Mirror, Mirror

            The United States of America, the biggest, baddest kid on the block, we have nominated ourselves as the policing force of the world, sending billions in aid, man power and resources to every corner of the globe. But we harbor a deadly secret, on the outside we are tough, cool, collected. Our hair is never out of place, our outward appearance perfectly coifed, our mighty muscles perfectly formed for the world to be in awe of, but on the inside we are riddle with cancer. Our cities are falling apart, our citizens starving, homeless and jobless, people killing their neighbors at alarming rates, drugs coming across the border, being cooked in homes and distributed in our schools faster than they can make new users. Our government full of hypocrites who are slowly stripping away our rights, our freedoms, our voices, dipping their hands deeper into our pocket books and  making life altering decisions about us without our consent. All while encouraging countries like Syria and Egypt to embrace democracy and all the great benefits that come with it. We need radical change around here, everyone needs to take a long look in the proverbial mirror and realize what a shitty place we have let our country become. Our government is not the only one to blame, by our own inaction and complacency we have let them destroy our greatness and whittle away at our spirit until we have forgotten the principals on which this country was founded. Bring the troops home, put them to work here feeding the homeless, rebuilding our cities and helping to ebb the ever growing tide of crime that threatens to swallow us all. Stop worrying about the rest of the world and worry about the people right here who are tearing cities, families and people apart. Worry about the ones who struggle everyday just to put bread on the table, who work 3 jobs to support their kids and still somehow cannot make ends meet. I am pretty certain we would not have to worry about illegal drugs being trafficked into this country if the Navy Seals ran the ATF. I am in no way proposing a police state but give them work to do, our taxes already pay them. Let them do work that directly benefits us rather than some foreign country that would flip us the bird the minute we turn our backs. They could spend years just in Detroit tearing down abandoned buildings, cleaning up the trash and gangs. Give people a place to be proud of once more. Stop sending aid to other countries, your people need it! Our government needs to make its way down from the ivory tower and spend a day in the real world with the rest of us. They need to realize you cannot spend more money than you have, you cannot feed and clothe your neighbors while your children starve and are left defenseless. You cannot give advice to or help anyone else when you have so many skeletons they don’t even fit in the closet anymore.  Invest in your people, in the future generations, educate them, feed them, and give them jobs, safe cities and their dreams back.

Nicole Schmidt