I am not proud to be an American.  There the cat is out of the bag.  I am quite sickened as of late for what our country seems to stand for.  I know there are those of you who are preparing right now to stop. reading. my. words.  But before you stop reading let me just say that I am also not very proud to be a human being at this time either. 

We live in a time of great excess…for those who have and a time of great pain and sadness for those who do not have.  I have felt this sadness at what has become America’s values–greed and violence (military) in the name of our nation’s security.  I am tired of our double-speak in terms of our foreign policy and our turning of a blind eye to those who we bear responsibility for taking care of.  I watched HDNet’s World New last night and was really shocked, angered, and saddened by the state of things in New Orleans.  The number of homeless has increased by 100% since Katrina–you know that hurricane the decimated New Orleans and where we waited and waited and waited to help those POOR PEOPLE.  Those poor people are still waiting for our help.  There are now over 12,000 homeless (up from 6,000) and there is basically no affordable housing–we rebuilt the rich areas first and somehow have forgotten about the poor/affordable parts of town.  Rents that use to cost 3-4 hundred a month are not up to 9-15 hundred a month.  People who work jobs cannot even afford to have a place to live.  Really America?  This disgusts me.  Especially as I watch a 10 minute interview with Carnie Wilson about her weight issues.  Really America?  This is what matters to us?  Why don’t we interview some of the homeless who can’t get a place to live and without a place to live its hard to get a job–if you don’t already have one.  You can’t get a job without a phone.  How are they going to call you?  You can’t get a job if you can’t get a shower and some clean clothes.  Why do we look at the homeless as though they are somehow less human?  It is sad and it scares me that this is what our country is.  For what we spend in one month in Iraq we could rebuild the entire 9th ward and give affordable housing to our citizens.  Oh wait.  I forgot.  They don’t really have anything our government wants for needs.  Iraq has oil.

I know I sound bitter.  And I am.  We were so quick to step into Iraq and get rid of Sadaam.  Was he a horrible leader?  Yes.  He killed innocent people, etc.  But what about the atrocities in Darfur?  The Congo?  Oh wait.  They don’t have anything we want and we certainly cannot benefit from helping them.  It sickens me.  We don’t like Castro and we despise North Korea–but Saudi Arabia we like them.  Oh yeah…They have oil.  

I am tired of the party line.  We are free…etc.  Really?  Tell that to those in New Orleans who can’t get a place to live or a job or any help.  We are free to make money off of others.  We are free to make and hoard as many resources as we can.  We are free to marginalize those who don’t matter and free to turn a blind eye when we see gross injustice.  We are free to play on our own field and keep out the riff raff.  We only take care of those who can take care of themselves.  We only take into account those who have something to offer.  We are a nation of hypocrites. 

I want to live in a world where others matter.  Where others are respected and accounted for.  I want my son to see all people as people and realize that all people deserve respect.  We are one of the richest countries in the world and we can’t even feed and house all of our people.  No.  Why you ask?  Altruism isn’t profitable.