This week

The draft, prices, and the United States: three young men.

Reported by Maceo · Philadelphia · 3 min

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Answers What do you think of the United States? and If you could ask people around the world one question, what would you ask them? · see how other cities answered →

Three young men in Philadelphia, Jake, Will and Tay, are asked what they think about the United States, the question of the week. The first answer is about being drafted. “With Trump, I guess, what he’s doing to people like our age, I guess going to the military or something like that, I feel like that’s not good.” He is not against service, he says; it is the choice being taken away: “if you want to go to the military, you should go to the military, but other people, they got other careers or pathways they want to do.”

The second is about money. “He’s upping prices on everything, I feel as though that’s bad just because people that don’t really have it or are struggling, he’s making it more worse for people to live.” And: “he’s not giving back nothing to the people, nothing and I feel as though that’s just not cool.”

Asked about Philadelphia itself, the verdict is split. “It’s 50-50. It’s like, I like it, but it’s also bad here. It’s not the safest place.” And the question one of them would put to the world: “What do you aspire to be? Like, what do you really want to get out of life?”

Filmed by Maceo for We Them Media. The transcript below is from the original audio.

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Transcript

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Who speaks, by their own introduction on the tape: Maceo at 0:02. Transcribed from the original audio and corrected for names. Speaker letters mark turns, not names. Search every transcript →

These are the speaker’s own words. We have not checked their claims.

0:00MaceoY’all ready? So this is for We Them Media, and I’m Maceo. What’s your name?

0:05BJake.

0:07CJake.

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0:09DI hear.

0:10CWill,

0:11Maceookay. And the question for this week is, what do you think about the United States? Whatever comes to mind. You could say, like, stream of consciousness.

0:19DI feel like it’s bad. I feel like with Trump, I guess, what he’s doing to people like our age, I guess going to the military or something like that, I feel like that’s not good. That’s back for us.

0:31MaceoWhy is that?

0:32DBecause I feel like, I don’t know, certain people, I feel like, I don’t know. I feel like if you want to go to the military, you should go to the military, but other people, they got other careers or pathways they want to do, so that’s just taking away from other people, I feel like, what they want to do.

0:48MaceoSo you feel like it’s distracting people?

0:50DNot distracting people, but it’s just like, that’s like me saying I want to go hoop or something. Like, and I want to go achieve that goal. I can’t do that now because I might have to stop that because of the work.

1:00CAre you in the military?

1:01MaceoI’m in the military. But you’re saying if you were in the military?

1:05DNo, I’m saying if I was to get drafted in the military.

1:07MaceoOh, so you’re worried about being drafted specifically? Okay, that makes sense. That makes sense. How about you? Are you right, you said?

1:13EI think.

1:13MaceoYour name was Tay?

1:15EYeah. I think the money, I feel like he’s upping prices on everything, I feel as though that’s bad just because people that don’t really have it or are struggling, he’s making it more worse for people to live and he’s breaking down places, Trump is breaking down a lot of places and he’s not even helping nobody, he’s not giving back nothing to the people, nothing and I feel as though that’s just not cool, I feel as though he’s ruining the whole USA.

1:44MaceoOkay, I mean, that’s valid. What about you?

1:47CEverything he said.

1:47MaceoYou gotta say, you gotta add something, add something.

1:49BEverything he said.

1:50MaceoOkay, but add something, add something.

1:51BI don’t know what to add, everything he said.

1:54MaceoWhat do you think about Philadelphia?

1:55BPhiladelphia is, it’s like, I don’t know, it’s 50-50. It’s like, I like it, but it’s also bad here. It’s not the safest place. So, you know.

2:11MaceoOkay, if you could ask people around the world one question, what would you ask them?

2:14BOne question? Yeah One question, I don’t know Pick anything,

2:30Maceojust pick whatever comes to mind, like 3, 2, 1 What

2:32Bdo you aspire to be? Like, what do you really want to get out of life? Okay, that’s a good question

2:36MaceoThat’s what I would ask

2:39COkay

That was the whole tape.

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