Warning: This is going to be a rant. Probably my biggest rant on my blog to date. And it will be liberal. And I will offend. But it's my blog - and a girl is going to say what she wants on her blog. Consider yourself warned.
The last few weeks have really made me take a step back and look at our country. It seems that every day we get horrible news. Wars, shootings, economies in peril, draught, fires - you get the idea. Every now and then we get what I would consider some good news and people still manage to turn good things into very bad things. You want to feel sorry about the state of the world? Read news story comment boards. Go ahead. It'll make you want to punch humanity in the face. After reading some awful, racist, bigoted comments I have come to the conclusion that we are selfish. Americans are selfish. Very very selfish.
Lets talk about shootings for a minute. The movie theater shooting was terrible. I can't remember the last time I burst into tears when I heard the news. It hit really close to home to me. I've been to countless midnight shows, I had friends at a midnight showing of Batman. This could have happened to me. Thankfully it didn't. Lets talk about the shooting that happened yesterday too. The shooting at the Sikh Temple - horrible! How many of you didn't even hear it on the news? And if you did hear it - was it even the "top story"? I bet not. You didn't hear about it because it wasn't at a Christian church, it was a Sikh Temple. If you are like me you aren't even sure what the Sikh's believe. So I did my part and researched a bit today. Turns out it is a beautiful religion. A religion that teaches "to respect all other religions and that one should defend the rights of not just one's own religion but the religion and faith of others as a human right. At the end of every Sikh prayer is a supplication for the welfare of all of humanity." Yet why isn't this on the news? 6 people were killed while worshipping and it's a story that has largely fallen by the wayside. These horrible tragedy's could start a serious discussion about gun control in our country. Now before you get all NRA on me - let me say that even those that have guns and love their guns MUST see that guns are a problem. I understand that these situations are acts of violence from mentally ill people -I get that. I'm not saying we have to take away all the guns (but damn would I love it if it did happen) but lets at least consider ways to help the problem. Nope. Doesn't happen. Because the NRA is the most powerful lobbying group in Washington and they won't let a damn thing happen. We are selfish. "Don't touch my guns!" is more important than, "Lets talk about ways in which I can keep my guns but while coming up with some real solutions to make guns less harmful to our society. Democrats and republicans can not have a civil discussion about guns. Where can we meet in the middle?
Now lets talk about the economy. It's a presidential election year. I know that when the jobs report is released each month that the Republicans are just hoping and praying that the job numbers stay low- that way Obama has less of a chance of being reelected. I am not saying the Democrats wouldn't be thinking the exact same thing if a Republican happened to be in office. Who cares about the American people!? I just want my candidate to win! Even if it means that families and people are struggling. Whatever happened to doing something for the common good!? Our country is in a hell of a lot of debt. You know what I think? Raise my freaking taxes! Seth and I make a great living. Raise our taxes! I would happily pay more out of my paycheck to help our country get out of this slump. I think anyone that makes a decent living should have their taxes raised. I think the rich SHOULD pay more. You know why? Because they can. Because they have big beautiful homes, steady jobs, several cars, food to last for months, and the ability to go on vacations. Is it fair? No, it isn't. But you have better lives so maybe you can take a hit for the team. What do you say? Raise my taxes. Whatever happened to "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."? Instead all I hear is, "Stay out of my business! I'm not paying money to help pay for lazy people/pay for programs from the dems/republicans!" You know what - eff off. We all benefit from national defense, clean water, social security, highways, etc. You think taxes are so bad - try taking away all of those great services you rely on. Then see how much you like taxes. When did taxes become such a horrible thing?
Healthcare is next. Oh boy brace yourselves. I am so happy that the Affordable Care Act was upheld by the Supreme Court. So happy. What a great step. Before you get your panties in a twist please take a minute and take this quiz to see how much you REALLY know about the act:
http://healthreform.kff.org/quizzes/health-reform-quiz.aspx
Working at Make-A-Wish made me see first hand how screwed up our health care is in this countries. Countless families lost everything they had because their child got sick. People that need health insurance the most couldn't get it. People like my dad who are self-employed and work their asses off can't afford decent plans. Not only is it hard to afford when self-employed but my sister had cancer 10 years ago and therefore has a preexisting condition so they can't get decent coverage. People like my brother who need it can't get it. My brother will continue going to the emergency room when he has issues and not pay his bills. So guess who is paying for it? You are. I am.
