Welcome Exit from the Jungle

For this blog, I'm just going to go with a general stream of consciousness of my thoughts post "The Jungle" class discussion. Maybe some things I managed to express during class, while maybe others, not so much since I had to represent the child laborers in our in-class trial.

Let me start by being totally honest, I did not finish reading the book. Yes, I had read the book in the past, so I did know what I had missed on this re-read. But seriously, I just couldn't bring myself to go through the horrors of the story again. I didn't want to sit back and watch everyone die, slaughter animals, get hooked on drugs, and experience general life catastrophes, whether through limb loss, family loss, or general humanity loss. I just couldn't do it.

Like I said in my previous post, I don't eat ground meat for good reason. This story is horrifying. Seriously, it could easily be made into a kitchsy horror film.

OK, other topics, Marxism, Socialism, and the American Dream. Clearly, this book points out just how unattainable the American Dream really is, especially for immigrants. It's such a huge disservice we do be constantly touting the American Dream as a possibility for everyone. The fact is, without the general slaving masses, mostly new immigrants, no one would be able to reach the American Dream of home ownership, education for their children, and a 2 week vacation every year. Let's face it, Sinclair and Marx have a point, the system, Capitalism, is bad. It clearly keeps the poor, poor and the rich, rich. And as horrible as it is to say, without this system, there's no way I'm be in the situation I am in today. So I can complain away about the unjust treatment of the general masses, but really, aren't I just continuing the process by buying my cheap goods? Without the exploitation of the masses, there's no way I could live my comfortable lifestyle.

For the record, I've experimented with the Socialist lifestyle. I've lived on a Kibbutz in Israel, working in the dining hall, making breakfast and lunch for the farm in exchange for room and board. And it was great, for a time. But maintaining the lifestyle over my life, would just never work for me. I want to do more, sadly, own more, get out more. And I'm guessing, so does everyone else in the world. So even though I love to concept of Socialism, and it is my go-to choice for extreme governmental options, in reality, Capitalism suits my heart's desires.