Monsters Among Us: A Homework Assignment Worth Sharing

Here's the TLDR: I believe it is important to realize that no matter the political affiliation, there have always been Monsters in Washington. Monsters that to preserve their own power will do anything, even "work" with dictators to ensure enemies of the state are repressed. This piece just happened to be written when Trump was in office. Enjoy!

The prompt: This assignment was a letter to a hypothetical audience that reads this hypothetical newspaper. The news station just received word that the current American administration had done something to warrant extreme criticism. Examples from our class and real world events are used as supporting evidence.

My fellow Americans,

We need to have a conversation, a conversation that bears fruit instead of fighting. A conversation with each other intended to help us all grow. A conversation that ultimately leads to questions for those in charge. Questions to help this broken world heal before it is too late. Soon we will publish a story that will shed light on the swamp that is the current administration.

I say swamp not to degrade and demean our Commander-In-Chief, but to reference what HE, himself has said before. A swamp, that instead of draining, he stocked with his own sludge and monsters. A sludge so dark, thick, and confusing most cannot see through it. Monsters, so cunning that they wear masks of humanity and tout “the greater good” for all; or have the monster’s always been in office?

Lurking deep in the sludge of Washington, monsters have always hidden behind masks of democracy and good will. I argue that we have been held as prisoners, to these monsters; unable to determine what is fact and what is fiction. As time and space compress in our modern era due to globalization we gain tools to aid us in the struggle for “the greater good.” Tools that allow us to look at the actions of past administrations and current alike. A tool to help diffuse the darkness throughout time and show that America, was never truly great.

Armed with the wisdom of one middle school social studies teacher Mr. Kirshen, “winners write history;” and one tool, the internet; I turn our attention to Fulgencio Batista of Cuba. A well decorated military man Batista was the predecessor to the modern regime of Fidel Castro that we all know today (Salerno). Being backed by a winner of war, the United States; Batista ruled with an iron fist and heavy coffers over Cuba. Nationalizing the media of Cuba, he jailed and tortured those who publicly criticized him, took Cuba’s profit from its own industries, and negotiated with criminals and thugs of America’s mafia (Salerno).

Next, we glance over Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (TONM). Despite having numerous alarming claims from the U.S. State Department, we still liked him. Government kidnappings, torture of prisoners, and arbitrary killings by security forces were just a few allegations against him. Turning to more frequent times we turn to the Saudi empire. The late King Abdullah known for jailing human-rights activists, both convicting and executing citizens without trail (beheading or crucifixion), was a good friend of the US administration.

Coming from the U.S. State Department website, “The United States and Saudi Arabia have a common interest in preserving the stability, security, and prosperity of the Gulf region…” In more recent times, we can recall the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi a Saudi journalist and author; some reports connect this to the current King of Saudi Arabia.

This extremely brief critical view of the American government seeks to pique the interest of our readers. Leading to curiosity meant to stimulate independent research and thought. Read what those dictators mentioned in the article above have done. Read what America has gained by supporting such cruelty. As this new report comes to light, I ask you the American people. Has America ever been there to help? Or has America always been a monster, lurking deep in the marshlands of Washington, waiting to take off its mask and consume the world?

Stay Curious. Question Everything.

Your Friend,

Josh =)

Works Cited

Salerno, Steve. With Friends Like These... 4 Aug. 2020, meetprofsalerno.blogspot.com/2019/05/with-friends-like-these.html.

“U.S. Relations With Saudi Arabia - United States Department of State.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 26 Nov. 2019, www.state.gov/u-s-relations-with-saudi-arabia/.