'Salt Of The Earth'

As I get older, I find it funny how humans are OK with stripping others of their dignity. I find it funny how principles generally are leaned upon when it’s convenient.

In our grandparents’ lifetime – not 50-75 years ago – Americans were not only irresistibly hateful, but uncompromisingly scared shitless of treating people above anything of that of a bug.

Salt of the Earth is groundbreaking. “Released” in 1954, it captures the struggle of not only union miners in New Mexico, but Mexican workers, and not only Mexican union minors, but the females, the women behind the workers. It’s progressive in so many ways because it was all taboo, it was all anti-American that it wasn’t appropriately released only being shown in 12 theaters in the United States for 10 years after its production. By the way, the production was done by all blacklisted film makers and starred only four trained actors, none of which played major roles.

The same folks that decry the influence of unions are the same that hold the Constitution in such high regard particularly when it comes to the right to bear arms. However, freedoms of speech and assembly are nominal allowances. The pursuit of happiness and equality are reserved for Fourth of July parades and grandstanding.

The deplorable way minorities (ethnic or racial) were treated is hard to swallow. The treatment of women is unconscionable. But the basic right for humans to assembly and demand a better work environment or more pay is as capitalistic as you can possibly get. The fact that unionization and withholding a workforce to affect production (and thus profits) is a means to that end is irrelevant.

The “not in my backyard” mentality kills us as a nation.