We've sold our collective soul...and it ain't to god.

I reject what I perceive to be our societal values. Here in America. I feel a bit ashamed to be an American. I don’t particularly like the American political, economic and social systems. Does that make me un-American? Well, it makes me a liberal, so to speak. That’s what I call myself. That’s how I define myself. An unabashed liberal. I’m a liberal in a conservative-dominated system. A white supremacy system. Pretty much a white male supremacy system. As a nation, we were founded on the basis of white supremacy, and we’ve never really rid ourselves of that shameful legacy. Oh, we’ve played a shell game. We’ve pat ourselves on the back for making inroads. For bringing about more equality. But in terms of politics and economics, we are still far, far from a system of equal opportunity and equal privilege. We keep widening the gap between the rich and poor, between the haves and the have-nots. We talk a good ball game. Good platitudes. But we don’t play the same ball game that we talk. As conservatives, we want to protect and preserve the status quo. We want little, if any, change. As a liberal, I want change. Dramatic, far-reaching change. A revolution maybe. Maybe liberal is a misnomer. Maybe I’m a radical. Yes, compared to the existing prevailing thought in America, I suppose I’m a radical. I want change. Lots of change. Not mere token change. I want to throw the rascals out and start all over. And you know what? I see so many of the existing institutions participating in the corruption of our society. Even the church. The Christian religion. That’s why I’m no longer a Christian. I’ve become a free-thinker in an attempt to throw off the shackles. Christianity tends to talk the talk, and not walk the walk. Christianity is for the status quo. So many, many Christians call America god’s gift to humanity. Yes, we’re touted as the good people, the good Americans, going off to war like good Christian soldiers. Glory, glory Hallelujah! Only thing is I don’t see much glory these days in the American way. Or the Christian way, for that matter. As a nation, we’ve sold our collective soul...and it ain’t to god. --Jim Broede