JHW: The Greatest Country in the World

JHW: Job Hunt Woes

First off, anyone international reading this probably carries an opinion from a much wider perspective.

I have often heard certain people proclaim loudly and passionately that America (meaning the US) is the "Greatest Country on Earth"
I am not qualified to make that determination one way or the other, but I feel strongly that things aren't all they are cracked up to be. ("crack" could have worked as a rather effective pun here. I am too mentally tired. Make up your own damn pun)

If America is so great, why does it suck so bad? Life is unsafe. Healthcare is unavailable. An honest living is hard to come by, if at all.

A former girlfriend from Indonesia pointed out that healthcare was the single biggest flaw she noticed. And I took her point to heart, and have often recalled her observations. Except for the super-rich, the average or even above average person can expect slow and inaccessibly priced medical care. Specifically, in an hospital Emergency Room, even a person rushed in by an ambulance will usually sit in pain and panic for hours.

The insurance system is a mess, and affordability is functionally impossible. But there are plenty of eloquent (or otherwise) diatribes online. I don't care now. I was going to try and make this blog make some sort of structural sense, but screw structure.

I recall reading or hearing somewhere about a son who saw his father working in a panic and worrying about things til the day his cancer ate him alive. I heard of the radio of a man talking about his dying mother (again, terminal) heartbroke over how she'd ever pay for anything. This just isn't right.

I want to start my on "We hold these Truths to be self evident" 1) a person doesn't have to linger in pain 2) a person who is dying has enough to worry about 3) an honest living should be available to ANYONE who asks for it and honestly tries 4) no child should go hungry or be sexually abused

For the record, yes America is a very good place to live, in comparison. That that just makes me wonder about the miserable condition of most of humanity. It's appaling. And just because my neighbor go killed in a fire, that doesn't mean I'm any happier that MY house burned down, too.

Here I am, good credentials, and I can use the computer effectively, and I have unemployment money coming in for a while, and I have family I can borrow a car from, and I am having one hell of a time. How much worse is it for the other guy, the one who is trying to get his life together after a bad divorce, or being homeless, or being in prison. Damn.