WTF America (Make Shift Patriot)

So I have been away from the blogosphere for sometime and away from American news and the country itself for a hot minute. After the urging of my friend Mike, I decided to take a day and see what's going on in the motherland. And of course after a simple 4 minutes of browsing I came up with this question: WHAT THE FUCK AMERICA???

I know, not that original but still. Here is a list of the things I discovered that led me to asking this question.

1) The disgustingly ugly battle of "Health Care Reform"

2) Disney

3) The fall of the empire and its strict denial.

4) The economy

5) And lastly, rich suburban kids with too much money who love to make their parents cry.

There isn't much to elaborate on for number five. Just follow the links and watch the videos and shake your heads.

Ahem, are you done puking? Alright let's get back into it.

So for starters, how about this little proposal:

David Mamet has been signed on to write Disney's (yes, DISNEY's) version of the Anne Frank (yes, Anne Frank) story. Yes yes, that is heavily confusing. Let me put it to you this way

This + This is going to some how = This

The entire idea is an Oxymoron. My only question is, will this be animated or live acted?

Either way, my guess is that we should be ready to meet the new Anne Frank

Disney Exec: No no, it will be awesome! By night she'll be a blonde rockstar and by day an average Jew hiding from the Nazis! "It's just the best of both worlds, but only if the Fuhrer don't find out"

So this is nothing new: the economy is fucked. Listen I am in no way shape or form an economist. When I hear/read numbers my brain spazzes. But I just want everyone to know that there are no jobs to be found post-college. Though you will still be in thousands of dollars of debt. The working class continues to be exploited, though don't worry, it's full of mostly youngish typically nonwhite Women so who cares about them right? And apparently we won't start feeling any of the "better" that the economy is getting for quite some time.

I guess the part that really pisses me off is that my fellow classmates and I have played our cards right. We've competed and kept afloat in a flawed academic system, done what's expected of us, succeeded and sneered at the losers, hated ourselves for getting less than B's in subjects we despise and no longer mean anything to us, kept our mouths shut, got into the top colleges, cost our parents an arm, leg, and a soul, and continue to do well. And for what? To graduate with nothing given back to us but some demands from the bank because the schools we've pretty much been shaped to go to and aim for cost 30,000 dollars more than what some airline pilots make? To be guaranteed only a position at a minimum wage job (and not even a manager position at that)?

That brings me to the other thing I was going to talk about, the Health Care issue. Because not only does Europe have universal health care, it also has affordable education.

Exhibit A:

KateTheGreat

My British friends have nothing bad to say about their healthcare system...it's served them well! Also, they pay around 40% tax on their income (same here when all said/done) but get free healthcare and $3,200/year tuition at Oxford! You can't attend a community college here for that amount!! At least they're getting something for their money...

For those of you who don't know, the health care reform battle has gotten OUT OF FUCKING CONTROL! People are spreading all sorts of nocuous, vicious, and deceptive lies about the future of health care were President Obama's proposal to become reality and the bad part is....Americans are believing them.

"...it surprised me to hear my Catholic grandmother say that if health-care reform passes bureaucrats will show up at her door advising euthanasia—and especially to hear my mother, now undergoing chemotherapy, insist that were Obamacare already law it is more likely than not that she’d now be dead."

- Conor Friedersdorf, "Why Obamacare Scares America". The Daily Beast. 8/11/09

Level headed Americans are not the only ones getting upset by it either. European countries, for example Britain, are getting pissed off about the flat out lies being tossed around about their very own system, which by the way, really isn't that bad. There are no Ethical Suicide Parlors in merry old England.

But Mr. Friedersdorf does make a good point in his article. The other side isn't doing a good job at making this fight any less harder or frightening. I agree that this battle needs to be fought much more quieter, softer, and in smaller doses. Because let's face it, yes:

by the age of 40 we will all have some sort of cancer or stress related heart disease and be living in a deteriorating body that is either a walking pharmacy or pin cushion.

Considering that social security will be virtually nonexistent, I would like to not have to worry about a medical bill for my remaining 30 years. However, not every American is comfy cosy with this idea. In fact, most Americans are still in a rather pathetic state of denial over the condition of our country. I would compare it to the way that conservatives and Republicans are denying that they are getting old.

The empire has indeed crumbled, but any time you mention this to my fellow citizens and the changes that need to be made in order to insure our high standards of living and the prosperity of our country it's "Oh no! THE SKY IS FALLING THE SKY IS FALLING! We're going to turn into EUROPE!" As a minor globe trekker, I need to tell you that the rest of the world is not scary. And its big. Oh yeah, it's also very, very progressive. Wake up homies, we're not the only important ones anymore.

However, as another disgruntled commenter puts it, we would much rather prefer to cling to our misinformation, stubborn bias, and arrogant ignorance. Because it makes us feel good about ourselves, but more importantly it makes us feel less scared. We need to continue to cushion that fall into reality for as long as possible.

So go on obedient citizens, stand by your motherland and fight the opposition to hell. But for one nation under God's sake, don't expect a reward. My college brothers and sisters? My advice to you is to stop expecting that good job and pat on the back from the nation you've busted your ass and spent the last 4 years working minimum wage jobs for. Start brushing up on your foreign language skills, for somewhere across the pond there is probably a promise land for you. And I know that our education system and society cripple us completely to work in the global market, but perhaps if you take half the effort you've spent trying to get into a top tier school into learning at least two other languages, you'll be okay.

As for me, well

now that I've had my daily dosage of wtf America, I am going to go to bed

in Europe.

Where the health care is free (ish)

the beer and wine are good

the cars are fantastic

the speed limit nonexistence

and the police digital

yet the water still coming out of the faucet hot

the food still abundant

and the people more healthy.

How'd it get that way? I don't know.

Does it have it's problems? I'm sure.

But it certainly is a nice thought.

Cheers from Wiesbaden, Germany

xox sue-elise

"haha, dont forget the nazis" <----- Fuck you Mike.