Punished for being an American

[RandySF]

I have been to Asia and Europe. I've know people from every corner and continent and the only place I feel like we are treated poorly for being Americans is right here in America.

If you show up to exercise your right to vote, you are treated like a criminal until you can somehow prove you exist. If you ever HAVE been a criminal, forget about voting. If you get sick, Kaiser Permanente will either try to keep you out of the doctor's office or schedule you so far into the future, you may be well before the day arrives. If you actually get to go in, they will find some way to charge you for as much as they can. Your government will urge you to buy an American car, but they won't tell you that the American manufacturer designed your vehicle for obsolescence. But if you ask for a car that is built to last, gets good mileage and doesn't pollute too badly, you are a foreign car-loving traitor.

If you ask for a government that actually functions, you will get called a socialist. But if you value the freedoms spelled out in the Constitution and Bill of Rights, you are an ACLU liberal (unless of course to single out the right to bear arms). If you live in the city, you're some alien minority. If you live in a rural area, you're an ignorant redneck (except in Vermont you're some collective farm-living socialist).

If you look for a good job that pays well and provides that health insurance plan that makes you wait a week to see a doctor, you're goals are set to high. If you want a job that does not require a college degree and provides at least health care, you're lazy and, yes, a socialist. If you want more than one kid, you're a breeder who wants to leech from the system. If you want no kids, or just one, you are selfish and have something against families.

Welcome to America in the year 2009. It's the only place where I feel I have to be punished for being an American.

[harun]

1. It wears a person out doesn't it?

I blame it on the Corporate Media and the sheeple who still devour the propaganda they shovel them.

[krabigirl]

2. It sucks, but I've felt like this long before 2009.

[samplegirl]

3. I'm recommending this because it is so

true. You hit the nail on the head.

[glitch]

4. I knew you were going to say "in America" it's blatantly obvious to those of us living here

those of us paying attention, that is. K & R, in sadness.

[bobbolink]

5. What you're describing is people who always find something to criticize.

And that is just as true of "progressives" as it is of neocons.

Sadly. :(

[Obamanaut]

6. Just imagine how the people who fled here from the killing fields

of Cambodia, or the murders in Rwanda and/or Darfur must feel also.

There isn't that much coverage of the ethnic cleansing going on in America, or children killing children, or forced labor in diamond mines - maybe I missed it. That was sarcasm, you know.

unrec for self pity

[paulsby]

7. what complete rubbish

first of all, on the voting thang? do you have any idea of how many other countries require ID to vote? you act like this is some sort of uniquely american travesty. do the research.

second of all, this... "If you look for a good job that pays well and provides that health insurance plan that makes you wait a week to see a doctor, you're goals are set to high."

no, they aren't. i got one of these jobs. so did my wife. so does my brother. so does my father. etc. and fwiw, i got injured on the 18th. went to urgent care on the 19th (because i decided to sleep on it) and got in to see a doctor within 20 minutes. on monday, i called at 10 am, and was able to get in to my primary care doctor's appointment by 2 pm. at 245 pm i was DONE and he had referred me to an MRI, which i got scheduled for 3:15 pm. iow, travel time. then, i got the MRI results that NIGHT. and had an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon TWO DAYS LATER. i'm scheduled for surgery within a week.

i posted on this in another post a little bit ago.

your entire post is a big whine.


and fwiw, i haven't been to asia. but i've been to europe and all over central america (nicaragua, panama, costa rica). so, i have similar experience. we don't have it so terribly. we have it pretty frigging well here. so well that people routinely swarm here (legally and illegally). and yet we treat our citizens SO badly. lol

i'm sorry, but i just think your post is ridiculous.

[Cid_B]

8. +1

In an amazing coincidence my mother, father and brother in law all have that same sort of job.

Also, the idea that you should have to show who you are to vote is not a ridiculous idea btw...

[paulsby]

10. i agree

fwiw, i support nationalized health care, but the idea that the system sucks for the insured is constantly overplayed here. NOBODY ever posts a positive insurance story. people feel that if insurance companies are EVERY portrayed accurately , that the entire argument for nationalized health care will fail. i can be FOR nationalized health care and still look at both the bad AND the good.

i look at the voter id thing this way. first of all, i think state id's should be free. that's a given. driver's licenses, no. but state id's absolutely. iow, if you don't have a driver's license as id, the state should offer a FREE id to vote. as i undestand it, many do, and/.or this is tied in with id required laws proposed.

every person who commits voter fraud (which is much easier if you don't have to provide ID) DISENFRANCHISES legitimate voters.

so, it's a tradeoff. we could let anybody vote without any checks. heck, we could bring back the mayor daley in chicago days (vote early and vote often) and yes that would be SO convenient. but it's not justice.

i can just not grok the idea that god forbid requiring people to identify themselves with an id for voting is a bad thing

[Obamanaut]

11. Good post. I agree, and you said it better than I did. NT

[glowing]

13. Glad you got yours.. many don't have the luxury.

[el_bryanto]

14. Ah - so you would argue he's living in some kind of bubble

As part of a protected bourgeoisie he's been narcotosized by the moderate luxaries and is unable to see how much our nation resembles a dystopian nightmare?

