There is a very strong belief here and in a lot of the places we've visited that life in the USA is and always will be better.....things work...you can trust people....you have access to anything you want.....you have rights...the government isn't full of scandal and corruption....I think somewhere along the line, there's been some kind of misunderstanding.....
My first day back in the States last fall I got sick and needed to see a doctor, but happened to be heading to Canada in a few days....I waited for Canada! It was easier and probably cheaper to pay the $150 "non Canadian" doctor fee there than go thru the hassle of trying to get help in the States and not know how much it would cost.....my own country.....how embarrassing!
There is a belief that the reason American's don't travel so much internationally is because we are lazy and afraid of the rest of the world....did I see many Americans on the road? Nope.
When we explained to fellow European travelers that it is because we only get about two weeks of vacation a year and people are afraid to lose their jobs which would mean losing their health coverage, car, home, future, they were dumb founded. (Many Europeans can receive unpaid extended leave from their positions and return to their job when they're finished exploring once every few years, this is on top of their 3-4 weeks, if not more, paid yearly vacation)
Most of my friends can't afford to travel, because of the debt they have to pay back for their higher education expenses, cars, homes, children, assuming they've had good health insurance and haven't maxed out their credit cards when they fell off their bike and had to pay for the x ray and cast out of pocket while working 3 part time jobs...true story.
This morning I woke up to screaming in my mind and then I read the news and found those screams to be real....to some of my closest friends in pain and anger, confused and uncertain after spending days protesting in the cold fighting with all their might against an unfair government.....and being stripped of their rights anyways.....
....just writing that feels wrong.....protesting? unfair government? stripped of rights? this is my country?
Michael Moore (one of my documentary heroes) shouting in the streets of Wisconsin "Don't Give Up"
You know things are bad when Michael Moore starts shouting too!
Teachers crying in the bathroom ......
Making a teacher cry is like kicking a puppy in the stomach....you just DON'T DO IT! It's SICK!
Granted, the rest of the world has its own problems, no country is perfect, but the more of the world I see, sometimes the sadder I feel for the myth that not only the rest of the world believes, but that I believed myself about my own country growing up, that I come from a fair and just place where people thrive if they do what they believe is right....
I'm not seeing that.
So yes, this isn't the USA....health care, job security, one full paid month long vacation, that exists in Chile!
The fact that my quality of life would be better not living in my own country?
That makes me really sad.
2 comments:
Interesting post, Sarah.
When I was in Colombia, I met a guy from Belgium who was taking a year off to travel... PAID. Or, at least, that's what he told me. I don't really have any reason to not believe him. He said the Belgian government allows it as a sort of "mental health" year... and provides it as a benefit for everyone, though most women use it when they have children.
Also - it's a sad and scary state of affairs in Wisconsin. Actually, more than that, it is downright dirty. Government by the people for the people?? hahahahaha. More like government for the rich by the rich. **end political rant**
Anyway, as always, love reading your posts. Hope your Spanish going well... I'm thinking about spending a couple months in Central America to learn Spanish this summer!
I once spent a few days in my company's England office and went to lunch with a coworker. He was laughing about how Americans go on vacation and try to drive all over England in a week. I asked him how much vacation he got and he said "same as you - five weeks". He felt like he was being ripped off "only" getting five weeks vacation because he was working for an American company. He couldn't believe it when I told him we just got two weeks, no wonder the Americans are trying to see everything so fast.
Post a Comment