Liberal Spew
This is a tad bit unusual, but I am including (as an update to my BLOG) a post from a cousin’s BLOG. The post is his initial posting and my response to his Liberal propaganda. I wanted every one I know to read the debate… Agree or not, I think you will find it amusing. Oh yeah, so many of you have requested direct access to Josh’s BLOG that I included a link to his website. Comments are enabled, so let him know what you think.
Enjoy….
http://www.xanga.com/home.aspx?user=joshnash
The Wasteland of Nations - Josh Nash
America is a land of opportunity. In all my travels I have never seen a place where there is so much cash to be made and the opportunity for practically any individual to make being so high. However, everything else they say about America, like it being a land of equal opportunity, liberty and a haven for the nations of the earth is far from the truth. I guess if you compare it to China, North Korea and some countries of Europe it’d be a little better. I have talked with several individuals of different social status and race to gain a better understanding of life in America and their take on their “great nation.” I have come to realize that everyone has something to say and to complain about.
One of my goals in coming here was to understand Americans and I have certainly almost accomplished this goal. I have begun to have a growing admiration for these people who I did not like for years. Maybe it was just because their nation seemed so big and powerful and being a Canadian I always felt challenged and rivalled by them. But living here you are able to get an insider’s perspective on life here and why Americans are the way are.
My other objective in being here was to see if America was a place where I would like to live one day. It has become clear to me that I would not appreciate the chance to live here like some do and speaking with several individuals on the issue of living here has made my conclusion concrete. I truly believe Europe is the home for me.
It’s incredible that many of the individuals that I have spoken with over the past several months have goals of someday moving to Canada or to Europe. Their major concerns here involve such things as education, health care and safety, things that we Canadians often take very forgranted in Canada. Guns are held by easily over half of the households here. And these families often have over 5 guns in their collection. Why do they have these firearms? They fear others with guns, mainly crazies. It’s only natural to be defensive of your well being right? Being Canadian and having lived in Europe I have learned that people living in these areas clearly take their safety forgranted and so they should. Gun laws render guns virtually nill. But in America, well you better watch out who you piss off because it might just end up biting you in the ass.
Education is major issue here. It’s a growing concern among many parents as their children’s grades plummet and education standards slide and the world’s rises. How can this nation survive in the 21st century without brilliant minds? Well I’d say that the government needs to do something, but people here seem to get pretty riled up if you mention the government doing anything about it. “But look at your bureaucracy?” Is their any other country in the Western World where the government has such a big influence on the lives of the people? The intelligence agencies and the military are all powerful institutions that can greatly affect citizen’s lives to the point that they have no rights or privacy at all.
Another big problem here is the health care. Wow, it’s expensive and the care is usually inadequate in most cases. I talked to a guy the other day who told me he paid $600 for a minor set of stitches on his arm because he didn’t have health insurance. He now pays over $1000 dollars a month for health insurance for his wife and him!!! In Canada ours is nothing to brag about either. Often you have to wait incredibly long periods to get treatment and health care payments are often unaffordable for some. Fortunately once your mild fee for insurance is paid there is little else left to pay for and care is not something you need to worry about. Furthermore, with the implementation of a private/public health care system the long waiting periods should be cut down. Welfare is another problem that seems to cause problems in no matter which country you live in. But here, the way some people live is appalling and they often have no other option than to resort to welfare. Reasons for this include their $5 an hour job, the price of health care and their health.
I truly miss Canada for its wide acceptance of other cultures. I mean over here you are often severely disadvantaged just because you’re black, native, mexican or asian. Racial prejudice is hardly a thing of the past here. Racial slander is used only jokingly in Canada but over here it is used quite seriously. This is truly a troubled land. But don’t get me wrong I’m loving my experience here and the people are truly incredible.
So I finally got a tatoo of the Teutonic Cross. Turned out really well. Got it on my right shoulder. It felt like a bee stinging me every 1/10 of a second for 30 minutes. Good times. Some big black prior Marine cut me. A moment I will not forgot…until I get my next one in Germany next year.
The 4th of July was fun. I didn’t end up going downtown because there was a chance of a thunder storm and a projected 400,000 people were expected to attend which all came into fruition. Ya it was nice though. Just hung out here and shot off some fireworks in our backyard while watching the towns around us shoot off theirs. It was more spectacular than anything I had ever seen in Canada but I guess that’s not too hard to beat.
