What The Hell Is Going on In America? A Crazy, Random Rant.

NOTE: This is an OLD unpublished draft that was sitting on my hard drive. Consider it a TTG'S outtake.

This is a repost of an impromptu forum post of mine from a little while ago. I was posting in a topic about Socialism and the attittudes towards it in America, and as I was discussing that, I sort of went off on an unexpected tangent. When I say unexpected, I mean unexpected, although, in retrospect, this has been brewing for a while. I was likely going to blog on it sometime, but BLAH, out it came onto the page in the middle of this discussion.

I cleaned it up somewhat, although it will still be a bit sloppy and you'll be able to see that my thoughts were jumbled at the time (due to the pain mediaction I was taking).

Anyways, without further ado, here are my jumbled thoughts regarding the state of affirs in America, with respect to politics, and attitudes towards things like Universal Healthcare (ooooohhh, yes, socialized medicine).

Just promise to keep in mind the fact that this was impromptu, and posted while both very sleep deprived, not feeling well, and on narcotic pain medication for symptoms related to my bowel dieases.

Bill (stuttering for the first time in 28 years): P-p-p-ph-pr-pr-p-pPro-Promi-Promi-Promise Me!

Audra: Bill, you're scaring me.

Bill: Promise me you'll stay!

Audra: You're crazy. This is crazy!

Bill leaves.

Audra: It's jusr crazy.



Can you guess where THAT was from? Hint: I mentioned the movie in a recebt blog, the context of which was hoe much I loved horror movies, and explanations of why that is.

Americans that are dead set against socialized/universal healthcare, I assure you, as a Canadian, that you've been manipulated by the self interested powers at be in the media and government to think that way, and thinking that way goes against your own self interest.

I'm literally amazed that your media (Fox News, right wing talk radio) have literally, in public, said such stupid things as universal healthcare brings death panels and other forms of government intervention into healthcare (a bureaucrat between you and your doctor!!) and people believe it. How they are allowed to spread such blatantly juvenile and dangerous propaganda is beyond me. And the biggest irony in such lies? The private health insurance industry does exactly that! They are the ones who come between you and your doctor! How many times in America, on any given day, does a doctor have to call the insurance company to get clearance to perform a certain procedure? And how many times are they told no, regardless of how useful/beneficial it may be?

Do you think my gastroenterologist has to call the government here in Canada before he orders a CT scan, x-ray, MRI, or colonoscopy for me? Or schedules me for a surgery?
Hint: NO, he doesn't. And the taxes argument: Our taxes are quite similar, look it up. And don't forget to subtract the ever increasing health premiums that you guys pay from the projected tax amount.

Does the Canadian system have issues? Hell ya. The aging baby boomer population is putting a big strain on things right now and in the next decade or two it will only get worse. But you know what? We're still better off, and, when we need to enact changes here, we do. Here in Ontario, they just enacted a law that forced generic drug prices down by 50%, and reduced the maximum that the drug stores/pharmacies can charge for dispensing fees.

Why? Because we were getting overcharged, big time, for generics and dispensing fees. So the government told the drug companies to go fuck themselves, and put the law into place. It was over and done with in no time. Why? Because the lobbyists don't have control over our government to the extent that they do in the U.S.

Oh, one argument I always hear coming out of the U.S against universal healthcare (man, I wish I could convey to you guys how asinine the very sentence sounds in my head.....arguments against universal healthcare....lol wtf) (and of course, it's even more amazing when it's coming from the Christian right.....like, um, do you think your Jesus would be for or against health care for everybody? What kind of Christians are so greedy that they are against chipping in to help both themselves and everybody else?)........oh, okay, I got a bit off topic there, sorry for the digression/tangent.

Okay, as I was saying, the one argument I hear a lot is the wait time argument. Well, I have a few things to say to that:

1) They always point to the worse case scenario and say ''see!'' Well, I can point to the guy in the U.S. who was told that he had to pick one of his two severed fingers to save, because he could not afford to save both. Find me a case like that in Canada. You can't. Which is worse? However, that doesn't matter. The point is, they're pointing to the worst case and then making an overarching argument based upon that.

