Kansas City Playlist: American ICE Age Amid PostCapitalism

We start with a fancy post headline but promise not to "expound" upon this idea all night. 

In fact, a few headlines from yet another historic American protest kinda put things in perspective: 

Fox News: Man allegedly assaulted with flagpole by Minneapolis anti-ICE agitators in violent parking garage attack

News Nation: Disabled woman dragged from car by ICE speaks out  

AP: Tear gas floods a Minneapolis family’s SUV after they get caught between protesters and officers 

And all of these clashes taking place on the national stage bring us back to Kansas City and the fear of an impending MEGA detention facility that might bring some of the same "resistance" to our cowtown given how much local officials are "encouraging" people to speak out. 

And all of this brings us to our not-so-grand conclusion that is neither conservative nor progressive and hopes to offer a glimpse at the BIG PICTURE beyond so much hyper-partisan blathering as we slouch toward midterm elections . . .  

The current American ICE age is merely the result of yet another federal employment program and recent controversy is mostly the result of politicos fighting over allocations in a manner more brutal & cynical than previous conversations that were mostly tuned out by the voting public. 

Here's a bit of self-evident proof to back up our thesis . . . 

Will the ICE crackdown solve the issue of U.S. illegal immigration?!?

It won't even come close to addressing a situation that became a crisis during the Regan years and then hit its zenith amid the Biden Administraiton. If fact, most of the immigration debate is bad theater to make old school voters feel better about the future as they go gently into the good night. 

Some estimates put the number of illegal/undocumented aliens at close to 30 million. If that number is even HALFWAY correct the current raid strategy and even door-to-door searches won't scratch the surface of the dilemma and are mostly an exercise in futility even as Prez Trump passes former Prez Obama for the title of "Deporter-In-Chief" in a losing and rigged contest. 

And that brings us to the ultimate reality check . . .

Is the American ICE age just the new "War On Drugs" in disguise?!?!

Actually . . . The current conflict combines a few classic tropes of a "drug war" that has endured for nearly a half century but STILL HASN'T MANAGED TO MAKE ILLEGAL DRUGS ANY LESS PREVALENT ON AMERICAN STREETS. 

The point here isn't just discourage or dishearten anyone . . . 

American progressives demonize the efforts of ICE but might not realize that their work is important if only to uphold the pretense of immigration rules and to give so many military veterans a job that's more meaningful than selling lawn mowers at a box store. 

It doesn't matter that the world's largest economy absolutely DEMANDS illegal immigration to not only maintain/exploit its supply of cheap labor but also import MILLIONS of new consumers paying premium prices simply to exist in the proximity of so much wealth. Yeah, that's pretty dark but not as bleak as the reality the notable efforts of Prez Trump haven't made as much as a dent in the problem whilst threatening to evaporate his support from vulnerable Republicans in the House & Senate.

Meanwhile . . . 

We notice so many of conservative friends wincing at the tactics of ICE on American streets or, even worse, doubling down on the macabre and turning into callous social media trolls who celebrate the violent death of anyone opposing the actions of federal law enforcement which betrays all of that Republican "limited government" rhetoric and "liberty" posturing during the Obama years. 

Still . . . 

We strive to give everyone grace in this time of transition. 

Indulge us and let's take an even deeper dive . . . 

In our not-so-humble opinion, this street level fight over resources, world views and documentation REALLY signals an American economy moving closer to a reckoning that started in 1971. 

And no . . .  

PostCapitalism doesn't mean the end of the world . . . Just a reminder that the way that the global economy works is visibly starting to crumble . . . 

Students of history know that change is inevitable and might even remember that whaling once dominated the U.S. economy but changes in technology forced everyone to adapt.

This time around the world is even smaller and changes will be more pronounced and come even faster.

As always, the best advice is calm if only because, like most things, there's nothing that any of us can do about it and anyone with a room temperature IQ can see both conservatives & progressives unwittingly pushing us all into the same place . . . Which is probably government housing or an infinite array of bottlenecks that require some annoying act of submission in the name of freedom, democracy or whatever.  

And so, all of this inspires our www.TonysKansasCity.com playlist regarding hope for a better day . . .

The video for "Better Days" from Yellowcard is one of our faves and the lyrics are surprisingly optimistic and choose love over nostalgia.

For TKC, Sam Ryder is kind of a new discovery . . . He's an English singer-songwriter who garnered online fame with a great deal of energy and optimism.

C'mon man, we couldn't forsake our 90s nostalgia with the enduring "Hold On" and this COVID-era reboot that also features our beloved Kelly Clarkson.

A millennial-era song reminds us of the loveliest TKC reader and the foundational years of this silly blog.

Finally, we celebrate a track that was once described as 197 seconds of perfection and a "spiritual balm" performed by The Five Stairsteps in what is a classic, uplifting soul song from 1970 offering hope and reassurance during difficult times, with lyrics promising that "things are gonna get easier" and "brighter." The track started as an anthem for resilience against a backdrop of social unrest during the Vietnam War and Civil Rights struggles . . . The classic continued to resonate during 90s gang wars, ensuing U.S. military crusades, all manner of plagues and into the current epoch.

As always, thanks for reading this week and have a safe & fun Saturday night.