Reinventing the Wheel
One of the joys of writing Epiphanettes is pissing off people whose thinking and philosophies are right-wing and calcified. I’ve given up trying to change such limited minds, but I do hope to occasionally offer a glimmer of sanity.
This being said, I’ve hardly written any blogs since October; I think I’ve been overwhelmed with realities that, written as fiction in a novel, would be deemed unbelievable even by readers willing to suspend disbelief. The list of outrages perpetrated by the Trump administration and the Republican Party is so hard to accept that writing about them seems futile. The far-right responses to my stuff have been uniformly disappointing in their lack of thinking and originality—the same old and tired misleading statistic and absurdities. These are generally punctuated by a “fuck off,” which I have never found to be the cleverest of comebacks and now associate with the ignorant and the easily duped.
So just for today, I will refrain from casting aspersions and instead ask a single question: Why Do the United States Feel the Constant Need to Reinvent the Wheel?
The U.S. is a young nation, barely a teen-ager among older countries whose histories go back thousands of years. The advantage of being an older republic is that the citizens there have had the opportunity (most of the time) to develop programs that serve the poor, the ill, the disaffected, the minorities and the unemployed. They’ve also created governments that truly benefit their citizens rather than pillage them. They do not discriminate against the wealthy but tax them appropriately. Such countries realize that the immensely wealthy have no need for more power, and enough money to ensure the well-being of generations to come.
Nationalization. No single word in the American vocabulary so outrages the right, but most people who are adamantly opposed and see it as a Socialist Commie Threat don’t understand that nationalization of many services (public transport such as airlines, trains and metros, to give an example) will better serve the public while keeping prices down. Smart countries have nationalized their airlines and utilities, among other amenities. Quality has improved, costs have diminished and citizens have benefitted from services no-longer prone to price gouging..
Gun Control. Too much has been written about this. The second amendment argument is a foolish sham. Treat all guns as you would automobiles—license, tax, and insure them, require proper training, tax ammo as you do gasoline, and watch gun-related crime diminish. Countries with strong gun laws that are strictly enforced and punish miscreants have minimal gun-related crimes.
Term Limits. In the U.S., you elect a president for four years. It takes two years to learn the job (present POTUS being a notable exception), and the following two years are spent getting re-elected. Then, with luck, there might be two years of effective rule, followed by two years to promote the election of another same-party leader. A single seven-year term is a lot smarter and less likely to be abused. In Congress, limit the time of service to ten years so that public servants—that is after all what they are—do not rule as princelings. Severely limit donations to political parties and level the playing field. End the electoral college, which was created in 1787 when the country had less than four million inhabitants.
Health and Education. In many of the world’s more successful countries, health coverage is free or minimal, and ailing people do not go bankrupt trying to stay alive, as they often do in US. The cabal formed by insurance sellers, hospitals and doctors, and pharmaceutical companies, has to be broken since it discriminates on a racial and financial basis and enriches the already wealthy while impoverishing the already poor. Why is good health the province of the well-offs?
Education should be free as it is almost everywhere else, with government assistance where necessary in trade for future services. Abolish student debts that have no place in a civilized society and cripple ambition.
Constitutional Amendments. The US Constitution was drafted by upper-class white males who wanted a nation run by upper-class property-owning white males. Times have changed. Wiser nations have learned that their founding fathers ( and mothers) were not necessarily prophets. A document drafted two-and-a-half centuries ago to rule an agrarian society where slavery was accepted, and where women and people of color were second-class or non-citizens, has no place in modern times. Progressive nations realized these givens many years ago and drafted constitutions that do not hem them in the ways of the past. We’re not in the 18th century anymore and must deal with 21st century issues that threaten our very future.
What I cite is the tip of the iceberg. The wheel has been invented and perfected by countries far older than ours. It’s time the US adopt systems that work for the people, rather than ones that continue to benefit a minority of the wealthy and hinder national interests and sustainable growth.
This being said, I’ve hardly written any blogs since October; I think I’ve been overwhelmed with realities that, written as fiction in a novel, would be deemed unbelievable even by readers willing to suspend disbelief. The list of outrages perpetrated by the Trump administration and the Republican Party is so hard to accept that writing about them seems futile. The far-right responses to my stuff have been uniformly disappointing in their lack of thinking and originality—the same old and tired misleading statistic and absurdities. These are generally punctuated by a “fuck off,” which I have never found to be the cleverest of comebacks and now associate with the ignorant and the easily duped.
So just for today, I will refrain from casting aspersions and instead ask a single question: Why Do the United States Feel the Constant Need to Reinvent the Wheel?
The U.S. is a young nation, barely a teen-ager among older countries whose histories go back thousands of years. The advantage of being an older republic is that the citizens there have had the opportunity (most of the time) to develop programs that serve the poor, the ill, the disaffected, the minorities and the unemployed. They’ve also created governments that truly benefit their citizens rather than pillage them. They do not discriminate against the wealthy but tax them appropriately. Such countries realize that the immensely wealthy have no need for more power, and enough money to ensure the well-being of generations to come.
Nationalization. No single word in the American vocabulary so outrages the right, but most people who are adamantly opposed and see it as a Socialist Commie Threat don’t understand that nationalization of many services (public transport such as airlines, trains and metros, to give an example) will better serve the public while keeping prices down. Smart countries have nationalized their airlines and utilities, among other amenities. Quality has improved, costs have diminished and citizens have benefitted from services no-longer prone to price gouging..
Gun Control. Too much has been written about this. The second amendment argument is a foolish sham. Treat all guns as you would automobiles—license, tax, and insure them, require proper training, tax ammo as you do gasoline, and watch gun-related crime diminish. Countries with strong gun laws that are strictly enforced and punish miscreants have minimal gun-related crimes.
Term Limits. In the U.S., you elect a president for four years. It takes two years to learn the job (present POTUS being a notable exception), and the following two years are spent getting re-elected. Then, with luck, there might be two years of effective rule, followed by two years to promote the election of another same-party leader. A single seven-year term is a lot smarter and less likely to be abused. In Congress, limit the time of service to ten years so that public servants—that is after all what they are—do not rule as princelings. Severely limit donations to political parties and level the playing field. End the electoral college, which was created in 1787 when the country had less than four million inhabitants.
Health and Education. In many of the world’s more successful countries, health coverage is free or minimal, and ailing people do not go bankrupt trying to stay alive, as they often do in US. The cabal formed by insurance sellers, hospitals and doctors, and pharmaceutical companies, has to be broken since it discriminates on a racial and financial basis and enriches the already wealthy while impoverishing the already poor. Why is good health the province of the well-offs?
Education should be free as it is almost everywhere else, with government assistance where necessary in trade for future services. Abolish student debts that have no place in a civilized society and cripple ambition.
Constitutional Amendments. The US Constitution was drafted by upper-class white males who wanted a nation run by upper-class property-owning white males. Times have changed. Wiser nations have learned that their founding fathers ( and mothers) were not necessarily prophets. A document drafted two-and-a-half centuries ago to rule an agrarian society where slavery was accepted, and where women and people of color were second-class or non-citizens, has no place in modern times. Progressive nations realized these givens many years ago and drafted constitutions that do not hem them in the ways of the past. We’re not in the 18th century anymore and must deal with 21st century issues that threaten our very future.
What I cite is the tip of the iceberg. The wheel has been invented and perfected by countries far older than ours. It’s time the US adopt systems that work for the people, rather than ones that continue to benefit a minority of the wealthy and hinder national interests and sustainable growth.
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