Still wowed by the awesome potential of these dysfunctional places.
They are so similar, yet so different. So close yet so far. So beautiful outside yet so much ugliness goes on inside. The cause of so much good. And the cause of so much deep hurt. The best of humankind. And the worst of humankind.
One comes from the chest pumping belief in their ‘exceptionalism’ and ‘manifest destiny’… The other comes from the fist pumping belief in their ‘new man’ and ‘proletariat revolution’.
One lives and dies on the mythology of capitalism… The other lives and dies on the mythology of communism.
In one the 5 percent covertly structures the system to self-benefit and perpetuate power… In the other 5 percent overtly structures the system to self-benefit and perpetuate power.
One touts its military might as Goliath in the name of world order… The other welcome others’ military might and flaunts it internationally in the name of world equity.
Both came to be by the genocide of native people and the enslavement of Africans… Perpetrated in one predominantly by Anglos; the other by Spaniards.
One survives in part by the exploitation of Latinos and keeping Blacks down… The other survives mostly by the exploitation of its own citizens.
Maybe someday somehow somewhen they will look past their self-conceited righteousness and ego trips and see that they are meant to be friends; that they are meant to be partners. They are meant to be supportive of each other.
They are interwoven in their inescapable past, the problematic present, and inevitable future. History has joined them at the hip – even if one outsizes the other. Today they are at odds – even as regular folks know best. And the future is bright – even as those in power persist otherwise.
Maybe someday they will move beyond their own dysfunction and identify the intersection of their self-interest… Maybe someday they will realize that more contact among their everyday people is a good thing for both… Maybe someday they will rekindle diplomacy based on mutual respect, mutual forgiveness, and shared experiences…
Maybe someday we’ll see the transformation of a relation that has been broken for way too long and has always meant to be positive, constructive, supportive, joyful, and celebratory… ¡Basta!