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Edited on Mon May-05-08 10:10 PM by Goodnevil
My wife and I are somewhat unusual people. We are vegans and are what much of society would categorize as “Wiccans.” We are intellectuals and we are open-minded. We are, for lack of a better phrase, uber-liberals.
We have found no foothold in this country for our belief systems. American corporate culture and it's insistant way of life are almost deliberately, it seems, set up to oppose us in our everyday lives. We struggle constantly to find middle ground with the rest of this nation only to find it a pointless battle. We do not find it to be as diverse as the media would label it. To be sure, we have found no contentment in being “American.”
I know that there are no perfect nations and that each state on this planet has its’ negative and positive aspects depending on who you are and what you stand for. There are, however, still choices out there on this small little planet for an enterprising and fearless individual or family. I grow weary of the constant religious intolerance embedded in our culture, the lack of foresight by our leaders, the belligerent (ineffectually so) nature of our people when faced with any problems internationally. I despise the American sensibility of mass consumption and waste. I loathe the fact that I pay large portions of my income to a government which provides no useful and tangible services in return.
Something has happened recently which, while I knew it was always possible, nevertheless shocked me into re-evaluating my thinking about what I want for myself and for my wife and son. My employer was unable or unwilling to offer health insurance at a reasonable price which I could afford. Private health care through multiple companies refused to offer health insurance to my wife (a type II diabetic) and my son (who has a mild and easily treatable colon disorder) due to preexisting conditions. We have been forced to put my son on state run insurance while my wife has no insurance at all. I have been able to purchase private coverage through Blue Cross Blue Shield simply because I rarely see doctors enough to “get” a pre-existing condition.
My government and the very people with whom I share a country have told me, in effect, that my wife’s life and health do not matter. My countrymen have told me by de facto that my son’s health is irrelevant because he does not fit into the system. I have a college degree from the University of Texas at Austin and seven years experience in the corporate world from which I have narrowly avoided being outsourced several times. I have worked harder than most to make a life for my family. My wife is working a full time job and attending college, taking twenty-one hours with a 4.0 average and we still are not considered worthy enough to survive.
I ask you all, my fellow Americans, why I should care about this Union or it’s citizens? Why should I stay here with all of this “opportunity?” Why should I not take up arms against this country should I dwell in another and swear allegiance to it’s flag and people if those same people are willing to call me brother and care for me and my family?
I ask you, what are nations but the latest evolution of a few hairless creatures huddling by a primeval fire in search of comfort from the wild and the dangers of this brutal and dangerous world? Isn’t that why we form groups and societies? I state plainly that if there is no fire and you are all not my comrades against the cold of the night and the claws of the wolves then why am I here in this land in the first place? Why do I huddle around your fire for warmth when there is one across the valley in sore need of warriors?
My pack, my tribe, my village, my city-state, my kingdom, my empire, my nation-state, and my super-power has told me that I do not belong and that I am not needed. My people have, in no uncertain terms, advised me that I am on my own and that it is every man and woman for his or herself. Very well, who am I to argue?
These are the thoughts that have ran through my troubled mind over the past few weeks since that rather snide insurance underwriter told me at 8 a.m. on a Monday morning that my wife’s health and well-being was financially inconvenient to their company. I have decided, therefore, that I will not blame the United States government for my woes. I will not blame Bush and I will not blame the next fool who takes command of this death ship. I won’t blame each and every one of you patriots of the glorious experiment and the great City on the Hill. You are mostly fools and as such cannot be blamed for your stupidity…merely treated as any village idiot, that is, coddled in your ignorance and fed just enough to be kept alive.
I will blame no one, but I can take responsibility, as the conservatives constantly push us to do, for myself and my family. I will do the responsible thing and remove them and myself from this unfortunate situation called the United States of America. As soon as it is humanly possible we will emigrate to Canada. We will take our chances with their “inferior” medical care, lack of I-phone coverage and their small military and we will be happy.
I blame none of you for this debacle, but do not presume to ever knock on my door asking for asylum because there will never be any forgiveness in my heart for any of you. We will not share a fire together and we will not share a beer reminiscing about “Friends” and “Seinfeld” and “Star Wars.” My wife and son were not welcome at your hearth now and none of you will be welcome at mine on some day in the future across that far northern border.
I do not forgive any of you for this Grand Failure on the Hill. I will never forgive myself for this failure, either.
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