Now as I watch the world cup final ceremony in Germany and the Italians hold it high I mourn that it was not the English or the Germans. I guess they’re just holding for us until 2010.
Response from Dallas Nash
www.dallasnash.com
Opionated and myopic post dude, with the exception of the tattoo… So, now ALL of you will hear it from someone that has a bit of broader perspective.
Your statements are gross generalizations made out of a strong cultural bias. Stereotypes, the very thing that you criticize, are used prevalently through out your entire rant. Judge not, lest ye be judged yourself.
Canada is equal to the US in regards to racism. You mention that Canadians ONLY use racism while joking. That’s a tad hypocritical don’t you think? Ask the races that are being joked about and see if they find it humorous - Hindu, Pakistanis, Asians etc… I also doubt you surveyed ANY Native Americans, but I can tell you that North Americans have not dealt effectively with the Native Americans challenges either. Take a visit to any of your local reservations; I think there is one in Brentwood. You would not even have to travel “around the world” to see the impact of that. I think it is 15 minutes from your parent’s home in Victoria. These challenges, and your opinions, hardly give credence to US feelings of racism to the local Natives.
I would also add that the Asian population in the USA dominates the majority of post secondary educational institutions. They absolutely dominate every technical industry in Silicon Valley (San Jose CA), I know because I worked for companies in the Valley that are primarily run by SKILLED Asian workers. Asians make up a huge percentage of doctors and dentists, so my question really question is; how exactly are Asians lacking equal opportunity in the USA?
On this same note, I am also wondering exactly why ILLIGAL ALIENS, like the illegal Mexicans, El Salvadorians, Candians and people from Central America all have it so bad here in the USA? They make between $8 and $13/hour TAX FREE, and live off of our school, medical and welfare systems without EVER contributing financially to the tax base. Why is the Government required to “care for them”? Were they not making $3/week in their home country? Moreover, why am I, as a tax payer in the US, required to support ILLEGAL aliens in MY country? Is it our Government’s responsibility to care for the lack of opportunity and poverty in other countries (outside the UN)?
Stereotypes are a really funny thing. The French, Germans, Candadians and any other country can easily criticize a country who is #1 in the world for GDP. The United States has the largest national economy in the world, with a GDP for 2005 of 12.41 trillion dollars. [1] (Wikipedia). Inferiority is also a funny thing. It makes people say stupid things, just ask Joseph Goebbels. He started to actually believe his own propaganda. Just remember, discrimination is a hate of any other race, religion, creed or national origin – ie: Canadians hating Americans (seems like you, and many Canadians hold notions of pre-conceived stereotypical opinions of what Americans are really like), Germans hating Jews, the French hating anything non-French. I won’t even open the door to the easiest example of racism, the Muslim world hating the Jews, Americans, British, Dutch, and let’s just say ANYONE that is an INFIDEL. That about concludes my diatribe on racism and general discrimination. God bless, freedom of speech and the opportunity to disagree.
Let us start the whole discussion on health care, the SICK and ailing (pun intended) Canadian tax system. Agreed, the US medical system is costly. You may also get a two hour wait time. But those are about the only negative things you can say about it. Doctors train world wide to practice here in the USA. Canadians pay 72% to the Government for “FREE” health care. What a LAUGH!!!
Just ask my nephew. 5 hour emergency room wait times, inferior practicing physicians, hospitals closing huge portions of their hospital beds. So tell me how 72% tax burden and a free health system is good for Canada. Why is Alberta, one of the few healthy provinces in Canada, privatizing their health care? That system in Canada is inherently broken.
Canadian tax payers even pay to train Canadian doctors just so they can leave Canada to practice in the USA. This brings up a couple of issues. 1) The reference by Josh to US educational standards sliding and the long term impact to our economy and the over-all quality of life.
