Yes, you are blessed, Nura

Submitted by Jeff (United States), Oct 19, 2008 at 12:57

Yes, living in the USA, you are blessed. With freedom to practice your religion (unlike in Muslim countries, where only your religion may be practiced freely) and freedom to criticize your government (unlike in Muslim countries where you'd disappear into a place like Evin Prison in Tehran). And your testimony in court is weighted equally to that of a male. What a place.

Most Americans still don't have health insurance.

Really? About 15% of Americans don't have health insurance. By your math, 15% is "most." By everyone else's math, 15% is a minority of our population that still, by law, receives free medical care when they arrive at a hospital emergency room. Notice the concern is still very present. We're still discussing how best to deal with this problem, and take care of that 15 per cent. Health care is a constant discussion in the current presidential campaign, didn't you notice? The Republican governor of Massachusetts signed a mandatory health insurance act into law several years ago. No, Nura, the discussion did not end when the Clinton program was defeated. States are experimenting, the marketplace of ideas is churning, the topic resonates in the presidential campaign, and we will arrive at a solution.

And, yes, Social Security is only about 70 years old. That makes it a bad thing? It's part of an evolving America that continues to look for solutions to problems. Saudi Arabia outlawed slavery only 45 years ago, is that a bad thing, too? Imams in Saudi Arabia rail against the abolition of slavery, but I don't hear anyone in the USA railing against Social Security.

We have no social services lobbyists!

Au contraire, lobbyists from numerous social service agencies and environmental organizations work in Washington every day. I recommend you contribute to some of these organizations to help them in their work (your contribution is tax deductible).

Our wealth has destroyed our environment and is the cause of global warming and you think that it could not have gone to better use?

Mmmm, I eat food grown in the USA, breath its air, drink its water, I'm still around. The environment is destroyed? Really? Have you considered living somewhere else where the environment isn't destroyed? Why don't Muslims solve global warming by stopping the sale of oil? It's not for the money, is it, they're Arabs, not money-grubbing Americans, right? Why continue selling all that oil that's causing global warming? What, they don't care???

Better use, like billions for treatment of HIV patients in Africa, billions more for free distribution of polio and other vaccines throughout the world (apparently a few folks in other countries still don't have health insurance, too) billions more for food distribution? Are those uses good enough? Why don't Iran and Saudi Arabia join us on efforts like that? Not enough oil money? Funny, they don't seem to have any problems with illegal immigration, either.

Our spending is destroying the WORLD'S economy.

Our spending is carrying the world's economy. If the USA instituted tariffs on imports like Europe's and Asia's, the world's economy would come to a halt the next day.

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