I read the other day that part of the plan provided free preventative services for women - services such as mammograms, screenings for cervical cancer, prenatal care, and other services – is covered with no cost sharing for new health plans. So I think - wow that's fantastic! How can people possibly complain about this? Oh lovely Americans we found a way. "Why are women covered and not men!?" "I'm not going to pay for women to get birth control - now they can sleep around all they want!"
WHAT?! Are you freaking kidding me? How about this - how about we catch breast cancer, or cervical cancer early. How about we prevent it so that your wife/mother/daughter has a better chance of beating it if they do catch it. Argh. People!
Is the Affordable Care Act going to work? Only time will tell. Will it help? Only time will tell. My plea is just to give it a freaking chance. Obama didn't put forth this bill to ruin our country. He didn't start this to ruin our healthcare system. It's his attempt to fix it. And I am damn proud of him for passing it. We are the "greatest country in the world" but we leave countless citizens in horrible situations because we don't want "socialized medicine". I'm lucky because I work for a University that offers tremendous coverage. That isn't going to change. I'm lucky that I have worked for nonprofits that tightened their belts in order to cover me as an employee. I have always been lucky. Many people aren't so lucky. Again, raise my taxes. If that means that a family won't lose their house because their kid gets a brain tumor- than it's worth every penny to me. Why oh why are we so selfish? Why can't we help each other? What happened to doing something for the common good?!
This blog is getting long - so one more topic: air quality. People you have got to be blind to not see how terrible our air is. Why can't we do small things to fix it? Why is it SUCH a big deal to carpool, or not idle your damn car while waiting to pick your kids up from dance? "It's too hot/cold outside for me to turn off my car!" Boo-hoo. Be cold for 2 minutes of your comfortable lives. Something has got to change. Trust me, being cold in your car while waiting to make your bank deposit is a lot more comfortable than lung cancer. Why can't we do more to make this better? Why can't the Utah legislature pass a single bill that will fight this? It's just mind-numbing.
I'm not claiming to be perfect. I know I am selfish. But I'm trying to be more aware. I'm trying to make an effort to do what's best for others. Imagine how wonderful our country could be if we just stopped being selfish, if we stopped the partisan bickering, if we stopped thinking of ourselves first. Perhaps we could really live up to the idea that America is the "greatest country." It's a great country - no doubt. But right now I have a hard time thinking it's the greatest. I see a lot of hate, violence and fear. We can be wonderful but not if we continue on this path of "me me me". We have to put ourselves aside sometimes.
Rant over. You can stop "following" my blog if this was too much. I get it.
Becky, I absolutely loved this post! A big AMEN to everything you said.
ReplyDeletePreach, sista! I want to copy and paste all this directly onto my own blog. I won't, cuz that would be selfish plagiarism, but your articulate writing makes me want to. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to become more informed about different issues. I respect that we all have different opinions. My problem with the welfare program is seeing how badly it is abused. We know so many people who lived on the government during graduate school- and it was disappointing to see them buying new cars, going out to eat every weekend, and getting their nails done- all while being on wic, food stamps, state health care and living in government paid-for housing. They were trying to have as many of their babies as they could during school so they wouldn't have to pay for them. It was so disappointing. We were eligible for every program, but we knew we could make it without government assistance. We learned a lot from that experience and learned to make sacrifices and live on a budget. So it's hard for me to not look at the programs with some cynicism. I am glad they are there for the people who truly need them, but I wish they weren't so abused.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I promise I will continue to turn off my engine when I'm picking up and dropping kids off at school. :)
P.S.S. anonymous comments should be banned- people get so nasty when they can hide behind the internet. I try to avoid comment boards, they bring out the worst in people.
Cammy - That is awful and I can see how you are jaded. It's unfortunate that people do take advantage of the system. Again, we are selfish selfish people. Hopefully they all make enough money now that we can raise taxes so they can pay more! :) However I do believe that the majority of people that receive assistance need it. As long as the majority of people need it then I believe we should provide it.
