Political Parties in the United States

Yo, 

I haven't mentioned this before, but I adore anime. In fact, in one of my favorite sci-fi film's titled, 'Akira,' Neo-Tokyo's depression is similar to a black hole, democratic capitalism consuming the city. To save you from my radically left spew, I'll explain the U.S.' political parties and my views on them (I promise this is all related). 

    In a futuristic Tokyo envisioned by Katsuhiro Otomo, the effects of nuclear war are very apparent; religious revitalization fills the street with protest, troubled youth, drug crises, and the government portrayed as a table of angry men hoping to keep citizens in the dark. Especially about their mysterious testing on three children who's nuclear radiation gave them super abilities. Beside the fictionality, sounds awfully familiar. The United States uses a multi-party system such as the Democratic, Republican, Green etc. However, the country has seen only Democratic and Republican presidents, majority of it's citizens identifying with either of those parties.

    The Democratic party tends to advocate for social welfare through higher taxation, social equality, multiculturalism, and protection of the environment. Yeah, right. The Republican party tends to support lower taxes, increased military spending, and restrictions on immigrations. Left sits the progressive, conservatives being the right. If you would have asked me what I believed myself to be a few years ago, I would've replied that I'm a proud democrat. This would change as I began to understand the history belonging to both parties. For starters, war. Harry S. Truman being today's example as he was the president to drop the atomic bomb on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan. This would murder thousands of people and all on the justification of seeking an eye for an eye. He was a democratic war criminal. Secondly, both parties maintain capitalistic approaches toward the economy. Sure, the United States is exceptionally conservative when compared to countries in Europe, but if the democratic party recognizes income inequalities, wouldn't it's leaders create programs and other opportunities for their people? Well, with our education system for example, students are actively being failed through underfunding, the school to prison pipeline, and selective programs that further segregate access to an equitable education. As attaining a degree is said to be a resource toward ensuring economic prosperity, this shackles minority people. 

Both of these statistics prove an income inequality within America. According to the 'Average Family Wealth for Those Born 1943-51 by Race' from the Urban Institute's Survey of Consumer Finances, the average white families wealth has only increased since the early 1900s. During this time, both democrats and republican presidents held office, and yet neither took strides to address this devastating inequality. As America is to be the land of the free, how hadn't this alarmed political officials? Oh, because this country believes that this is unavoidable. In their minds, the racial wealth gap is inevitable with imperialism and white supremacy at it's core of the government, when held by both democrats and republican officials. Lastly, it has been proved that wealth is acquired through ownership here in the "land of the great". Thus, from a 2016 graph by 'Visual Capitalist' that highlights how 'Percentage Of Families With Asset Types' directly impacts income, and net worth, brown and black people have the lowest incomes, and have the least asset types while white families have the highest asset types and have both the highest income and net worth. At a certain point, America can not be regarded so highly when so many people are being excluded from the "American Dream". To what point is the fight to get a republican or a democrat in the house simply that, a fight? When will we realize that this fight to control the government according to political parties is completely irrelevant if it's all we care about. 

Overtly, majority of the Republican Party believes that wealth inequality is either necessary or doesn't exist at all. 

    Introducing the Green party, an organization founded in the beliefs of social justice, environmentalism, and nonviolence. I believe that this party is "enough" to change not only the systemic barriers, but sustain an economy that serves both us and the Earth. The Greens' economic mission is to separate from consumption and materialism because of how it damages society. The devotion to ensuring economic justice will improve our communities (schools, programs, etc.), lowering our nation's federal debt through tax-payer fund's that are usually wasted on armaments. 

  

 

    Akira's ending may raise your eyebrow the first time around because Neo-Tokyo seems to have been obliterated. However, the entity portrayed as a little boy named Akira leaves around a small ball of light that, I believe, represents what democracy in darkness (capitalism) can do to society. The atom that is left behind is an entirely new universe atop of a city that's government consumed everything within it.