As some of you know, I am hosting an exchange student again this year. It's been an up and down thing, just like caring for any child. With this responsibility comes the usual going to sporting events that the child is participating in, checking on homework and friends and also, going to parent teacher conferences.
This is the second year I have had the chance to accompany an exchange student to these meetings and I will admit, my feelings on the subject are mixed. Tonight however, I reached a new limit for what I will simply call "America bashing".
I walked in to a meeting with an English teacher to pleasantly find that she was an Australian national teaching here. I was very excited, as my husband spent a couple of years in that country and has such fond memories of that place. I expected a fun conversation because it was obvious that she liked my exchange student but an angry fire was quickly lit within as she began passive aggressively bashing my country.
Within one minute of being in her class room she informed me, with a large smile, that she found that her foreign students were such a delight because well, they seem to have a greater work ethic than the other students. In fact, in some classes, if there is a section regarding the homeland of a foreign student she will simply refer the instruction of that section to that student because well, foreigners are better at telling the truth about the condition of America and she likes to have her American student's eyes opened.
She mentioned that her retirement was coming up in a few weeks and she would be traveling to her homeland to visit family and she may not be back because in this country, how can you count on anyone to take care of you when you are old? Really, Australians and Europeans have been socialistic for a long time and they do quite well.
(I'm taking a moment here to calm myself)
In the end I said it was a good idea that she was going back to Australia.
For the past few years I have taken a sabbatical from politics. I have avoided any conversations about what I think about my country and it's leaders. I have grown tired of those in office promising to listen and then driving the people of this country over a cliff. I have listened with respect when my exchange student extols the virtues of socialism, refers to the superiority of other countries' education systems and implies that those of faith are weak minded. If I wanted to be European, I'd move to Europe. If I wanted to sell some of my rights so that someone else will take care of me, I'd move to any of a plethora of countries who offer that option. I LOVE AMERICA! I AM AN AMERICAN! I believe in taking care of yourself, helping those you can when they need it and encouraging the good things in society to grow for the betterment of that society. I want THAT America back. Enough is enough, it's time to get active again but this time, if a candidate wants my vote, they have a lot of convincing to do.
7 comments:
I hear ya.
In regards to exchange students and apparently teachers; if you don't like America, why come here? Go home.
I am not siding by any meens with that woman but I do think that many children have a certin lax regaurding education. The idea that they are intitaled to something that should be worked for by others is abundant. Overworked family life and guilt felt by many mom's and dad's is feeding an upcoming lazy generation.
I was just a scouting thing with Braden and cried as I saw all the scouts carry around our flag. Braden asked me why I was crying and I said that I am so glad to live where we can participate in free and communtiy events that instill value to who we are. I also am PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN!!!!! Thank GOD for this country!!!
I would hope that not like me, you will never get to be an elderly person, who cannot work due to age and ailment, who cannot afford to pay for medical services (since there is no income) and might not have any children, or they either do have the MONEY to assist, or simply do not care, and for the most part cannot heat his house in winter. i would say that there is something to be learned from other more socially developed places in the world.
free healthcare for all? what a silly notion.
Kri,
I found your comment a little hard to understand but from what I gather, you feel strongly about the health care issue. I do not know your circumstances personally but I will share my opinion on the matter.
Where I agree with you is that everyone should have the right to effective health care. Where you and I probably differ is in the manner which we feel our countries should get there.
What I find troubling about the current path of the United States is the level of control which our government seeks to wield. I believe the saying goes "A government big enough to give you everything you want is also big enough to take everything you have."
My family too, has fallen on hard times this past year. I am not elderly but my children are small and we are a one income household. We are self employed and therefor responsible for our own health care coverage. I know it's expensive!
Perhaps my ideological side comes to the foreground when I choose the path I do on such issues and when I vote the way I do but I feel that every person is responsible for their own welfare. Now, I am not so naive to think that everyone can provide what they need in every circumstance and that is where I feel social programs can help. The idea is to lessen the number of people dependent of such programs rather than create nationwide dependence.
I believe that those who qualify should receive as much help as they need. But we have seen in several instances where societies choose to give ultimate control to their leaders only to find that promised programs get log jammed with red tape bureaucracy and overspending which cripples the original idea/program in the end.
Many "other developed countries" have found gross difficulties in their implementation of universal social programs. Even though such programs begin with good intentions and even successful results they are nigh unto impossible to sustain long term. I for one do not wish to see upwards of 70% of my income taken from me in order to feed such ineffectiveness. Such a scenario is likely and projected in the "developed countries" to which you refer. Ultimately, we could find ourselves wishing our health care coverage were smaller so we could afford food. Then what?
While I do not have detailed solutions to the problems our country is facing, I am smart enough to know that the current proposed solution is not a good one. Unfortunately, we are stuck in a broken cycle of families who cannot/will not take responsibility for their own and feel that the only way is for a government "bailout". We can all see how that's working out for us.
