A Little Light Reading
I haven't been posting here lately, because quite frankly I have too much to say, too much to turn over in my head for the time I actually have to write it. In lieu of that, I've been posting links to facebook and twitter to articles which have caught my attention, mostly to do with how utterly paranoid Americans are.
I could swear I grew up here, but I feel so outside of the culture. I can't connect, on any level, with people whose values are so thoroughly grounded in paranoia and terror that they'd rather let millions of people die starving in the street than consider taking care of their own. It's not even selfishness or greed, at this point - that would require some kind of self-interest or planning. No, what I'm talking about are people so worried that the other guy is going to get one over on them, they'll let themselves fall before helping someone else up.
Republicans are so afraid of "Socialism", and most of them don't even really understand what that means. How horrible, to think that everyone has their most basic needs taken care of, so that we can actually get on with being a great country instead of trying to convince ourselves we already are. I heard a woman on television actually arguing that schools shouldn't provide lunches because this promotes laziness, and "hunger can be a positive motivator". I don't think she even hears herself talk anymore. I don't think most people really hear themselves talk anymore.
The United States of America is a third world country, or fast on its way to becoming one. When California's solution to a massive economic crisis is to reduce social services, and Republicans can seriously argue that providing health care for the poor will ruin America, and people are so caught up in racism, sexism and homophobia that they'll abandon their own value systems and commit violence on account of it, then Barack Obama is correct in his (largely overlooked) assessment that this nation has "lost its moral compass".
I could swear I grew up here, but I feel so outside of the culture. I can't connect, on any level, with people whose values are so thoroughly grounded in paranoia and terror that they'd rather let millions of people die starving in the street than consider taking care of their own. It's not even selfishness or greed, at this point - that would require some kind of self-interest or planning. No, what I'm talking about are people so worried that the other guy is going to get one over on them, they'll let themselves fall before helping someone else up.
Republicans are so afraid of "Socialism", and most of them don't even really understand what that means. How horrible, to think that everyone has their most basic needs taken care of, so that we can actually get on with being a great country instead of trying to convince ourselves we already are. I heard a woman on television actually arguing that schools shouldn't provide lunches because this promotes laziness, and "hunger can be a positive motivator". I don't think she even hears herself talk anymore. I don't think most people really hear themselves talk anymore.
The United States of America is a third world country, or fast on its way to becoming one. When California's solution to a massive economic crisis is to reduce social services, and Republicans can seriously argue that providing health care for the poor will ruin America, and people are so caught up in racism, sexism and homophobia that they'll abandon their own value systems and commit violence on account of it, then Barack Obama is correct in his (largely overlooked) assessment that this nation has "lost its moral compass".