I will address this first. Let me reference my earlier point; Canadian doctors, funded and educated by Canadian tax payers, and coming to the US to practice. The question that the USA should be asking is; how can we limit the influx of foreign nationals into the US, performing jobs that Americans should be doing? I would also extend this question to Josh; exactly how does the Canadian government, or maybe adding some accountability to the citizens of Canada (or any other country of the world) look to solve their technical brain drain in losing workers to the USA (again the world’s largest economy)? Also, I would simply cite the ranking of the World’s Top 200 Universities: http://ccer.pku.edu.cn/ss/world-rankingsUnis.pdf
Max score
1 Harvard University US
2 University of California, Berkeley US
3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology US
4 California Institute of Technology US
5 Oxford University UK
6 Cambridge University UK
7 Stanford University US
8 Yale University US
9 Princeton University US
10 ETH Zurich Switzerland
11 London School of Economics
12 Tokyo University Japan 371 3 3 30 60 482.0
13 University of Chicago US 254 31 18 58 71 444.0
14 Imperial College London UK 237 60 51 55 27 443.7
15 University of Texas at Austin US 183 9 8 8 202 421.5
16 Australian National University Australia 212 48 31 9 105 417.7
17 Beijing University China 322 9 11 35 3 391.8
18 National University of Singapore Singapore 266 35 46 10 18 385.9
19 Columbia University US 213 10 18 56 75 384.1
20 University of California, San Francisco US 21 5 0 39 300 376.5
21 McGill University Canada 132 84 42 11 84 364.1
22 Melbourne University Australia 207 49 51 12 23 353.2
23 Cornell University US 202 10 16 19 91 348.8
24 University of California, San Diego US 96 3 6 7 208 331.5
25 Johns Hopkins University US 107 16 13 68 116 330.8
26 University of California, Los Angeles US 180 2 8 12 106 316.4
27 Ecole Polytechnique France 144 25 55 23 59 315.5
28 Pennsylvania University US 142 14 23 31 87 306.9
29 Kyoto University Japan 207 3 3 25 57 303.7
30 Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris France 105 11 22 100 51 298.4
Take a look and see which country has the most TOP rated schools in the world. Obviously the US places 7 out of the top 10, and 43 schools in the top 200. Wow, does the US educational system lack quality. Sorry Josh, your opinion — NOT fact… Not even close. America is a country of opportunity. If you want to work hard, you will succeed. I do not see people moving in droves to Germany or France, but feel free. Europe is certainly a beautiful place. People come to the USA, oh yeah, and use Canada as an initial “jumping off point” to establish themselves so they can eventually move to this country. The US must be a highly repressive country for minorities and immigrants, because my neighbors are: An Iranian dentist, a Korean software mogul, a Korean dentist, a Jewish doctor, and a number of African American business people, and me – a Canadian immigrant.
I could go on and on, but I have to get back to work. Opinions are really like assholes, every ones got one! So as you continue to state opinions, whether on a BLOG or in general conversation, (where they are culturally bias or not) do not forget to keep an open mind. Surely your Liberal professors in the University of Victoria know what that means.
D
July 15th, 2006 at 1:01 pm
Dallas, you didn’t provide a link to his blog… What if someone wanted to respond directly?
July 15th, 2006 at 11:21 pm
Hello Dallas! Well, now that I have picked my face up from the floor after reading Josh’s very biased and unresearched narrow minded opinions on “Americans” I will make my comment brief. I am totally appalled.. Which part of RUDE does Josh not get? Dissing the American people, the very ones who have kindly given him shelter for the past three months. That got my blood boiling!
Does Josh ACTUALLY think that his commentary on Americans and the country they live in is in any way, shape or form not a blatant statement of racism? Does living in a country and talking to illegal aliens and a few others (I am thinking of in perspective of the large population of the whole country) working there, qualify you as an expert on “knowing” Americans?How does this blog posting of his really capture his quoted” I want to affect people in a positive way.” goal? It surely did not affect me in a postive way! My comment? Unbelievably unresearched documentation of his own opinion. Since the population of America is so large, how does talking to a few people equate to the truth? How very sad that his opinions and commentary are so incongruent with any Christian values he proposes to now represent by having a cross tatooed on his arm. Living for 2- 3 months in America does not an expert make. I hope that this turns out to be a very meaningful life learning event in his life. What is his actual lived of experience of Canada? Victoria alone? His comments are bereft of any critical thinking skills that would question any potential bias of any research, even if it is just his “lived experience” which is all Qualitative.
