Deceit and Divide

        Ever since I was a young kid I was always told, the United States of America is the best country. And I believed it. After all, the United States is the land of opportunity and freedom for all. At least, that's what we're told. But after living in this country for over 17 years I can tell you that's not entirely true. There may be opportunity and freedom in this country, but not for all. Our country seems some of the most divided it's ever been. The United States was built around the power being in the hands of the people. But as time goes on there seems to be more and more of a divide between the government and the individual. Other divides that have been very visible are a divide in wealth, and a divide in race. The United States is not the land of opportunity and freedom. The United States is a land of deceit and divide. 

        One case of divide that seems very prevalent today is the divide between the individual and the government. When this country was built, the power was made to be in the hands of people. Many of the founders were hesitant of a strong central government for fear it would take the power from the people. I believe that is exactly what has happened. Edward Snowden, an ex NSA employee and whistleblower, created a website that containing a lot of classified and declassified government documents about mass surveillance. An example from his website states, “A document reveals what Senator Ron Wyden called the ‘back-door searches loophole’. A classified update to FAA Section 702 showed the NSA secretly created a policy allowing analysts to ‘go through… communications and conduct warrantless searches for the phone calls or emails of law-abiding Americans’ outside of any judicial process” (edwardsnowden.com). This quote shows that NSA created an update to a law that made it unnecessary for any warrants or any judicial process before searching a citizen's data. The NSA did this without giving the public any knowledge. I personally believe this is a direct violation of the 4th amendment, the right to privacy. If the government is not afraid to secretly break the fourth amendment, what is stopping them from breaking others. Barton Gellman is a journalist who worked with Snowden to expose the government. In an article about Gellman it states, “He notes that the 'mere creation of such a database, especially in secret, profoundly changed the balance of power between government and governed'”(dailymail). This quote shows that in today's world, the government holds way more power than the citizens in the United States. This makes it incredibly difficult for an individual to make a change when they notice a wrong in the government. Edward Snowden noticed the government doing something that he didn't like and came out against it. He is now forced to live in Russia and will be arrested the second he lands in America. It is clear in cases like Snowden, the government holds way more power than the citizens. 

        Along with a divide between the government and the individual, there is also a very big divide between wealth. The richest people hold the most power. They can afford to make more mistakes. According to The Washington post, “The 400 richest Americans now own more than the bottom 150 million” (The Washington Post). This means that 0.000001 percent of the population holds more wealth than 46 percent of the population. That is incredibly unbalanced. With that wealth comes a lot of power. That power is seen from the richest people today such as Jeff Bezos, the richest person in the world who has a deal with the CIA through Amazon and is on the Pentagon Defense Advisory Board. Bezos was able to acquire this power in part because of his wealth. In The Great Gatsby, this power from wealth theme is very fitting. An example of this is Daisy and Tom. Towards the end of the book it shows, “They were careless people, Tom and Daisy- they smashed things up and . . . then retreated back into their money . . . and let other people clean up the mess they made.” (The Great Gatsby) The word retreated means that they pull away or move. This shows the advantage the rich have. They can move from the problem,  afford the best lawyers if they make a legal mistake, and most other mistakes made can be solved with money. That makes a large divide between the wealthiest and the least wealthy. 

       Not only is there a divide between the wealthiest and least wealthy, there is also a divide in wealth between races. Because of systemic racism many minorities live in poorer communities. These communities have fewer opportunities and weaker education. According to an article from US news,  “Only 7 percent of poor kids and 13 percent of "near" poor kids (families of four living on an income of $22,000 to $44,000 a year) went to summer camp. Roughly 40 percent of non-poor kids – middle class and wealthy – attended summer camp” (usnews.com). This means that kids with less wealth have less learning opportunities such as camps, movies, and going to museums. These poorer communities, filled with mostly minorities, don’t receive the same education as wealthier kids. A worse education makes them less prepared for tasks than others meaning many don't end up getting out of the poor communities. The Great Gatsby shows this by stating, “In my younger . . . years my father gave me some advice . . . “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one . . . just remember that all the people in the world haven't had the advantages you've had”(The Great Gatsby). The word advantages in this line is mostly referring to the wealth that Nick's father had. The wealth allowed Nick to have many more opportunities to succeed. This divide between wealth and race related directly to my life. I live in a very wealthy community and there are not very many minorities that go to my school. 

        It is clear to me now that this country is not a land of freedom and opportunity for all, but only some. As time has carried on in my life I have learned that there is more deceit and divide in this country. It is clear that some people have many more opportunities and freedoms than others. The only way to progress into the future as a country is to remove the divide and to provide true equality. 

Works cited:

Snowden, Edward. “Revelations.” Courage Snowden, edwardsnowden.com/revelations/.

Sheets, Megan. “NSA's Tracking Program FAR More Extensive than Thought.” Daily Mail Online, Associated Newspapers, 26 May 2020, www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8358769/NSAs-tracking-program-FAR-extensive-knew-thought.html.

Fitzgerald, F S. The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995.

The Hechington Report Contributer. “The Growing Achievement Gap.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 28 May 2018, www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2018-05-28/income-inequality-exacerbates-the-achievement-gap.

Ingraham, Christopher. “Analysis | Wealth Concentration Returning to 'Levels Last Seen during the Roaring Twenties,' According to New Research.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 8 Feb. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2019/02/08/wealth-concentration-returning-levels-last-seen-during-roaring-twenties-according-new-research/.