We deserve it all?

I got on facebook today and this was on my newsfeed, posted by an acquaintance:

IN AMERICA- WE HAVE TO PRESS "1" TO SPEAK ENGLISH
IN AMERICA- THE HOMELESS GO WITHOUT EATING
IN AMERICA- THE ELDERLY GO WITHOUT NEEDED MEDICINES
IN AMERICA- THE MENTALLY ILL GO WITHOUT TREATMENT
IN AMERICA- OUR TROOPS GO WITHOUT PROPER EQUIPMENT
IN AMERICA- OUR VETS GO WITHOUT PROMISED BENEFITS
YET, WE DONATE BILLIONS TO OTHER COUNTRIES BEFORE HELPING OUR OWN! HAVE THE GUTS TO RE-POST THIS? 1% WILL, 99% WON'T HAVE THE NERVE.

Apparently I get really fired up quite easily when I see things like this. I suppose, as an American, I should get fed up that I have to press 1 for English with English is the US's primary language, darn it! I suppose I should get fed up that we give, GIVE, billions of dollars to other countries who really need it instead of making our own lives darn near perfect, damn it!

No. No. Not at all. It took everything within me not to write a nasty comment, so all I wrote is that we can't have it all and we still have so much more than other countries. Thankfully, I have a blog where I can write all the nasty comments I want :-)

I think one of the things I need to work on most is to not be critical or judgmental of people who are stuck in the American mindset. If American life is all you know, well then, I shouldn't criticize. But I can try to expand your worldview.

A couple months ago I was having a conversation with someone who was telling me that with all the aid we give other countries, they should do their part to help us. Our gas prices are horrible, and our economy is down; we need help. This is one of the times where I tried to understand where she was coming from. The singular American mindset. So I asked why. "Why? Other countries should help us so that our gas prices are lower so you can take your bigger camper instead of little one on vacation? So that you can GO on vacation?"

Now, I realize that things aren't perfect, and why shouldn't be try to better ourselves if we have the means? But what I don't think is that we deserve and are entitled to everything. I don't think that we should remain in a bubble that allows us to think that, thus allowing us to resort to complaining when we think we don't have enough.

"We have to press 1 to speak English." That anyone would complain about this is just absurd to me. If that's on your top 10 complaints about your living situation, I think you're doing alright. I wonder how many people's grandparents or great-grandparents are giving the evil eye from their grave for hearing this. For most of us, our ancestors didn't come here speaking English. Have a little heart and respect for what this country stands for, and get over yourself.

The homeless go without eating. One of the most eye-opening books I've read, _Under the Overpass_, is about two middle class young guys who give up everything and choose to live homeless across America for 3 months. I think it says a lot if you live in a country where you can *choose* to be homeless and know you'll be fine. Not ideal, of course not. But in the US, there's always a dollar someone can find. There are shelters. There are soup kitchens. They are still able to get the basic essential needs (of course, for Americans, "need" is a highly messed-up concept). If I had to be homeless anywhere, well frankly, I would choose France, but I know I would get by in the US. This doesn't happen everywhere.

The elderly go without needed medicines. Ohhhh believe me. I have my qualms about the US healthcare system. Yet another area that really pisses me off. In fact, one of the girls here at the orphanage, Elizabeth, has a bad heart. She's in desperate need of several major surgeries that just aren't available in Haiti. We tried to get her a medical visa to have the operations done in the US. It was approved by Haiti, but not by the US. They said they were tired of Haitians coming in for medical care and either not going back to Haiti or going right back to Haiti. The American woman who was trying to take care of the process bluntly asked them, "Are you telling me that you would rather let her die than get a visa just for medical purposes?" He replied frankly, "yes." That's all I will say about that.

I'll skip ahead to the qualm about donating to other countries... Really? I guess I'm just not of the opinion that we should make sure our own system is perfect before helping others. I know this isn't an intelligently written, well thought out response. It's a response because it just pisses me off. It's hard to live in a country, knowing that thousands are living without electricity for many many days in hot weather, in tents with rainy weather, and hear people complain that they were without power for 2 or 3 days. It's a simple inconvenience, that's all. I have become so grateful for power. I guess that happens when you live in a house where you never know if you'll have power or not, and one option is not more likely than the other. Hearing about America's "need" (which again, I know is real) is hard to listen to because it just doesn't compare to the need I see here. The children at the orphanage eat the exact same thing every day for their lunch, and never complain. They are happy to have food. One of our kids, Robert, came from the streets, where they have to find a place to sleep every night and beg to eat. Most streets and roads have horrendous potholes and crevices, piles of trash line the streets, children in tent cities go without clothes, my neighbors are living in a house that is a mere construction of cement walls and part roof, crumbled from the quake, with no electricity whatsoever. The hospital is filled with malnourished children (more on that later...). Children *must* pay to go to school, and when they can't, it's generation after generation growing up with little and on the streets. The animals are skin and bones. I want to feed them my leftovers, but feel bad because I know there's a hungry child down the street who needs it just as much...

I feel much better now. Less pissed off and more just sad that we aren't a very grateful nation. Although, the more I dive into helping others, the more I meet others who DO help and are grateful. They give me hope :-)