Cubans, highlighting precisely how sanctions affect everyday people all over the world.”
While the White House continues on its heavily documented history of oppression, including interfering in elections abroad to install sycophants, at home, the situation isn’t much different when considering how many billionaires control our elections and how party leaders “select” the candidates we have to choose from. That is what is called controlled opposition, forcing us to choose between two candidates who are most likely to maintain the status quo.
In 1968, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. launched the Poor People’s Campaign. His goal was to unite all people, regardless of race or class, to demand economic justice, jobs, and housing for the estimated 40 million poor Americans. He aimed to unite people of all races. King, among others such as Illinois Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton and his Rainbow Coalition, led multi-racial coalitions including Black people, Latinos, Indigenous people, and poor white people. King, Hampton, and many others who ran these campaigns were assassinated for it.
Today, the U.S. still has more than 40 million people living below the poverty line (officially), while the Poor People’s Campaign analyses show that the number of people who are poor or low-income is 140 million. In the nearly 60 years since King launched his Poor People’s Campaign, poverty has exploded while the rich get richer. It should come as no surprise to either political party that this is unacceptable in the supposed richest country on Earth.
“The singular common denominator here is corporate exploitation of resources and people, both at home and abroad,” I recently reported. “More and more people are making the connections between domestic and foreign policy, and they’re seeing that the same corporations and oligarchs in control of our news media ecosystem are also deep in the pockets of people making foreign policy decisions that benefit them and their portfolios.”
As the surveillance state that no one is safe from continues to grow, federal law enforcement agencies, such as Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which refer to themselves as paramilitary groups, are being granted ever-increasing powers over U.S. citizens under the guise of immigration enforcement. As many are duped by the intentional misconceptions about “criminal migrants,” that distraction is allowing the U.S. government to continue building the surveillance state that George W. Bush and his cronies envisioned when he created the Department of Homeland Security in 2002 to monitor what every person does.
That surveillance state, like all other systems of repression, is kept in place with bipartisan support and funding. Like the prison industrial complex, an entire economy has been built not just on monitoring your activities, but on forcing people to change the way they live through fear of their own government and being prosecuted for normally benign activities. At no point is anyone in power seeking prosecution for crimes such as child sex trafficking, as noted by how many people who have been implicated in the Epstein files are working in the White House.
Sure, you can argue both parties are different (on the surface). But behind the scenes, that difference becomes much harder to see because it doesn’t exist. All of U.S. politics, whether foreign or domestic, is built on addressing the needs of U.S. corporate interests, not the people lawmakers are elected to serve. When Democrats gleefully vote to confirm so many of Trump’s appointees, it becomes much harder to argue there is much of a difference at all.
Criticism of elected officials is healthy for a functioning society. Ignoring whether your favorite candidate drops the ball or sounds like a Republican (or vice versa) is detrimental, particularly to marginalized groups suffering under oppressive policies that lock them out of economic success and financial stability. Wealth inequality and government repression continue to grow, and it’s only a matter of time before they affect you, whether you think you’re immune or not.
Repression always starts wth the marginalized because they’re easy to villainize, but it always comes for everyone. History tells this story better than anyone could. Most people in the United States are one medical emergency away from losing it all. Don’t think for a minute that you’re immune. I once thought I was too. It turns out I wasn’t. Tomorrow, it could be you.
I am an independent freelance journalist and stroke survivor trying to support my family. I have written hundreds of articles on policing, immigration, race, and Latin America and have been published globally. To support my work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
Arturo, please set up a tip jar so we can help further. Gracias por tu excelente trabajo!
Arturo, 2014 was quite a year for me also. That’s when I begin the disability trail…
Thank you for your writing and insights. I always find them valuable.