"The Tree of Liberty is watered with the blood of patriots and tyrants." - Thomas Jefferson
Many people, including our founding fathers, lived and died by this quote. Thomas Jefferson was a man who believed in a country so great that it would rival all other countries for years to come. I still believe in this country. I still believe that after everything that we think is going wrong, after everything that has gone wrong, we still stand as the greatest country in the world.
I believe that what this country stands for is the most important aspect of who we are. What the United States of America represents is a beacon of hope for the rest of the world. However, what I would like to know is when did it become not only OK, but trendy to not be proud of your country? At some point in time, hating what the United States stands for became not just something that you had a privilege to do, but something that was cool and hip.
The movement right now is change. Change in office, change in health care, change in America. But it is what this change represents which has me most concerned. What this change represents is a fundamental doubt in the United States of America. What this change represents is how hopeless people feel in dealing with their government. However, what I think, is that people are misinterpreting things going wrong for things going wrong with the fundamental staples of American society.
For example, Universal Health Care. People believe that as Americans we have the need for a universal health care system. What many fail to realize is that we already have a system in place which takes care of people. If you go into a hospital emergency room, you cannot be turned away without treatment. It seems that many people look to the fact that 47 million Americans are without health insurance. However, all this means is that giving them health care through the government would create a huge bureaucracy with no progress made anywhere, only one giant money sucking machine.
I think that as true Americans we need to get back to our roots. The time in America when the government did not have to decide what's best for me. I know what is best for me. Just because a person is elected does not mean that they are smarter than I am, I will make my own decisions and will make my own way. I was not born wealthy, yet I am making my own way. I know that when I look back on my life I will see pain, struggle, but most of all, I will be happy that I made it in life.
A side note: "Government should be afraid of it's people; not people afraid of the government"
2 comments:
One thing about your emergency room comment. You can't be turned away if you go there, that is true. HOWEVER if you go and they find out you need an operation, like lets say removing a life threatening tumor in your brain. They can in fact deny you the operation for not having insurance. Many people die this way, even those that have insurance and the insurance won't cover the specific operation.
It's really surreal to read this 4 years later. I, like you, still believe in America, and I believe we'll come through, but it's going to be painful for sure. Especially when we get serious about undoing all the damage that's been done in a single term!
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