Long work hours, low pay; we created an economy to support the wealthy and reduce most of the population to poverty levels. We like to think we are a country of equal opportunity for all, but that is a fallacy; increasing income disparity and decreasing opportunities are the reality.
This country and its system of government were established by white, Anglo-Saxon supremacists, who invaded the Americas, decimated the native population, and claimed the continent for themselves. They enslaved people from Africa to cultivate the land. When slavery was eventually outlawed, former slaves generally were abandoned and left to find a way to survive.
Over time other immigrants sought to take advantage of the new world’s fabled wealth and opportunity. They did not become landowners. Instead, they were hired or indentured as laborers to develop the infrastructure sought by the landowners to establish a nation for them to exploit. Although the first settlers all were white, Anglo-Saxon immigrants, they denigrated the white immigrants who arrived later. The few Native Americans who survived the destruction of their homeland, were relegated to reservations that precluded their way of life and destroyed their culture. To this day they continue the fight to survive on the limited land that remained for them, land that was not ideal for cultivation or grazing. In recent times, they are still fighting to preserve that land, which now the white invaders want for mining, drilling, and expanding transportation systems. Native American societies strived to live in harmony with nature, for their common good and the good of future generations. The invaders have insisted on destroying natural environments for their immediate enrichment.
Some later immigrants did achieve wealth and status over time, but most of them struggled to survive. This disparity continues to this day. Only a small percentage of the population enjoy a comfortable lifestyle. Wages for working people decline as their living costs increase, disrupting family life, as both parents often must work to support their families. The harder they work; the more wealth accrues to their employers.
As a result, many children grow up in day-care centers with limited family interaction. They do not experience what was once normal family life. Working parents typically are home in the evening when children are at the end of their day, with little opportunity for interaction other than feeding and preparing for bedtime. Parents tend to indulge their children when they do have time together, and too often children are entertained rather than taught to assume responsibilities both at home and school to prepare for meaningful lives. Children are most influenced by non-family members. They work and play in supervised settings, in organized activities, and rely on adults to resolve their disputes with their peers. They are not comfortable interacting with others. Parents may provide electronic gadgets for children to entertain them. The gadgets reduce in-person interaction, which isolates them and creates social disfunction. In this way, the demands of parents’ work create an environment in which most children grow up less able to think for themselves and more compliant with a society organized to favor the white elite.
How much different from slavery is life for people whose lives are structured by their employment situation? The needs of the company dictate work schedules, and employees must comply to keep their jobs. This applies at every level of the workforce, whether in menial occupations or in more exalted careers. Family life must conform to the needs of employers, , whether parents are affluent or in dire straits. The rules are driven by profit goals set by corporate executives and boards of directors for the benefit of stockholders.
In the past, slaves were brought here against their will and were considered property. Today’s workers are owned in a different way. They must market themselves and hope to find a job to sustain them and their families. The employer defines the working conditions, the worker may accept or refuse, but refusing may not be an option. To survive a worker must accept employment in a system that is owned by the employers and must respond to whatever is demanded.
It is far more difficult for those with limited means. Families with incomes that allow only bare survival are in a far more precarious situation. Children often do not receive sufficient nutrition to perform well in school. They are compromised from the day they are born if their families do not have the resources to provide the nourishment and other support they need to develop properly. In states such as Massachusetts, where public resources depend significantly on the wealth of the neighborhood in which people live, children in poor neighborhoods receive an inferior education. As a result, they lack the knowledge, experience, and opportunities to compete with their better educated peers from wealthier neighborhoods. Most, like the slaves of yore, are forever constrained to low, and sometimes no, income. In a country that prides itself on equal opportunity for all, the society fails to provide the education and resources for all to succeed.
So how is this enslavement? Children unable to think for themselves grow into adults who are easily manipulated. If their formative years are limited to doing only what they are instructed to do, they do not develop the skills to solve problems that occur in life. Instead, they need to be told what to do and when and how to do it. They are manipulated to follow orders and to not question them. Computers facilitate this manipulation. They grow into modern-day slaves.
The wealthy have the time and the resources they need to do whatever they choose. Their creativity is limited, as focus is typically on increasing wealth while manipulating others to support their goals. In the process, they disregard the well-being of fellow humans and other life on the planet. This became obvious during the present pandemic. The poor and the elderly have been principal victims, as limited support and resources impact efforts for proper care. Those who can pay receive the best care, while those who cannot are often left to suffer, illustrating the chasm between the elite and their modern-day slaves.