Josh has the audacity to comment on Canadian Health Care when he knows nothing of it’s ineffectiveness. Medicare was founded by Tommy Douglas, a Saskatchewan politician with great intentions of providing to all people, equal access and equal care. The diversity of the present population has now promoted the crumbling of a very frail , expensive and ineffective system. Most Canadians don’t know how bad the system is until they have a near death expereince in the waiting room of any hospital. It is so very dangerous to become acutely ill in this country as Ty’s recent hospitalization attests to. I only discovered this week that one of the pediatrician’s that I peppered with questions about Ty’s condition, only affected some very small change in his care in a Kelowna hospital with one phone call. Of the five peds. doctors I consulted they were appalled that no thorough diagnostic work up was done and further disgusted at how no attempt was made to check out (read…………further diagnostic workup) if the present treatment was effective. No bone scan was done despite the most recent research in pediatric medicine ciiting that a bilateral cellulitis over knee joints will most likely progress to a bilateral osteomylelitis. The goal in Ty’s care was to treat the presenting symptoms and discharge him. I don’t suppose the fact that it is most likely that his parents have some kind of medical insurance for when they live in Canada for the summer, ever entered Josh’s mind. They never complained,even when some village idiot doctor decided to incise and drain the abcesses without the use of any local aneasthesia of pediatric dose of narcotic medication. His rationale” It doesn’t hurt TY, it really doesn’t hurt. Just think of how traumatizing that is to a kid of age three?. His thoughts would have been at the time of the procedure,, “now this hurts, but some adult in a strange place that is hurting me says that it does not.”
“Well, then I guess it is my fault that it does.” I am confused though, as my mommy and daddy are helping holding me down while this man hurts me. I do wonder why they look so distressed as this man hurts me. ” I guess it is my fault. Maybe I am bad. Oh HOW utterly disgusted Iwas when I heard this!
Comments on the tattooing procedure: Why did Josh mention that the man was black? Is that important to anybody? It was a racist comment. I guess I need not be surprised? Racism is rampant in Canada. My only hope is that Josh will realize someday that this is no perfect country, job, system, or mate. We all have to get up everyday and go to work for a living trying our best to demonstrate our God given purpose and giftings. With love, Mare
July 16th, 2006 at 4:13 am
Hippies and Pinko Communists Unite to Piss Off Conservatives Everywhere!
Hi Dallas! Hello Josh! and hello Mother
Now that I have had the chance to read the post, and the two replies, I’m going to throw in my two cents. Keep in mind, I suppose my education falls under that Liberal West Coast rubric as well, so let me put down my hackeysack and organize my thoughts. I apologize in advance if I’m a little incoherent, I finished a long day of CPR training, in which I learned amongst other things, that Americans are a tad litigious. Just thought I would start off on the right foot, by making broad sweeping generalizations. Just kidding. Seriously, though, I’m probably going to vacillate between both sides of the issue and not really take a side, sort of nice and Canadian of me. I’m also going to shamlessly crib from Dennis Miller. I will let you know with quotation marks so you don’t get confused between our acerbic wits. Hahahaha
It seems everyone’s tensions are running a bit high, I’m going to be mentioning racism, education, and healthcare as well, so everyone stay frosty. I’m also going to shamelessly tug at your heartstrings with anecdotes from my father, an immigrant himself from Mexico. Legal, I should specify. Again, his opinions are myopic as well, they are based solely on his own experiences and they took place in a likely romanticized version of the past. Also, did I mention he’s Mexican? Una chistosa, ok papa? Tranquilo. Also, just to appeal to the other parent, Mom I like that you reprimanded Josh for “dissing” Americans. And might I add, you go girl. Seriously, though, made me laugh. Love you. However, I do think you came down a little hard on Josh. He is simply reacting to what he has observed around him, obviously his view is going to come off as biased. Yes, he’s using broad sweeping generalizations, but seriously, those are the best kind, and we were all guilty of employing those stereotypes in our responses, and trust me, I’m going to do it too I’m sure. So, back off a little there Fidel, (see i told you, a completely irrational comparison, i would like to state for the record i see no substantial paralles between my mother and the Cuban saviour, i mean dictator) Josh can criticize the American government, the structure of society, the institutions he has had the opportunity to observe while staying there. So what, he’s getting a little too patriotic for you Canadians? Raise your hands if you think apathy is a problem here, Canucks. Umm…okay wait no one is raising their hand…are you being ironic? I can’t tell. That being said, my mom has a point, to put it crudely, you’re a guest there, so when you’re invited to the table, don’t piss in the finger bowls. Pretty easy to remember. Let’s talk about healthcare first. Now honestly, and I would like to stress