In your case, I would suggest using what social programs are available to you at this time; medicare, welfare and unemployment. It's all comes from the same source many feel will cure what ails us.
This is a much larger topic that I have space for here but sum it up, I believe in democracy not socialism and universal healthcare puts us on a very slippery slope.
i earn minimum wages, and can bearly afford my rent and food. i cannot pay for health insurance because my employer refuses to help me with it. i have no children and and pay little tax yet i cannot afford to go to a doctor. so before i can have my income consumed by 70% of taxes i must first have an income right?
but thats another story. as for the taxes and bailouts, it seems as though you might benefit with reading about compound interest, shock doctrine and about other countries in the world with stable social and economical systems.
this country's government is bailing out poeple who already have lots of money, so that they can spend all the bailout money all over again (EG - GM FORD and so on). perhaps bailing out american society before bailing out its very few and rich would be a better strategy before all this government control rhetoric.
the US has the highest gap between rich and poor in the whole wide world, only 12% are african american but they account for 50% of poor poeple (and 50% of the poeple in jail) any idea how that happened? health care, government regulation and laws are all important things, out social obligation is not to the all mighty $ but to the rest of us humans.
i am sure you will find poeple in swizerland have much more control over their government politics and life yet they have extremely strong social systems, free health care and education (and higher education) unions and one of the lowest federal tax rates in the world and other things that come with advanced social behavior (though they only granted voting rights to women after 1970 - they never had slaves).
i have a feeling you have no idea about what i am talking about, no projections (like 70% tax? where do they have that....???) or feelings, only facts. facts are important to make a good argument. its not a bad idea to have the facts right either.
and though i mentioned a bunch of numbers they mean nothing since they can in turn be analyzed in a completely traverse way so just think about the greater questions:
do we all have equal chances to be where YOU are? does being supported by society make one less of person willing to fend for him self?
does having a society NOT based on the accumulation of wealth sound like a bad thing to you? and why?
the blog wount accept my comment to you as its too long.
for now all i can tell you is
i earn minimum wages, and can bearly afford my rent and food. i cannot pay for health insurance because my employer refuses to help me with it. i have no children and and pay little tax yet i cannot afford to go to a doctor. so before i can have my income consumed by 70% of taxes i must first have an income right?
the US has the highest gap between rich and poor in the whole wide world, only 12% are african american but they account for 50% of poor poeple (and 50% of the poeple in jail) any idea how that happened? health care, government regulation and laws are all important things, out social obligation is not to the all mighty $ but to the rest of us humans.
i am sure you will find poeple in swizerland have much more control over their government politics and life yet they have extremely strong social systems, free health care and education (and higher education) unions and one of the lowest federal tax rates in the world and other things that come with advanced social behavior (though they only granted voting rights to women after 1970 - they never had slaves).
no projections (like 70% tax? where do they have that....???) or feelings, only facts. facts are important to make a good argument. its not a bad idea to have the facts right either.
do we all have equal chances to be where YOU are? does being supported by society make one less of person willing to fend for him self?
does having a society NOT based on the accumulation of wealth sound like a bad thing to you? and why?
Kri,
I agree with you about "facts" making a good argument. My reference to the 70% taxes is a result of my investigation of Denmark, a socialist country whose current social system, upon review of economists, is estimated to reach a 70% tax burden in the coming decades.
I would take issue with your statement that America has the biggest gap between it's rich and it's poor. That is simply not so. Many countries have far more poverty stricken segments of society than does ours. I would point out India as a stark example.
I will agree with you though that the trough is widening.
I think you misunderstood my take on the bailouts, a point I believe I didn't really address, I too disagree with who the government "bailed out". You are right, rich people (bankers and brokers) made out like bandits while many who were struck hardest, like yourself, were left holding a huge debt and no way to pay for it.
Believe me, I understand compound interest. I understand that my children will pay for this bailout for many, many years. That's only if we get a handle on the spending now. My grandchildren and great grandchildren will pay for it as well should we continue on this path.
This argument from so many US citizens that Europe has things figured out is deeply disturbing to me. You will find unhappy segments of socialistic societies as well. France among them. Just recently (last year) segments of that country rioted citing injustice and inequality for their reasons for doing so. And even if Switzerland is as stunning an example as you say, I dare not base the future of my country on the result of one tiny country succeeding where SO MANY OTHERS did not!
I agree that there are things we can learn from other countries and their modes of governments however, socialism is not one of them. The current health care bill is nothing more than that. I'm not debating the importance of caring for the poor! Make no mistake. I am saying that this is not the way. I wonder at those who feel like all the problems in society should be resolved or even can be resolved by the government!
You take a great leap assuming you know where I am. You know nothing about me as I know nothing about your situation other than what you have said. Please do not assume that because I am against socialized medicine that I am in any way well off or without economic difficulty. I am ready to do what I have to be self sufficient AND live in a democracy. If that means going without, so be it.
I'm sure you and I could go on and on about this and never come to an understanding. I would simply say we will need to agree to disagree. After all, that is the beauty of the United States of America!
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