Compared to the Third World Nations around the Globe, the USA is, despite all its economic drawbacks and complaints, still in a very high privileged material position. In Third World countries, inadequate sanitation is the cause of frequent plagues and diseases that lead to thousands of deaths. Our sanitation system is fairly good and the water we utilize is generally safe for our health. Even though supermarket prices may go up, we never lack food and are even notorious, on the average, for over-eating. African nations do not have the luxury of abundant food at their convenience. The southern part of Brazil is comparable to the USA in regard to the consumption of food, but in the central and northern part of the country people only have one meal a day. Clothes are not lacking in Brazil, but their quality is inferior to those of the USA. Shirts, pants, socks, underwear, etc from America last forever, but Latin American garments crumble into pieces after a few weeks of use.
Many Americans complain that they cannot afford health insurance, but Third World countries don’t even have doctors, nurses or hospitals. That which is called a “hospital” In Latin America is more comparable to an open meat market than anything else. If you are lucky enough to have a doctor examine you after a few months of waiting in a line of hundreds of patients, you still have to wait another few years to have your surgery done. This is the “Medicaid” program of Latin America. Young people in the USA gripe about the fact that college costs are extremely high. 70% of young people in Brazil do not even finish junior high school. They remain on the streets unemployed and get themselves involved in drugs and crime. Latin American society provides them with no educational opportunities or prospective future at all.
Many Americans complain about unemployment. This is misleading, however. Unemployment could mean a lack of a job or a lack of a job status. Jobs are abundant in the USA, but job statuses are limited. When an American whines about the fact that he is unemployed he is really saying that he did not find work that pays 15,000 dollars a month instead of 3,000 dollars a month. That is the psychological “crisis” that he is going through. What if he were to come to a third world country and sweat his brow all day long just to earn 250 dollars a month? Maybe after that he might even appreciate just earning a thousand dollars a month.
Many Americans lost their homes, either through California fires or mortgage swindles. Even so, such homes were real mansions in the price range of 200,000 to almost a million dollar value. People in the third world do not even have homes, but sleep in the sidewalks, under bridges or cardboard houses. A whole lifetime of work will never buy them a home. They will never be able to buy a vehicle, but will depend on the bus and subway system during their entire lives. With a five dollar phone card, an American can speak with the rest of the world for a period of two hours and within the USA for time unlimited at certain periods of the day or week. In Brazil, to call someone in a city 15 miles away for a period of ten minutes costs over 50 dollars. An American can drive his car from New York City to Buffalo, NY and pay about 12 dollars in toll. To go a distance comparable from New York City to Syracuse, NY in Brazil costs 60 dollars. In America, one can tranquilly enter stores, shops, restaurants, parks, etc. with no fear of being robbed or assaulted. In Latin America, one cannot even stand at a bus terminal without having a gun pointed to his head.
After all this, do we still have reason to complain? Is it that we are truly a spoiled nation? Is our problem economic or is it really a psychologically emotional one? What is the cause of our deep dissatisfaction? Do we lack love and affection in our lives and therefore try to fill this abyss with material goods that could never be the solution of such a complex suffering in our heart? One thing for sure, the illusion of thinking that another empty soul like Obama will fill this hole in America is pure foolhardiness.
Anthony Mellace
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