I do not speak with the authority of a medical professional (although I did learn how to save a choking infant today…well a doll) I am proud of our system in Canada, I am proud of the principles behind our health care system in comparison to the American ones. Note I said, in principle. In practice though, there are some problems. I agree with Josh over the state of Canadian healthcare, certainly the burden of paying for your stitches, cast, MRI, surgery etc is lessened by the healthcare system we have here. Yes, our emergency wait times are horrendous, particularly for BC. However, this is due to an overburdened system and hordes of people who flock to the ER to get their cough checked out. Your will definately be seen if you have life threatening injuries, i.e the ambulance brings you in, you’re missing a limb, etc. Also, any one who is experiencing chest pain takes priority. So I think some of the fault we can lay on the people who go to Emergency with the sniffles. Here’s an idea, now let’s talk a little bit about racism and healthcare. Now I personally am so race concious “I don’t even separate my whites from my colours in the wash” but here we go. I do recall my dad telling me that coming from Mexico to train in the States was a great experience. He was training in truama/emergency surgery in Newark, Nueva Jersey. There was plenty of immediate trauma to be found there, plenty of gunshot wounds. Why is another issue entirely. Anyways, so not only was there a lot of stuff happening, but often times guess who would get shot? Young black or Hispanic males. Hey, intern do you know how to put a chest tube in? Uhhh…. “well do you want to learn on this guy?” Hmmm wait this guys white, why don’t you just watch me on this one. Racially polarized? Certainly. Remember his account! You want to know something else? Money gets you better care, regardless of country. Money translates into having the funds to buy insurance. But we’re in Canada you argue. Well okay, say you need an MRI. Your physician is worried about your headaches and visual disturbances, worries something is wrong neurologically. Great, lets do the test. Hey not so fast Sparky, you gotta wait 12 weeks well that possible aneurysm does what it does best…balloons out lethally. But if you have the money? Then you can cut the line, so to speak and go to a private clinic and get the procedure done, as long as you pay for it. Let’s move on and talk more about racism and disadvantage in both countries. First of all, Mom i think you may have misconstrued Josh’s comment. The reference to the big black Marine guy in the tattoo parlor I think was an innocent comment on the fact that a) he’s black, Josh being from Vic has not seen a lot of blacks and b) he’s a Marine, so this is nothing to him.
Remember for Marines, “pain is weakness leaving the body”. “5′9? I didnt know they stacked shit that high!” Sorry, a little Full Metal Jacket to lighten the mood. Back to the issue at hand…Dallas, I completely agree with you when I say that Canada has an appalling history of treating Natives as second class citizens. The situation appears only to get worse as we continously dole out special allowances for them and refuse to treat them as equals. “Smallpox? Yeah, our bad. How would you like to go to law school? Oh don’t worry we’ve saved you a spot, and we’ll give you an extra hour to write the exam. Great, let’s eat! Oh, let me grab your booster seat.” Again another anecdote from my father. When living in Regina, my aunt asked hiim if he wanted to go visit a reserve and he was enthusiastic later he told me, expecting friendly natives celebrating a powwow and retiring to their teepees. You can imagine his reaction when he arrived and it looked…well…like they were living in squalor. Actually it reminded him of Mexico. I do have to say though, that Josh you have put your finger on the pulse (radial, brachial, carotid…..) of the issue. Americans should also be well I don’t want to say ashamed but displeased rather, that a lot of their own live in relative squalor. Ok, GDP of 12 trillion dollars (insert Dr. Evil pose here) stellar educational standards and opportunities and yet… Hurricane Katrina hit the Big Easy and we have how many people dying? Now that was a tragedy, and not according to Al Gore because of global warming (good film though, everyone:shameless plug for An Inconvient Truth) because it clearly delineated the socio-economic disparity that still exists in the southern US. The absolute devastaion, death, and resultant spread of infectious disease bascially showed that in the Land of the Plenty, that vast corcnocupia of oppportunity, many people (cough cough blacks cough cough) are not living the high life. That was truly the tragedy, not “Gee maybe we need to update our Doppler equipment, and also stop leaving our SUVs idling for hours every day” but how on earth does this degree of ignorance and misinformation still exist in the richest country in the world in the 21st century? I think I have said enough. Basically, we all scrwed and you know what the Chinese have already won, in number alone. I’m kidding of course. Feel proud of the country you live in, criticize those institutions, maybe try to change them if you are so unhappy? If you’re an immigrant to either of these great lands, come, join in our reindeer games, speak the language, go with the flow. That’s just my opinion though, I could be wrong.
July 17th, 2006 at 8:40 pm
Big D…
I replied to your cousin on his blog. Enjoy.