2) However, if there are actual statistics that point to longer wait times here on average, I'd readily accept that in a heartbeat. I can offer a couple of explanations for it (and of course, it's dependent upon area, but I'll get to that in a second).

a) Everyone here gets treated. More people being treated=longer lines.

b) A lot of areas in Canada have doctor shortages. Why? A huge part of that reason is because a ton of our brightest minds in medicine follow the money trail. And where does the money trail lead? To America, who have a very lucrative system and better facilities from what I understand. Stop stealing all our damn doctors!! lol

3) The area thing. Where I live, and of course this is anecdotal, but I can assure (well, try to anyhow) you I am not making this up. Anyways, wait times where I live are pretty damn short. I had both an internal lateral sphincterotomy and fistula repair booked and performed within 3 weeks (both surgeries done at once). Colonoscopies within a week. Same day X-ray. CAT Scan within 2 weeks. MRI within 2-3 weeks. Specialist appointments within days. GP appt's within days ( I try to avoid these, as I hate, HATE, HATE my GP)

Anyways, I sort of lost track of my overarching point here, but I'm currently on narcotic painkillers for Crohn's and Colitis related pain ( I'll spare you anyl further details) and as such, I have an excuse.

Before I shut up, I just want to add a few things:

If I recall, America is actually the last 1st world nation not to have Universal Health Care (UHC). As an American, wouldn't this make you wonder why all of these other nations have adopted it and are doing so well? Sure, one could argue population size, and posit that it's more feasible for smaller populations, etc, but doesn't that remain relative? As the population size increases, the amount of people contributing into the money pool also increases, no?

Still, as much as it runs contrary to my ingrained thinking and sense of social justice (OH NOES, I JUST REVEALED MYSELF TO BE A STINKING LIB!!!....as though it weren't already obvious anyways lol) I admit that there might be some legit arguments against providing basic healthcare for all of your fellow humans (sorry, I just had to present it in such a way, as I am going for the cheap emotional argument hehe) and if anyone presents one or more, I will absolutely consider them, and, assuming that I'll be in a better frame of mind, I'll have much greater clarity of thought and I'll also be in the position to be able to actually research any and all follow up answers, so they are much better structured than this ongoing POS.

Also, please, don't any Americans take this impromptu post as some Anti-American tirade. There are no anti-American sentiments in my words or thoughts. I like your country. However, the thing is, I don't even like thinking of us as being part of different countries, but rather, as part of one species: humanity.

Frankly, if there is one thing I'll admit to not liking about your country, it's the rampant and fervent nationalism/patriotism. I HATE that shit. It engenders this sort of tribalistic thinking that does more harm than good, and it further divides us. I don't really consider myself a Canadian. I find that to be a mostly useless statement. *puts on lib hat* We're all human and we're in this together. *sways side to side while holding up lighter*

And Another Random Issue:

Can any Americans who might happen to be reading this tell me how the hell your politics got so incredibly poisonous the last few years? I take in your media here and there, and holy fuck is it ever insane!

You watch the news here, or listen to talk radio, and then you switch to American news or talk radio, and it's like things went from quiet and contemplative to brash and PISSED OFF!!. And the language! Man oh man! I don't mean swearing, I mean how causally hateful and misapplied words like ''socialist,'' ''fascist,'' ''libtard,'' ''communist,'' ''Nazi,'' and phrases such as ''Liberalism is a mental disorder''  are hurled around with reckless abandon.

Hell, I even saw a clip of Glenn Beck ranting and raving about ''social justice,'' as though it were a bad thing! And he's supposed to be Christian!! (Mormon/moron, whatever).

Oh, and, speaking of Glenn Beck, I saw a lovely clip on YouTube, showcasing his incredibly sound logic and journalistic integrity (seriously, how do these uneducated idiots get put on TV and paid millions with TV programs, radio programs, and book deals? I don't fucking understand it!) in which he shows a video of a murder (yes, for real) and then goes on this incredibly, just impossibly stupid, insipid, insidious, fallacious, hate filled tirade against atheists, saying that we (yes, I'm a liberal atheist, I know....) are the cause for violent crime in America.

