Leaning on the corner of a building, I close my eyes and take in all the noise, the smells, the movements happening around me. Ah, New York City, the promised land, the land of the free. From here, it’s easy to feel every single pulse of America – the never-ending energy, the stark diversity, the greedy ambition that fuel the nation’s largest metropolis. Underneath all the luxurious and shiny skyscrapers and bustling streets, a deeper and darker reality exists, one that speaks to the rising disparities that define modern America. Getting closer to another pivotal election, said inequalities become very difficult to ignore; among the seemingly endless opportunities in this land, who is really able to enjoy them?
Across the streets of New York City, the gap between wealth and poverty is on utter display. The city’s breathtaking skyline never ceases to cast long shadows over marginalised communities: wealth, education, and race, among the many, determine who is bound to stay in the shadows, and who is able to look over this darkness from the 104th floor. Who is allowed to dream the American Dream? Surely not those who constantly grapple with income, housing, and living insecurities, stagnant wages, and systemic disparities.
Several phenomena arise perplexity: a friend showed me the Tinder page of a bloke who was proudly stating he was part of “Gays for Trump”, a movement that appears to be nonsensical, especially when considering Trump administration’s attitude towards LGBTQ+ people. Cognitively dissonant as it may appear, how could these marginalised communities ever stand for a candidate who actively contributes towards undermining their rights? This, unfortunately, speaks to a broader problem present in the country: in the United States, identity and sense of belonging evolved into fragmentation, prompting cultural wars all over the place. Deeply-entrenched misinformation is exploited, leveraging on cultural identity and on promoting group-based belonging, all part of political strategies to manipulate voters – even those who would be losing the most.
With election day approaching, and Donald Trump doing photoshoots at McDonald’s, the country shall recognise the necessity to face its contradictions, in the name of the democracy and liberty which are held dear by the people of United States. Can the American political system address these inequalities, and the systemic injustice that has been plaguing the nation for ever? Can the 2024 election represent a bridge that would generate a path towards unity, progress, and joint healing, or will it simply become another battle between extremes which leads to false promises?
While standing on the same corner in New York – a microcosm of both America’s promises and failures, as well as a representation of a world that is distancing itself from true democracy – it is possible to see the urgency of this electoral moment. The oxymorons that define this city reflect deeper disparities that reflect the crossroads this nation is at. Will it be possible to choose a future defined by an acknowledgement of inequalities in order to concretely attempt to dismantle them? Or will this be just another chance to deepen the divisions within society, taking the possibility to dream the dream away from even more people?
I would still like to dream, what about you? The decision, as always, is ours; and, in this very case, it is in the hands of you all Americans. Please, vote for enabling everyone to dream.
Just an average guy that read “On the road” a bit too soon and was led to tending to fall in love too much with too many things. Still in Bocconi, still trying to study Management of Government and International Organisations. I don’t know if I can say that I am a global citizen, I am more of a citizen that likes the globe.