DeleteBecky I am a friend of Meili's and enjoy reading your blog since it is linked to hers. I love this post and agree with you completely on these issues. We have become a selfish society and it makes me very sad and angry.
ReplyDeleteI hope you don't mind me stalking your blog. :)
Glad to have you reading - stalk away. :)
DeleteI, the random blog link follower (friend of a friend of a friend) agree with you--but only 95%. Here's why:
ReplyDeleteYes we need to control our guns, but right now the controls in place only affect the law abiding citizens. Yes it all looks good on paper, but if people want to illegally acquire and illegally use guns they will do so without any regard for the people following the laws. Car insurance & a valid driver's license are required to operate a car, but there are plenty of people who give the big fat bird to the law and screw all of us when they cause accidents. Same goes for the asinine liquor laws in Utah. They're 'supposed' to prevent DUI's (along with a million other big brother attempts I won't go into), yet there are still dozens every weekend. The laws only affect the people who follow them. So although I agree with you I also agree with the 'gun-toters' when they say at the end of the day the laws will only affect them and not the people they were intended to. People kill people with their cars, or when they are irresponsible when they drink but are we going to take those away from everyone? Nope.
I have nothing to argue on the tax issue because I agree. If you make more you should pay more. But on the flip side government assistance should not be free. It should only be there to make up the difference of what you can not do on your own, and there needs to be a limit. Nothing frustrates me more than people who expect something for nothing. If the people on welfare are doing better than those who are busting their asses and still falling short there's a problem. The system now encourages you to do the bare minimum-it's all or nothing, so people do nothing because they can't get by without it. How is that beneficial-to the recipients of help and those who are giving it? I would also go one step further and cut the wages of our government leaders as well as their kick-backs once they're out of term. There is no reason we continue to pay these people as if they were still doing the job they are no longer doing. Any good businessman would tell you you start cuts at the top, not the bottom. That's where the most good is done in the fastest way possible.
I agree with you on healthcare-for the most part. I don't like feeling like I don't have a choice, but the pros outweigh the cons on this one. I am 110% for women's care. If these morons would actually DO their homework they are caring for our futures as women, not encouraging promiscuity (someone TOTALLY used that as an argument against it once.)The only thing I don't like about 'socialized medicine' is it has the potential to get bigger than the people providing it. Canada is a great example. Some people have to wait months to see a dr because the system is so inundated. IMO that's when the system fails.
Utah is trying to pass a no-idle law, FYI. If it makes it through is anyone's guess though...
Thanks for all the input. HEre are a couple of responses:
Delete1. Just because people take advantage and don't follow rules doesn't mean rules shouldn't be established. Also I think the WORST arguement for gun control is "People kill other people with cars!" True. But a car wasn't made as a weapon. I can kill someone with just about anything. I could kill someone with a pencil. But a pencil wasn't made as a weapon. Guns are made to kill.
2. I agree - cut their wages! Another thing that infuriates me is that the people that got us into this economic mess are still making $1 million bonuses at the end of the year. It's disgusting.
3. I think the long waiting period is an easy target for being afraid of socialized medicine. However I have never actually heard that from people in Canada/Sweden/England. In fact, the Brits love their national health care system so much that they highlighted it during the olympics. :) Maybe it will be an issue. I just see it as an all round good thing for our economy. More demand = more jobs = more money into the economy.
As someone who has benefitted from socialized medicine in our country (being eligible and receiving Medicaid benefits, in addition to our private insurance, for a child who was hospitalized for 140 days, and racked up over a million dollars in medical bills), I am forever grateful for the government and the social programs. We truly would have been finically ruined without them. However, I am discouraged that everyone doesn't get these benefits or that people who accept them are seen as lazy or taking advantage of the system. I would gladly pay more taxes to benefit the greater whole.
ReplyDeleteWow - what a relief for you. I'm so sorry about your child. My dad estimates that he has easily paid out of pocked $1 million for my sister's cancer over the past decade. Out of pocket! Isn't that insane!? He's a freaking painting contractor. Now he is so poor he can't afford to even buy flowers to plant in his yard (one of his favorite things in the world)
DeleteSee, your sister should have recieved the same benefits we did. It is ridiculous and so unfair. No one plans to get sick. We need socialized medicine. It works. Clearly. I have seen it work right here in our country.
Delete