The American Dream: Are you sure?
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What would you think if I told you I don’t have a place to sleep tonight ? Or, that my last meal was twelve hours ago? Let me rephrase that, That my children’s last meal was twelve hours ago?
What would you think if I told you that one of my kids have a chronic illness but hasn’t taken his medication because medi cal does not cover it ?
What about, I am on the streets because I am disabled and have been waiting for SSI aid for five months and is still pending? Intersting? Would you even believe me?
Avoiding the Nightmare...
Not many people can picture a scenario like this one. As a matter of fact, is everybody’s worst nightmare. We have this ideal as Americans, “The Land of Opportunity”, that in theory, our Constitution states that we have certain freedoms and opportunities that other countries simply don't have. Most of this ideal comes from the premise that in the United States, under God we are all created equal. Are we?
Let’s put aside the fact that we are still plagued by racism, socioeconomic classes, and overall prejudice. Drugs, vices, politics, money, gender, social roles, education ( or lack there of), race issues, creeds and even religion are part of what makes us the oxymoron of nations. We are selling a dream that is so far from reality that shakes the very base of that argument. I could give you various examples of how I came to this conclusion.
The pill that kills you
It’s obscene the billions of dollars that is spend in health insurance and medications in this country. The health care system is a mega business that caters to those that can afford to get sick. Others they have to weather it out or die waiting.
How many of you suffers from a condition that requires an expensive medication that is giving you more problems than relief? And you still take it. Or, Are you waiting for a procedure,operation or transplant that can actually save your life , but cant afford it? Ironic.HMO, medic aid ,medicare and “free clinics are colorful band aids that are used to alleviate some of this problem.
What about those who can “afford private insurance” ? the premium scan skyrocket depending on the individual. And that is if you don't have a preexisting condition! As in many other countries, health issues are one of our biggest concerns. The pharmaceutical companies are making a killing ( literally ).
Selling us miracles that may help you with one thing but create another. Though perpetuating the never ending cycle. But unfortunately, it’s a business and those that cant pay suffer.
Shake it off man!!
According to NAMI ( The National Alliance on Mental Illness ) as so well presented in this statement reflects a reality that many people wont accept , specially those in charge of assigning funds to address this issue.
Mental illnesses are a serious medical condition. They cannot be overcome through "will power" and are not related to a person's "character" or intelligence. Mental illness falls along a continuum of severity.
Even though mental illness is widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion-about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 Americans-who live with a serious mental illness.The National Institute of Mental Health reports that One in four adults-approximately 57.7 million Americans-experience a mental health disorder in a given year.
The U.S. Surgeon General reports that 10 percent of children and adolescents in the United States suffer from serious emotional and mental disorders that cause significant functional impairment in their day-to-day lives at home, in school and with peers.
The World Health Organization has reported that four of the 10 leading causes of disability in the US and other developed countries are mental disorders. By 2020, Major Depressive illness will be the leading cause of disability in the world for women and children. Mental illness usually strike individuals in the prime of their lives, often during adolescence and young adulthood. All ages are susceptible, but the young and the old are especially vulnerable.
Stigma erodes confidence that mental disorders are real, treatable health conditions. We have allowed stigma and a now unwarranted sense of hopelessness to erect attitudinal, structural and financial barriers to effective treatment and recovery. It is time to take these barriers down.
But that’s irrelevant, because there are no funds. And we still cutting back of programs.
Home Sweet Home...
In the mean time thousands of people are pushed to adjust and improvise more than ever before in order to keep a roof over their heads. Such as compound family units ( multi generational households) and weekly paid rent.
Thousands are homeless right now in the United States. And this are only the statistics for those that use the shelters and facilities of an out reach program. Imagine those that still too ashamed to ask for help. But that does not matter if they do, there are no funds and we are still cutting programs.
Educating the leaders of tomorrow
Everyone knows that education is expensive. Not only college but also basic K-12 education is a challenge , specially if your child has a disability or special educational needs. The "system“ works so the government takes its time to fix “ the cracks”.
In the mean time, kids are falling through them. The No Child Left behind Law singed in 2002 has just facilitated to hand picked kids that meet the standards and labeled those that one reason or another can not“measure up “. Then we wonder why our children think they have limited choices.
On a final note
Only mentioning some of the things we have to take care of in our country, I look at the future and wonder, What is in my hands today to ensure this country’s standards measure up to the American dream? I guess that such titanic enterprise will be dealt to the next generation as our parents did with us...
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Some will call this hub nothing more then socialism, I call it a reality check! Very informative and well written. voted up! For those considering this nothing more then socialism, I hope you never fall on hard times!