Yes, he said the rise of atheism is causing violent crime. I bet every single one of you reading this right now immediately thought of like 10 counterarguments, questions, and the like to that statement, regardless of whether you're an atheist or a theist. And yet, this buffoon goes on with this shit for like 7 minutes, with the most obviously fake theatrical body language I have ever seen. It's fucking comical that this crap is on your TV's, and I shudder to think that there are people watching this and taking it seriously. And he goes on, committing every damn logical fallacy in the book, and this guy has made millions and is famous!!!!.

Btw, here's the clip:



What a goofy, disingenuous, lying, idiotic fucking dickhead. I can't believe anyone looks up to, or takes seriously, this fucking pathetic, pupeteer asshole.

So, I want to know. Why are there so many so damn hateful people in your media? I get Rush Limbaugh here, and, on the few occasions where I am brave (or bored) enough to listen in for a few minutes.....man oh man! It's just pure anger and maliciousness. All he does is demonize the ''libs.'' Such venom spewed forth against an entire group of people!

And, aside from the anger and spite, why is so much of your news so biased? MSNBC is clearly left wing, and Fox is right wing. I've never seen any of the the other ones, save for CNN, which from the bit i have seen, seems pretty unbiased though....isn't it?

I mean, consider this small example. If you go to YouTube, you can find 2 interviews of Richard Dawkins conducted by Bill O'Reilly. And by interviews, I mean attacks. He calls Dawkins a fascist in the second interview for crying out loud! Both interviews consist of Bill antagonizing Richard, and he makes NO bones about where he stands on the issue.

Now, follow that up with a few minutes of the interview with Richard conducted on The Hour, a Canadian news/interview show on CBC. I challenge anyone to watch that interview and then tell me what side of the theistic/atheistic debate the interviewer, George Stroumboulopoulos, is on. I guarantee you will NOT be able to discern where he stands. And guess how many times he yells, gets mad, cuts Richard off, or insults him (or even worse, calls him a frigging fascist). None!

And from what I have read, the BBC is supposedly even better than our news. Supposed to be the best worldwide, is it not? How the hell did things turn so vitriolic down there, and why doesn't anybody stop it? I seriously want to see things turned around for you guys, and I want to help.I had a friend move to the U.S. several years ago, and last year he came for a 3 week visit. He was shocked to watch the news here, as, having had been immersed in the US political culture for a few years, he had grown accustomed to all of the bitterness, brashness, anger, fighting, insults, vitriol, etc, and he was so surprised that he had so easily slipped into that mold. It was a real eye opener for him, and he vowed that when he went back he would try and help the people around him realize that they were allowing themselves to be poisoned bit by bit, day by day, with hate, and that he realized that he was being conditioned to view those with opposing views as enemies, identified and understood only by the paradigm that constituted their umbrella of political ideology.

I frankly see it as brainwashing. The special interests are running wild in your country, and they are tightening their grip on both the media and the politicians (in both political camps, don't misunderstand me) and so much of what is being said on your TV's is now directly coming from the mouth of some special interest mouthpiece. And what this means is, a frustrated and angry populace is being led to fight a fight that will ultimately benefit the special interests and hurt the people. They're fighting against their own interests. Look at the Tea Party people for example. Why aren't they organizing protests on Wall Street?

Wouldn't that be a logical thing to do, seeing as how they're angry about the bailouts, greed, and the financial disaster that hurt so many of them and their loved ones, friends, and neighbours? And yet, no protests on Wall Street! Why? Because certain people behind the Tea Party (like that Root guy) are in bed with Wall Street, and they are purposely leading the charge against the government rather than the true criminals, because they want to push for financial deregulation, not regulation! The exact fucking opposite of the thing the Tea Party people should be fighting for, given their source of frustration!

Damn it people, we should be working together! Not fighting!