CJ Jersey
CJ Jersey
Jul 30, 2017 · 2 min read

This article makes me sad, because I believe what the author is saying.

I lived in Brazil, as a Peace Corps Volunteer in the late 1960s, when Brazil was definitely still a 3rd World nation. When I returned for the first time in 2011, I discovered that if I were in an accident or became ill, the Brazilian Health Care Service would cover me. Although spots are limited, if a student can pass rigorous entry requirements to a Federal University, tuition is free. The middle class is growing. Brazil’s government is a mess and the country is still struggling to emerge from it’s 3rd World status, but if Brazil can do provide those services, why can’t we?

I think one of the myths of the U.S. is that if someone works hard enough and takes advantage of every opportunity, s/he can succeed. But the truth is that not everyone can be a winner. There will always be those who cannot make it on their own. Instead of giving those people a helping hand, our government considers them to be lazy and worthless, so worthless that they don’t even deserve health care, and let them be damned if their schools have leaky roofs and few supplies.

I think it was Molly Ivins who said the history of America was the gradual extension of rights to more and more people and groups. But now, we are taking rights away from transgender individuals. We are allowing employers to decide if their women employees can have birth control coverage. We are prohibiting individuals of certain religions from entering the country. So now, we’ve become a country that is taking rights away. To me, that alone is the sign of the end of America as we knew it.

    CJ Jersey

    Written by

    CJ Jersey