I do not consider affordable anything and the rights to life giving resources to be socialism. If you prefer a system where you watch people die because they can not afford something that is 400 times over priced then you should not consider it a tragedy when it happens. You should consider your complete lack for human compassion and if you should become trapped in your social status for a lack of choices, you should enjoy your poverty.
Thank you for taking the time to try to undestand our point of view. And I say "we" try becase there millions of americans that think the same way as I do. Meaning, that only those that are in this situation can really relate to the rabbit hole that you speak off. It goes very deep. I have an activist minset not passive attitude toward what ails my beautiful country. For people like that have to deal with the burocracy and red tape of the system, comes point of utter desperation. I am a profeccional woman, with 3 special needs children and a disabled husband. Plus I am the sole caretaker of a granmother that suffers of advaced alzheimers. My choices are very limited. Positive thinking is the only thing that keeps me moving foward and not lay down to die.
I assest the infromation and did my homework, I LIVE IT EVERY DAY. For me to extencively present each topic in detail would be a 300 pages paper, but that was not the purpose of the hub. I am not only part of this positive movement toward change but I am an active advocate and militant to ensure that our granchildren have a chance for a better life.
On another note .I dont know if you are aware, that when people are hungry and the local food bank presents you with a box of food, chioces are removed from the equation. At a soup kitchen, more than 75% of the food distributed is expired. WE dont have that many choices. I can only speak from experince and the 200,000 americans that go through the same situation would agree.
This is one of the reasons I like living in the UK. You don't have to be rich to get ill here, the NHS looks after everybody.
I was upset with Obama care simply because it did not address the profit driven over priced medical system first. The cost is so horrendous that no one can not afford Obama care. The average wage requires a quarter or more of your pay check to have it. One trip in a ambulance to the hospital is around 4,000.00 dollars. Once you our there you our milked for everything. A referral to get a referral its insane. Its not socialism when you can not afford it and its insanity to assume that you our not paying for it every time some one uninsured has no choice but to go to the hospital. In the end they will have no choice but to come to terms with a realistic cost in medicine.
Great Hub, Ananceleste. Our country and our people are in a very precarious economic situation right now. Our political leaders seem to be more interested in political posturing and fundraising rather than solving our nation's problems. The issues you have raised are very serious and dire. We need to invest in this country's future as well as making things more affordable for all our citizens.
Try to do some research on alkaline and ph balance in the blood stream. You will be surprised to discover what comes up, and this is definitely the start of our troubles in America, but its not just here its worldwide. Good Luck & welcome to hubpages, hope you can find a way to see the positive going on today as well.
I sense here a great deal of justifiable animosity towards a dieing system, known as the American economy, but there's no usefulness here in this hub. You need to find a sort of mid point or balance between the negatives & positive, and come up with both sides here to get the maximum potential from your readers, its just my advice.
There is a movement in occurrence trying to make the difference known as the health movement & the occupy movements worldwide which are all positive. So please try to address that too in the near future, because things are changing for the better in America, it might not be as quick as we all may need it, but awareness is key.
Focusing only on the negative aspects of things will turn many folks away, because it acts as a sort of repellant as opposed to an attraction.
Most of us know very well the many issues plaguing this god forsaken country. We need solutions, when you think about it, all the problems begin at the dinner table, so maybe try to find out all the thing that it would take to reverse the process of mass consumption on part of the American consumer, of the wrong food products, drinks, and misc items they choose on their own to eat.
Our blood stream is the other issue, people never talk about, there's so much bad blood in people, which bring about a vast amount of physical, mental, as well as spiritual illnesses and aren't talked about much.
We must become more aware of what we consume today, and than things can begin to move into a much more positive direction, until than each individual will be dwindling down the unsafe rabbit hole, of poor health, huge medical bills, and imbalance chemistry.
I dont know about that. But was is evident is this is going to get worst. Acording to those that are trying to fix the problems in this country, the silver linning is just that, a far away dream to help this country become the land of oportunity.
I say this is another endorsement for socialism.
ananceleste Hub Author 2 months ago
I know nothing about politics, but what I know is what my own eyes have seen. I am more than sure that those that have a problem with this truth, are those that have never had to eat out of a trash can or watch their kid die because they could not afford a $100,000 treatment.
It's ironic that a country that live of appearances and credit can boldly speak and say, that in the United States, everyone has the same opportunities.Like a tragic comedy. But, i looked up in the diccionary the word socialism, and I started to laugh. Even though it could entertain the thoughts of some, this model would never come to be in America. The big fish that holds everything including our "civil rights", would never allow it. Thank you for sharing!