Springsteens Wrecking of Americas Upper Class

TheAmericanmusiclegendweallknowasBruceSpringsteenreleasedhis
seventeenthalbum,
WreckingBall
,in2012.Thisalbumshockedthecountrywithitsaireof
confrontationandangertowardsAmericandemocracy.Springsteensmainfocusinthis
emotionally
angerdrivenalbum
wastoraiseawarenessinthedestructivewayinwhichour
countryisbeingrun.HeshineslightonhowthebluecollarworkingclassAmericans,withlittle
tonobenefits,security,andwages,arestrugglingwhileourcountries
top1%
,holdingthe
majorityofournationsmoney,arelivinglavishlifestyleswithoutaworryintheworld.
Springsteens
WreckingBall
trulyreflectsAmericasstrugglingworkingclasssociety,fromthe
recessiontomoderntimes,andthefightbetweentheupperclassandtherestofthecountry
whoaretryingtosurviveinthismoneydrivennation.

The Great Depression

FollowingtheStockMarketCrashinOctoberof1929,thegreatesteconomicturmoilin
Americanhistoryoccurred:TheGreatDepression.Intheyearsof19291939,America
experiencedunemploymentratesthatskyrocketedup,alongwithahugedropintheoutputof
largeindustries.An
article
writtenbythestaffoftheHistorynetworkdescribeditas...
the
deepestandlongestlastingeconomicdownturnin
thehistoryoftheWesternindustrializedworld
.

TheStockMarketcrashcompletelywipedoutthe
majorityoflargeinvestors,sendingourcountry
intooneofthemostdevastatingdownturnswe
haveeverexperienced.MillionsofAmericans
werebeginningtogetlaidoffandashockingamountofourcountrywasnowunemployed
alongwiththemajorityofbanksbeginningtofail.TheGreatDepressiongavewaytothe
beginningofthestrugglingworkingclassandthedownfalloftheAmericanDream.Itbegan
tosetthestageforthebitternessthatthemiddleclasswillformtowardsourwealthiestpartof
thenation.

The Great Recession: 2007-2009

The21stcenturygavewaytoanothereconomicdownfallforAmericansinDecember
of2007.Thisrecessionlastedforalmost20months,endinginJuneof2009.Ournation
experiencedadownfallinconsumerspendingandconsumptionduetothefinancialmarket
crisiswhichthenledtothecollapseinbusinessinvestment.SimilartothatoftheGreat
Depression,therewasahugejoblosswhichfollowedthiseconomicchaos.TheEconomic

PolicyInstitute,awebsiteestablishedtodiscusstheeconomicpolicyregardinglowand
middleclassincomeworkers,wrotean
article
regardingtheGreatRecession,stating,This
wasthemostdramaticemploymentcontraction(byfar)
ofanyrecessionsincetheGreatDepression.The
articledescribedthechaosthatcameoutofthe
Recessionthatwouldcausealastingeffectonfuture
generationstocome.Evenaftertherecessionended,
afteranextremelyslowrecovery,unemploymentrates
werestillhigh.Accordingtothearticle,InOctober2010,16monthsaftertheofficialendof
therecession,theeconomystillhad5.4%fewerjobsthanitdidbeforetherecessionstarted.
Familyincomesdroppeddrasticallyandpovertyratesrosetoshockingheightsleadingtoa
negativeimpactonfamilyincomeandthelabormarket.Thiscontinuedthedominoeffectin
whichAmericansbeganditchingtheAmericanDreamforamorerealisticideal,aswellas
abandoningtheirpatrioticviews.

