3: America Number One

Now I'm not blaming my country for my son's sickness and I'm extremely grateful for the incredible healthcare provided by both his brain surgeon and the incredible oncology staff at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.  But going through an ordeal like this was absolutely mind altering.  I recall the moment he was diagnosed like it occurred five minutes ago.  This will probably never change.  It absolutely alters the way one views such deeper issues as one's own mortality.  It also makes one think much less of first world issues.  Even major events that used to consume precious brainpower, now, no longer trigger even a passing thought.  So many things that I used to fret about have been reduced to nothing.  Knowing your child could pass at any fleeting moment and that you are powerless to change the situation is truly a mind-fuck.  As most of my peers were literally jumping off bridges over our national election results.  I was content knowing my child was still alive.  Even my eternal frugality has been thrown to the wind as I now forced to make monthly Porsche lease payment to pay for D's healthcare for the rest of his life.  This is after my employer's fairly decent health insurance costs are factored in.  Mind altering I tell ya.

But as I get older, now approaching my fifties, I've begun to notice what I think is the dumbing and numbing of America.  We have become so sensitive about everything.  We make stupid knee-jerk reactions without thinking them through.  We allow our political leaders to behave like criminals and not only do we not call for their heads, but we stupidly reelect them.  The fiscal crisis is a perfect example of this.  Everyone from Congress to leaders of national banks behaved deplorably.  Wall Street rating agencies, whose only purpose is to rate and review investment vehicles, joined in in the hoax.  Wall Street got the giant bail out on the back of main street and none of those responsible even received a slap on the wrist.  I mean really.  What kind of a deterrent is a million dollar fine to someone who corruptly made multiple times that amount.  Last I checked, the only person I remember serving time was Martha Stewart.  Even scarier, what did our governments do to prevent this from happening again?  They actually loosened the regulations further and made too big to fail too bigger to fail.  And the sated citizenship doesn't even realize how their wealth is continually being transferred upward.  Heck, I live in NJ.  One of the highest taxed states in the country and easily one of the most corrupt.  Our current (completely unqualified) governor literally purchased the governorship with profits derived from Wall Street greed and soon he'll try to buy the presidency.  And no one says a word (well besides me). 

 

America is number one.  Somehow the wealthiest nation on Earth is also tops in gun ownership.  In the number of residents in incarceration.  In lack of weeks of paid leave.  In the cost of health care.  In military spending and consequently, in the number of drone strikes.  All, which goes far in explaining why we are also the highest ranked in opiate dependency (ignoring Afghanistan, though I don't blame them considering what they have been forced to endure over their history).

So let's review.  My life was going great in the greatest country in this great world.  Then we had a sick kid, who completely changed my view of this great country and great world.  And to make matters worse.  The richest country in the world is considering not covering those with preexisting conditions going forward.  See where this is going?