The Divided State of America
By Whitney White
In American War by Omar El Akkad, the main character Sarat is practically raised by the American War that takes place in the future around 2070. In a way, she becomes the war and there is a lot of symbolism portrayed through her character development. One of the messages that stood out to me is how activism led to cruelty on the part of the North. We get to see how the North’s desire to invest in clean energy and save the planet completely railroaded the South by outlawing their main source of income which was the old diesel fuel. In their efforts to do something good for the planet they completely decimated a fraction of society that was the South. This can be seen today with sustainability trends catching on causing people to do things like buying reusable straws only to find out that most people are not using them enough for it to make a real difference. I remember watching a video about this recently where a scientist explains why most people were not doing much good by using reusable straws unless they were very intentional about it.
Video on reusable straws: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gxq1XLqWIA&t=373s
In the book, the harm done is shown throughout Sarat’s story. There is a whole list of ways the war shaped her anti-North and later anti-America sentiments. First, her father is killed in a northern bombing, then she is forced to live in a refugee camp subjected to filthy and unsafe conditions, her mother and sister are then killed in a raid of the camp and a war-bird airstrike respectively, her brother is left crippled and forever changed from the same camp raid that kills her mother, then she is tortured endlessly until she is broken by northern prison guards And that is just a watered-down list of the trauma she has endured. Sarat is not unlike many other southerners whose life was ruined by the North. Yet, the North believes their cause is just because they are saving the planet and they believe that the southerners are traitors. I think the focus was to highlight the division that exists in America. In America, there is deep-rooted divisiveness that is only growing worse as time goes on. We have seen this ugliness come to light with the Capitol riots and the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd sparking outrage and protest all over the world. These things are nothing new, they just garnered the world's attention this time, unlike anything I have ever seen before. Things probably will get uglier in the future if we do not learn to have some respect for one another. I do not mean you can have your opinion and ill have mine and if we do not talk politics or anything uncomfortable, we will be fine. I mean for democrats and republicans, police and black people, and every other divided group to be able to air it all out and listen to one another. Then maybe come out of it with respect or at least more understanding and knowledge. Right now, I believe that we all have a hard time listening to opposing views from our own especially if we deem the view to be immoral, but we cannot grow if our own beliefs are never challenged. I went through and found so many people who say they could not have someone of opposing political affiliation as a friend.
Here is just one example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyZlXbQzks0
I know that this is just one group of women, but when you read the comments many others agree that they would not associate across party lines outside of the family. The book highlights the division and what can happen if we do not come together and stop defining each-other and labeling each-other without ever once giving the other side a chance.
I think another huge message in American War was that nobody wins in the end. In the end, we see that Sarat unleashes an extremely lethal virus that cripples the North and kills a lot of southerners. I think this was intentional because she said she did not care about the south either in the end. After this action, I got the impression that America was no longer going to be the super-power that it once was. It seemed that the Bouazizi empire would get its wish of becoming the next most powerful country or empire in the world. I think this was a message that we may think that we are doing the right things and all hold fast to our beliefs, but when it comes down to it, we cannot thrive by just deciding this group of people are good and are the victors and this other group is bad and needs to be kept in check. All in all, American War leaves us with the message that united we rise and divided we fall. I do not claim to have all the answers I just see an eerie connection to society today with this book and I could not ignore it. Look at where we are now for example. Right now, Democrats are rejoicing at the fact that Biden has taken office, but this country and society have not done anything to bridge the division between right and left that has brewed since America existed. Back in 2016, the republicans were rejoicing, and it just goes back and forth. It has just been allowed to get worse and worse and I do not know if we can turn it around, but I do know that as individuals we can all try to be more open-minded and step out of our comfort zones more often on both sides to try and make progress.
I hope this does not come off as a rant I thought the message in the book was powerful. I hope I was able to convey my thoughts clearly and do it justice. It made me question my contributions to the division in this country. I found myself having an inner debate about if I could be friends with a republican and I stopped and realized that should not be a thing. I should be judging people based on their character not writing them off because of their political affiliation. That makes me no better than someone who would not talk to me because I am a democrat. Just like in American War. The North in the end was no better than the South they just won a war because they had more resources. In the end, they both had blood on their hands.
Found in American War by Omar El Akkad