It really irritates me when people say we should be following the way other countries are structured. We are always being measured against other countries in areas of crime, education, military, etc. People want to use that for their own agenda without really thinking about one very important aspect. The United States of America is a country where there is no equal because its structure is unique and because of this, it has created unique complications and issues. These complications have caused a division in the country especially when we do not look at ourselves as the unique country we are.
First of all, we are one country that has fifty states as part of it. States that have their own constitution, economy, blend of people, governments, basically fifty sub countries. Tell me any other country in the world that is following this structure and then I will start to review their structure to see where they can help us.
Next, the population of 320 plus million people are a melting pot of people. We have different religions, different cultures, different social classes, not only in the country as a whole but by each state. We were setup to invite people to this country by promoting freedoms and the American dream. How many other countries are inviting people to their country for what they offer? Tell me that and then maybe we can start having a conversation about it.
Finally, we tried to build a foundation in this country of freedoms. The ability to follow your own religion, to be able to protest when you want change, freedom to write, speak and express when we see something that is wrong. Give me examples of where another country has the blend of people we have and are offering the freedoms that we 'offer' and again we can talk.
So with us being a unique country did we really believe we were not going to make mistakes or have growing pains? Why would we ever say we were a great country when we are still growing and progressing? If we were great at anytime, it was a fleeting moment and not a permanent state. Think of how fast we have changed in 400 years and ask ourselves how would we ever think we wouldn't have the kind of issues we have had.
One of the unique characteristics of this country is it has given the power to the people but also made them responsible for using that power. Instead of using it to make our country better, we manipulate each other to use that power for the agenda of others or ourselves. We are always being told what our most important agenda should be or we are always trying to instill our own agenda as being the most important. We are always being told what we should do or think instead of being asked or just doing it on our own. We are always blaming or criticizing others for the problems without really reviewing what the true cause is. This comes from there being so many different types of people in this country and there is no precedent on how to bring us all together for some kind of compromised agenda.
This country was built to be run based on state's rights and the federal government was to be the check and balance against the states. But that has changed dramatically for various reasons. No country has the issue of trying to deal with the needs of fifty different states, some rich and some poor while at the same time keeping a Federal Government alive. Obviously life in New York is not the same as Mississippi and that is okay but where is the rule book on how to help them both live together in the same country. So we generalize everything as if each state is the same.
Something as simple as a license plate tag, none of the states do it the same. So buying a sixty thousand dollar car in Illinois will cost you $150 a year for your tag but in Colorado it will costs thousands of dollars each year until your car is old enough for it not to. There is no additional services received for the extra money so it is money needed for agendas that the people might not even know about.
How can we expect to implement something like a federal minimum wage when that wage means less in California and New York than it does in South Carolina and Kansas.? But we are being manipulated to believe that $15 a hour will be okay for the entire country when in reality it doesn't help anyone it is suppose to other than single people. The $15 isn't even an immediate fix, it is a phased fix, so who will suffer until that time? Again, where is the precedent for this?
The electoral college was built so that every state had a say and were able to be represented. If there were no electoral college or some other way to give even the smallest state a say, all of the large states would rule all elections and legislation. That is why we were created as a republic and not a democracy so that every state has a voice and can use that voice to make changes not only for themselves but for the country as a whole. The only way to remove the electoral college is to remove the rules of government as well.
Some people of this country believe that the rich are the biggest issue of the country because they are always bypassing the system to get what they want or because we bend over backwards to please them. That is one of the biggest illusions we have been manipulated to accept. It downplays those that have succeeded and I am not talking about the millionaires, I am talking about the people who are actually living the life they enjoy. This country was built for everyone, that includes the rich, the poor, the middle class. This country is the way it is because all of the people, not just one or another, have all made decisions, good and bad, that effect us all.
Even our history, the good or bad, came with the blessing of the people. Slavery would not have existed unless we allowed it to. Even though we stole these people from their land, they became part of this country even if it did take legislation instead of morality to do it. We made the choice to put ex slaves back into society walking next to the very people who whipped them without any kind of plan for either side. Did we really think that was going to get them to play nice together? Again, there wasn't alot of precedent for this and obviously the way we did it continued with animosity to this day.
Whether you believe we stole the land or not from the Native American's, the way they were treated was wrong. As supposed Christian people, could we have not lived peacefully with a compromise versus using our own agenda to make us into monsters. The only precedent we had was previous conquerors so how would we ever think of anything else?
Even if the rich were the problem, then why do we insist on always electing people that are either rich or are so overcome with power that they actually become slaves to their own greed. To make matters worse, we keep them in power, because we are manipulated in believing they have our best interest in mind. If the last presidential election showed us anything, it was that we do have the power to make changes and to do something in this country that we have never done before. People won't look at it that way but that election result was truly our country at its best and worst.
Even our freedoms, we do not really believe in unless it serves our own agenda. We think we have the right to bear arms but not to burn the flag in protest. We think we have to stand to pledge some kind of allegiance to America but can't kneel at the national anthem. We think we have a right to stand in front of Wall Street, crapping all over the ground but the Klu Klux Klan does not have a right to march down the street. Again, to try to have a country with real freedom is unprecedented and no one really knows where the line is drawn.
Medicare for All, which is a great concept, is a hot subject that is difficult to get immediate results on. First of all, show me a country of our size and population that does universal health care, otherwise stop telling us about other countries. Socialized health care is great when the entire country has agreed to it and the high tax that comes with it. However, when you have a huge division of the country between who wants it and who does not, then it is going to be hard to come to a compromise. Plus we were not built as a welfare state, we were built to have limited government which is why again no country can give us the real answer.
The poor have existed since we set foot on this country. How to deal with the poor is something that is always being used as a political ploy to manipulate us into feeling bad or guilty. Does anyone really have all the answers for the poor? What makes it a little worse for us is each state has its own poor but for different reasons and they are not all related to the rich. How do you set forth a program for the poor for every state?
One of the largest issues in the world that very few talk about is how people see each other. It makes an impact in a situation such as India/Pakistan where they do not see each other as human beings but as religious groups that can't get along. We have decided to put several cultures together in one country and ask them to get along without any kind of guidance other than our own morality? Who else does that? To make it easier to survive, we don't see each other as human beings, we see each other as labels (Republican, Democrat), groups (Gay, Christian) or color (Do I even have to mention this). If this is how we walk through life judging each other, how do we think we are going to get along let alone fix issues. Every where we look, someone or something is trying to manipulate us to see each other as something other than human beings.
Our country was not built to follow, it was built to lead. How much innovation has come out of the United States? How many people come here to buy our product because it is cheaper than the product in their own country? Unfortunately, with a leadership that is always looking ahead or to their own agenda, we leave too many behind. Then we put blame on others because we do not want to look in the mirror at what we have done.
Our progress as a country has caused us to be admired and to be hated. It has caused us to make alot of mistakes, some of atrocious nature but we have some great things as well. The one thing we should never do is be manipulated into thinking that we need to follow other countries way of doing things. We should never be manipulated to think that we do not have the power to change anything. We should never be manipulated into thinking that our uniqueness stops us from being human beings.
So to all the countries who think they are better than us because they have universal health care or free college, go fuck yourself. If you do not like the way we are, then stop sending your people to live here that continue to make us the country we are. To all the people that want us to be like other countries, if you do not like the way our country is, don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out. Otherwise, take responsibility for your place in this country and help to make it what it will always be...one of a kind.