Does America Play Fair?

I was not sure exactly what to expect when walking into the “Voices of Democrats” event a week and a half ago.

When I entered I was immediately greeted with the words of a passionate, middle aged women placed at the mic, standing on stage.

She kept talking about “them.” I was slightly confused; I had to decipher who “them” was from the short fragment of her presentation that remained.

She was constantly comparing “them” to “us.” She referred to the “them” as people who have large stakes in our economy, as people who pay a large amount of taxes, and as people who seem to be greedy.

On the other hand, everyday people represented the “us” through her point of view.

Comparing the rich to the middle class has been done time and time again, but I enjoyed how she used “them” and “us” to personalize and genuinely communicate her message.

By simply reading her speech, she was able to demonstrate her disdain for the wealth gap present in the current state of the American economy and her passion for improving economic equality.

The rest of the presentations passed by, one by one. After comparing them all, one presentation stood out to me the most.

His name was Gabriel. He was an African American poet who introduced himself as “a man who does not want to be silenced.”

Instead of reading a speech or a story like those before him, he acted out a meaningful poem written by himself. He did this with so much passion and fervor, leaving a mental imprint of many of his words in my mind.

Being he acted this poem out in first person, the issues and feelings black Americans face every day in this country were so clearly visible.

He played the terrified father of a son who is adamant about the Black Lives Matter movement.

His son wants to fight police brutality, but this father is truly afraid that his son will die while standing up for what he believes in.

The act was a monologue, dictating the strong speech this father gave his son, begging him to take the safe position.

“Pick your battles,” he shouted multiple times.

The father also made it clear that, in his mind, people of this country think that “killing black boys is normal.”

The father appreciates the son’s commitment to the movement and his pride in the African American culture. He even understands why the son is so angry by the unsolicited deaths of many black men throughout the United States, but the father also believes that it is not worth losing his life for.

What resonated most with me was his statement about how “this country does not play fair.”

This statement stung. It may have even sparked a realization for many in the room.

It highlights the gap between the different races and varying social classes in America.

Many Americans like to believe that anyone has the ability to make their lives better or worse. Anyone can “climb the ladder.” Anyone can become successful if they work hard enough. After all, it’s the American dream, right?

The truth is, that might not actually be the case for everyone, because America does not play fair.

That is the greatest message I gained from this event.