Positive Focus Thursday - I'm Trying to Stay Positive

The Democratic debates started last night. And I, sadly, couldn't stay awake for them. I will review several sources for the highlights and will probably find a site to stream them so I can stay informed. 

It means the election 'shit' is starting in earnest. And I'm trying very, very hard to stay positive.

But I am some thoughts and questions which keep rolling around in my wee brain.

Here you go...

The United States has been for decades THE place to be. This country has been the beacon to millions of people over the years. We were looked up to.

But...

It has changed. 

We have become a place where a woman can no longer make her own decisions about what is right for her body under the guise of protecting the unborn. And yet, once born, children and their families are torn apart if they try to enter this country for a better life. Then kept in circumstances which would send a parent to jail if they were citizens of the United States.

And those unborn children people so want to protect? Once they reach school, chances are the school will be on the bottom of money allocation and the teachers working another job to make ends meet and put supplies in their classrooms. But yet, if you can bounce a ball or make a movie, you get a salary which could fund a school district for years. 

People are having to decide whether or not to take life-saving medication because it is so expensive and the insurance companies are all about profits. The same companies which make 'rules' that prohibit doctors and druggists from helping their patients find cheaper alternatives. 

If I have a drug or alcohol addiction and have insurance, more than likely I am entitled to unlimited stays at a facility which is almost resort-like. However, if I suffer from depression, my choice is extremely limited, if I have a choice at all. And for treatment, two or three visits to a doctor and then out on my own unless I can afford to pay hundreds of dollars in out-of-pocket costs. 

And our environment is in peril. If I want to grow vegetables in my own yard, I had better do it behind a fence where no one can see it. Just look at the weather pattern in our country. It's crazy. If I want to recycle my waste, the rules are almost impossible to understand as to what I can and can't put in my recycling bin. 

We have become a country where having even a minimum wage job means you can't support yourself and your family. So you have two or three jobs. And if you 'dare' sign up for benefits to make ends meet, you are scorned as being a freeloader. But if you go to college to better yourself and try for a higher paying job, you will probably exit with a degree and debt which will eat up any additional money you might make.

I have no issue with people who hunt. I'll take any meat you hunt and love it. However, when dozens of people are constantly being shot down in places where they should feel safe, something needs to be done. The life of one child, one person, should take priority over someone's ability to mail order an  AK-47 through the mail. But once again, the lobbyist for the gun manufacturers and the NRA are putting too much money in the pockets of politicians for them to take action.

Sending billions of dollars to countries so they will be in our back pocket and yet not helping our own country to repair after a disaster is unfathomable. Puerto Rico is still reeling from hurricane damage, as are areas in Florida. New Orleans and the Houston area in Texas still could use help. I think we do have a responsibility to help others, but we need to clean up our house first. 

But one of the worse problems this country is facing, in my opinion, is how we are being divided into 'groups' and set against each other. Citizens against immigrants, women against men, whites against anyone of color, rich against poor, straight against those who identify as anything but straight, truth against 'fake' news. We should be a 'united' country, not a divided one. 

The United States history has been the rugged pioneer, going it alone, and making it big. Of course, we haven't been told about those they stepped on in their way to the top. 

We need to stop thinking about the 'me' and start thinking about the 'we'. We need to stop pointing fingers and blaming others, saying 'it's their fault things are the way they are'. We need to take a look at other countries and how they have solved some of the problems we are experiencing with regard to health care, education, the environment. We need to step up to the plate again and start solving problems which are global in scale. 

We have the brains, the technology, and the spirit to do wonderful things. Not only for ourselves, but for the whole world. But often the first question asked is 'what's in it for me?' 

Part of me dreads the next year and a half. Part of me is already resigned this country has slipped too far into the mud to pull itself out. But part of me is ready to fight for what is right and good, to hold civilized discourse with others on issues, to help those who need a voice.

If nothing else, I am positive it is going to be an interesting year.