Review of Stakes is High: Life After the American Dream by Mychal Denzel Smith
Bold Type Books, 2020
I missed this collection of essays when it came out a few years ago, though I thoroughly enjoyed Smith’s first set, Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching. I always hate to use a verb like enjoyed when I talk about Smith’s work, though. He’s thought-provoking and challenging, so saying that one enjoys his work is akin to saying that one enjoys a trip to the dentist that shows the rot that has been developing unnoticed for years. Smith points out the rot in the U.S. solely so we can get the work done to repair the damage.
This collection begins in 2016 and ends just as the Coronavirus pandemic is beginning (he only references it at the end, when he was revising the book, he says). Not surprisingly, he talks a good deal about Trump and what Trump represents. However, he wants to be clear that Trump isn’t the problem; Trump is the symptom, and the problem has always been present in the U.S. Trump simply gave white supremacy, misogyny, homo- and transphobia, and the wide gap between socioeconomic classes the freedom to express themselves freely, but all of those and more have been present in the U.S. since before the Revolutionary War.
He centers these essays around the idea of the American Dream, the if one works hard and plays by the rules, they will find social and economic success. Of course, that dream has never been true for most people in this country, and Smith exposes how systems actively prevent those people from achieving such a dream. In the first essay, “Delusions,” he explores the idea of progress in the U.S., pointing out how little has actually occurred, while the second essay, “Justice,” critiques capitalism and the widening wealth gap.
“Accountability” points out the continuing problem of gentrification, along with misogyny, showing how those of us who benefit from either of those stand by and say nothing. The final essay, “Freedom,” imagines a world where Shirley Chisolm could have won the 1972 Presidential race, but, as Smith reminds readers, a country that would have elected her wouldn’t have needed her to run. He also laces in his family history, showing how his ancestors and he have moved to various parts of the country to look for freedom. It’s not a spoiler to say none of them have ever found it.
In the end, he wonders if his words make a difference, though, as a writer, it’s what he knows to do. He ends the collection by writing, “I am only here to convince you of the necessity of such a change and urge you to set aside the fear of loss in favor of the imagination of our next world. Imagining where we want to go teaches us how to get there. No one ever said it would be simply, only that it is possible.” For the sake of our country, I hope he’s right.
Bold Type Books, 2020
I missed this collection of essays when it came out a few years ago, though I thoroughly enjoyed Smith’s first set, Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching. I always hate to use a verb like enjoyed when I talk about Smith’s work, though. He’s thought-provoking and challenging, so saying that one enjoys his work is akin to saying that one enjoys a trip to the dentist that shows the rot that has been developing unnoticed for years. Smith points out the rot in the U.S. solely so we can get the work done to repair the damage.
This collection begins in 2016 and ends just as the Coronavirus pandemic is beginning (he only references it at the end, when he was revising the book, he says). Not surprisingly, he talks a good deal about Trump and what Trump represents. However, he wants to be clear that Trump isn’t the problem; Trump is the symptom, and the problem has always been present in the U.S. Trump simply gave white supremacy, misogyny, homo- and transphobia, and the wide gap between socioeconomic classes the freedom to express themselves freely, but all of those and more have been present in the U.S. since before the Revolutionary War.
He centers these essays around the idea of the American Dream, the if one works hard and plays by the rules, they will find social and economic success. Of course, that dream has never been true for most people in this country, and Smith exposes how systems actively prevent those people from achieving such a dream. In the first essay, “Delusions,” he explores the idea of progress in the U.S., pointing out how little has actually occurred, while the second essay, “Justice,” critiques capitalism and the widening wealth gap.
“Accountability” points out the continuing problem of gentrification, along with misogyny, showing how those of us who benefit from either of those stand by and say nothing. The final essay, “Freedom,” imagines a world where Shirley Chisolm could have won the 1972 Presidential race, but, as Smith reminds readers, a country that would have elected her wouldn’t have needed her to run. He also laces in his family history, showing how his ancestors and he have moved to various parts of the country to look for freedom. It’s not a spoiler to say none of them have ever found it.
In the end, he wonders if his words make a difference, though, as a writer, it’s what he knows to do. He ends the collection by writing, “I am only here to convince you of the necessity of such a change and urge you to set aside the fear of loss in favor of the imagination of our next world. Imagining where we want to go teaches us how to get there. No one ever said it would be simply, only that it is possible.” For the sake of our country, I hope he’s right.