Occupy Wall Street

September27th,2011gavewaytoaprotestmovementthatwentbythenameof
OccupyWallStreet
.Thismovementraisedawarenessacrosstheworldprotestingfor
Americasneedforsocialandeconomicequality.Theseprotestorsarguedagainstthecreed,
corruption,andthenegativeinfluencesofcorporationsonourgovernment.Mostofthese
workingclassmenandwomenhadimmenseangertowardsthewealthiest1%inourcountry,
whocontrolthemajorityofourwealth,andarethemaincauseofthedrasticallyunequal
incomeandwealthdistribution.Accordingto
avideoontheNYtimeswebsite
,protesters

gatheredinZucottiparkrallyingtoaccomplishacollectivescreamingvoiceagainstthe
atrocitiesthattheyareseeinginthepoliticalsystem.
Theseprotestersdidtheirbesttomaketheircause
knownbygoingtobanks,severallargecorporations,
boardmeetings,largescaleuniversitycampuses,
andevenforeclosedhomesinordertogettheirpoint
acrossandtakeaction.
ThesloganWearethe99%supportedtheideasofeconomicinequalityinAmerica.
Theprotestorsaimedtoreducetheinfluencethatlargescalecorporationshadonpolitics,as
wellasamoreequaldistributionofincome,bankreforms,accessibilitytomoreandhigher
payingjobs,andseveralotherdisputabletopics.Inan
article
fromtheHuffingtonPost,John
WellingtonEnnisdescribed,
WEARETHE99%
becametherallyingcryofageneration.
This
movementevencapturedtheattentionofPresident
BarackObamawhorecognizedthefrustrations
throughouttheAmericanworkingclass.
OccupyWallStreetwasoneofthebiggest
movementsofworkingclassAmericansfightingfor
equalityinsocialandeconomicmattersthroughoutourcountry.Thiseventiswhatsparked
Springsteensangertowardsthetop1%whoarecontrollingournation'swealth.The
AmericanDreamhasbeentakenawayfromthemajorityofAmericans,andSpringsteenuses
hisvoicetohelpopentheeyesofAmericanswhodonotrealizethecorruptioninvolvedinour
country.

Our country becoming Un-American

BruceSpringsteenhasalwaysbeenasupporterforthebluecollarAmericansandthe
strugglesthatournationsworkingclassfaceseveryday.Whenhereleasedhisalbum
WreckingBall
in2012,hisangrypatriotismbecamestronglyacknowledged.Springsteens
WeTakeCareofOurOwn
trulyportrayshismockerytowardsAmericancultureandthe
upperclass.Asachild,Brucehadexperiencedthedevastationofhisfatherlosinghisjoband
thedamagethatunemploymentcandotoafamily.Hisangerandfurytowardsthesubjectof
apatriotismstemsfromthisexperiencethathehadenduredasachildgrowingup.
BruceSpringsteenwritesandperformsthesongsonhisalbumtostartamovement
andchangethewayourcountryisbeingrun.DanDelucawrotean
article
describing
Springsteensemotionsbehindhisalbum
WreckingBall.
Delucastates,
Theemphaticalbum
openerWeTakeCareofOurOwntakesthemeasureofanAmericathathasrenegedon
whatSpringsteenviews,inafavoriteformulation,asitspromisetolookafterallitscitizens.
Springsteensalbumshinesadisturbinglightontheeconomyandthepoliticalaspectofour
country.TheAmericanDreamisnolongerintheeyesofAmericanswhohavelosttheirfaith
withthecomingandgoingoftheGreatDepression,followedbytherecession.EvenOccupy
WallStreetisarepresentationofhowthecorruptionwillnotendforalongtime.Inoneofthe
songsfeaturedonhisalbum,
JackofAllTrades
,hedescribesacountrywherethebanker

mangrowsfat,theworkingmangrowsthin/Itsallhappenedbefore,anditllhappenagain.
ThischillingstatementshowstherealdifferencebetweenAmericastop1%overflowingwith
moneyandpower,andthemiddleclassworkingmanstrugglingeverydayjusttoputfoodon
thetable.
SpringsteensalbumcameaboutthroughtheimpactthatOccupyWallStreethadupon
ourcountryfromgenerationsofangryAmericansstillrecoveringfromtheimpactsthatthe
GreatDepressionfollowedbytheGreat
Recessionhadonoureconomy.Fordecades,
thebluecollarworkingclassAmericanshave
beenstrugglingtomakealivingsincethe
devastatingimpactoftheGreatDepression.
Springsteenisatrueportrayalofanangry
Americanwhoissickandtiredofstandingbywhilethemiddleclasssuffersbotheconomically
andsocially,whilethewealthy1%ofournationcontrolsthemajorityofthemoneywithouta
careintheworld.