Chiraq. Oh,The Irony

I've been to Chicago a couple of times. I can't say I really like it. The weather sucks. People are generally fat and not very pleasant. I hate the Chicago Bulls. So why am I taking the time to write this article? Because I'm American. As in I have an American passport and live within its borders like everyone else, even in Chicago.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Having just watched Spike Lee's new film "Chiraq," I decided I'd make a point of actually investigating what's making Chicago the epicenter of American gun violence. The movie is hilarious. It's a complete parody of a grim situation, which perfectly suits my sadistic sense of humor. In the film, Spike Lee rewrites the Greek play "Lysistrata" in modern day Chicago, suggesting that somehow women can use a pussy strike to convince the men in their lives to stop committing acts of violence.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          While the film is entertaining, it offers no realistic solution to violence. Sadly, many people in Chicago and elsewhere in America have become trigger happy before losing their virginity. Kids appear to be living a real life fantasy that plays itself out in violent and destructive ways right in their own backyards. The same type of nihilistic destruction has spread to other places in America, and around the world. Chiraq would seem like the perfect nickname for this hotbed of glorified violence, right? Not exactly.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Besides being involved militarily, most Americans know very little about Iraq, other than the fact that its been a war-zone now for a couple of decades. I would guess that there aren't a whole lot of kids in Chicago, for instance, who speak Arabic. There may be an abundance of people in America who cannot point to Iraq on a map. The nickname Chiraq for an American city perfectly sums up just how ignorant America has become. Before the United States got involved in the region's political affairs, Iraq was apparently a beautiful country. Not to say it didn't have some political turmoil, but it wasn't that bad. By earning a nickname like Chiraq due to violence, Chicago has highlighted the fact that military intervention has made a once beautiful country the most dangerous place on earth. Now, Chicago, once a great destination for working class Americans, is now being torn apart by violence, ethnic segregation, and a lack of opportunity.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Due to the mass exportation of jobs overseas, kids are forced to either go through the rigors of the educational system, or somehow pursue the American dream with very little resources. Many kids have seen parents and siblings locked away for life for first -time drug offenses, a pattern that clearly points to the prison system's profit of holding as many people in jail as possible. But it's not just the prison system that cashes in on crime. It's also the NRA. Every time a firearm is purchased, they make more money. Military contractors profit from arming civilian military personnel at bases where wars are being plotted. They also profit every time a bomb is dropped on countries like Syria or Iraq, places people here unfortunately are very unfamiliar with.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The mass consumerism among American youth has been glorified in mainstream rap music. Sadly, every article of clothing kids, adults, and college students alike are wearing is made elsewhere. All of our products being sold in retail stores are made in other countries in slave-like conditions. Our cars, our computers, our cellphones, all made cheap overseas and sold for high prices here. If people were smart they'd realize that people are cashing in on their very existence, and the more they spend on clothes, weapons, cars, jewelry, the more money is poured into the pockets of people who will never offer hope to the average American.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             In Iraq, people can be ignorant, but they know enough to know that the United States is not involved in the region for diplomacy. America is politically involved in the Middle East because of natural resources. The more countries in the Middle East are aligned withh the United States and Israel, the more countries will use the American dollar to turn on their electricity and hot water. As American resentment builds, groups like ISIS are formed to make a counter-profit on a highly impoverished and vulnerable population.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Now, the American media is using music as a way to further blind the population from their own demise. American ignorance has allowed Iraq to sound really bad, but Chiraq sounds just plain awful.