Or am I reading too much into your one word response? Maybe you just think he's a selfish bastard?

Bryant

[glowing]

17. Seems to me that the response was over the top in defence of America

based on what the poster sees around their immediate selves. For many, many people, it isn't so easy.. and I live in an area that, unless emergency, it does take normally 2 to 4 weeks to see my Doc.

[el_bryanto]

19. So the Bubble theory?

Was the initial attack on America over the top, or was that an accurate representation of what America is all about?

Bryant

[glowing]

22. No, not all of it.. but some of the frustrations are there. Many many people

spend a lot of time complaining and posting about diff. issues highlighted.. they just don't start the heading of America in a negative connotation.. AND I believe that's what we need to examine. America is not the best country in the world for healthcare, social services, education... we have a military that can bomb the shit out of other people and a lot of rich people who buy the type of country they wish to live in.. other than that.. we are not number 1 by far.. and realizing that as a nation, we will be able to fix the wrongs and hopefully right the sinking ship.

[paulsby]

15. i never claimed otherwise

so not exactly sure how this is relevant

[glowing]

18. The post seemed bitter. the original poster was explaining the up is down

down is up types of loopholes that are presented in everyday life. AND of course you will have that. An environmentalist will say to have little to no kids.. But if you are an independent woman and don't want children, you are selfish. Depending on where you live, doc. care is very different. AND also ins. as a benefit from work is limited in many areas.. and if you work for a small employer, like myself, its non-existent... I'm married to my ins. policy. However, I work with a girl who has brain tumors.. non-threatening... but they do change at times, and radiation and pain medicine is a must. She cannot buy her own insurance at all.. no one would take her... she's not poor enough for medicare; nor old enough.. and her parents are footing the bill out of their retirement funds.

[paulsby]

21. lol. hilarious

MY post seemed bitter. i wasn't the one whinging "america sucks" over and over with a bunch of contrived rubbish.

i'm not bitter at all. here's the difference. despite it's warts, i frigging dig my country. love it. i've traveled extensively, but i love to come home to the USA. it's a great country. i celebrate our uniqueness, and our greatness. i'm not afraid to admit that.

for the 100th time, i support nationalized health care. it doesn't therefore follow that the mythology that getting a job with decent pay and decent insurance is "aiming too high". it's not.

[cali]

9. hmm. when I go to vote, I don't need ID. And I'm invariably welcomed

oh, and criminals- ALL criminals in my state, can vote. Yes, I mean those incarcerated. I drive a Suburu. I've never been accused by anyone of being a "foreign car traitor". My local government does function well. One of my U.S. Senators IS a socialist. My local reps are flat out terrific. And no one runs around calling us "farm living socialists". Yes, I live in Vermont.

Your post is so full of crap it's laughable. There are a lot of things wrong with this country and with our government, but your post is a parody.

[glowing]

16. You live in VT.. People outside of VT, if they even know where the state is

located, do think of it as a liberal elite state.. and Farmers aren't real farmers.. though I know the diff. because I lived there and worked on my grandpa's farm.. and later on hayed in the summer. You are correct about not needing an id card, because of the progressive nature and small town, everyone knows everyone type of deal. There's only one actual city; and that's burlington. You probably have a town hall meeting where you decide local issues for the year. VT politics is completely diff. than most of the country in its direct action and participation. I was shocked that the rest of the states didn't function in a similar manner.. but realize it would be impossible in a large city to create a townhall atmosphere... but it does lead to non-participation and crap policies by paid off politicians.

[Bill McBlueState]

20. Yep, Vermont is pretty special

but hardly representative of the US.

[Mopar151]

23. I love VT

and live in NH. My experiences are pretty similar to cali's. We have a reputation as a conservative stronghold, but that is largely an illusion, caused by "flatlanders" drawn here by the Primary, maple suryp, and the lake house.

[Rebubula]

12. LOL WUT?

The Troll is strong with this OP...