This country was BUILT on dissent. Some of the first Europeans to settle in North America came here seeking freedom from a religiously oppressive government in England, and our most famous document, the Declaration of Independence, is a rant, albeit very well-worded, on how much King George was irritating the New Worlders.
I wish I could remind the nation of this fact. I am so disgusted with the popular conservative notion that anyone who criticizes the way this country runs is unpatriotic and probably communist. WTF? If I didn't care about this country, I would move elsewhere or not say anything at all. Dissent means that we know things can be better, that things are not perfect but we are excited to work towards making them more so.
The biggest disservice we can do to the United States is keep shoveling in the propaganda, like so much trans-fat loaded McDonalds, that tells us America is the best country in the world. It's not true.
- We are #37 on the World Health Organization's last ranking of the best health care systems in the world, behind Costa Rica and just above Slovenia, part of the former Yugoslavia, and Cuba.
- We still have enormous issues with discrimination based on race, class, gender, and sexual preference.
- We continue to deny civil and human rights to the LGBT community.
- Misinformed, "shock factor" political pundits like Rush Limbaugh have more influence than politicians.
- Our news sources (FOX being the worst, and MSNBC contributing on the leftist side) are often just as biased and untruthful and hatemongering as the worst media outlets of all those places we hate: North Korea, Russia, China, and the Middle East.
- Women still make 26% less than equally qualified men, and only 20% of senior management positions are filled by women. In the Phillipines, women hold 47% of senior management positions; they are the top of that list.
- Our Senate is comprised of 14% women; the HoR is 15%. These statistics place the US at 83rd in the world as far as female presence in politics go. Rwanda is #1 with 49% women in their lower house and 35% in the upper house.
- The average annual income for black households in the US is $30,436. Whites, on average, earn $44,232 a year.
- There are approximately 2.5 million American citizens in prison right now.
- Our educational system is not the best--not by a long shot. All of Western Europe, Australia, South Korea, Iceland, and many other nations compete for that honor.
We are not the best country in the world. Stop lying. It's even more reprehensible when you think about our historical enemies. We act so haughty and disgusted by North Korea's practices, but when it comes down to it, our actions are a mild version of theirs. We tell our students that we are the most powerful country in the world, we have a grossly distorted view of the world's perception of us, we are arrogant enough to assume that everything successful came from the US and that everyone else should learn to speak English (god FORBID we learn anything). In the same vein: we still spread nasty propaganda about Russia and Cuba, but why I should we believe any of it? The only reason we continue to paint those countries as "evil" is because we feel threatened by their power.
The United States is one of the youngest countries in the world, and it acts appropriately. We are collectively an enormous toddler--whining and crying, throwing tantrums when things don't go our way, acting as if no one else matters, playing with our toys and destroying whatever we want whenever we want. And we will not share. Oh no. Health care needs to be changed; the HMOs are destroying our citizens' lives. There is nothing wrong with a socialist health care system. It's what Jesus would do, seriously. The only reason people are protesting is because they are greedy. They don't want to pay extra taxes to help anyone! I earned those piles of money! Help yourselves, people of America!
How dare you call yourselves Christians when it is clear that money is your god.
Whew.
Let's be frank for a moment. I would love to see this country fulfill its founding principles, wouldn't you? To do this, both parties have to stop acting like spoiled children (yeah, you heard me). The infighting accomplishes nothing. No matter who the president is, we should respect their authority and serve them as our president for their allotted term. The Republicans refuse to work with President Obama on anything because they are so offended that he was elected, and this is wrong. I am glad they have their convictions, but refusing to participate in your country is immature and stupid. (The Democrats are not innocent, I know; I remember the last 8 years.)
We need to return to positive political involvement. Write letters to your representatives about what you think should happen, comment in your local newspaper, join a community organization that supports your favorite candidates.
We need to stop the hateful sniping, the ad campaigns based on slander, the "news" programs that spend a full hour talking about the supposed racism present in the White House.
We need to find a way to remind our politicians what the purpose of government is. We need to remind them that they should not be in this for the money or the fame. We need to encourage a system full of representatives and elected officials who govern the country because they LOVE the country. And if they truly love the United States, then they will work alongside their opponents and make compromises and have intelligent, respectful discussions about what is truly good for the country. And they will dissent. And it will be good.
I'm tired. I'm tired of grown men and women lying to the people of the country. I'm tired of elected officials pretending that it's okay to torture. I'm tired of the national arrogance that passes for patriotism. I'm tired of soldiers and foreign civilians dying for reasons that are speculated and unclear. I'm tired of "homosexuality is evil" and "communism is evil" and "socialism is evil." I'm tired of a country whose citizens are, as a whole, ignorant of other countries, their cultures and history, and are intolerant of language and cultural differences. I'm tired of a country whose citizens declare strong political opinions, but have never studied other governments and economic systems and barely know their own country's history.
I'm so freaking tired, USA. Can we calm down and start over?
