Winter in the Northern Hemisphere

What has been happening in my country has brought so much anxiety and worry to my door, 3,373 miles away. The vile spewing out of the mouths of Americans is disconcerting. Equating our president to Hitler is the most ill conceived accusation I can imagine, yet there are a few million out there who believe it to be true. Out of the video images I have witnessed on youtube the most disturbing was a woman chanting Hail Hitler! and making a Nazi salute to a Jewish man as he was explaining the benefits of the public heath system in Israel. The arrogance of that woman made me sick, and, at that point I thought I had seen the bottom. It was only the beginning of the ignorance and conceit I would soon witness by other Americans.


The debate over whether or not we should have an alternative to private insurance has brought a blight to my country that I thought only a few could try and justify in their own senseless way, thereby dismissed as the ranting of a crazy person. However, he who screams the loudest is the one who is heard. So much for civility. It begs the question; where are the 70% who support the public option? Starting a poll on facebook hardly constitutes a revolution or a protest for that matter. The revolution is being televised despite what Gil Scot said in 1970. The ‘tea bag’ demonstrations are the squeaky wheel in this case. Burning effigies of a President is a form of protest and thus, protected by the first amendment. However, the fact that the Tea Bag protesters are spewing so much misinformation and hatred in order to scare the most vulnerable, is tantamount to yelling ‘Fire’ in a movie theatre. This is fodder for news outlets looking to up their ratings in the name of sensationalism (there is an ism we all should fear). It is disconcerting and a true testament of how far we have fallen as a civilized society.

I am disappointed President Obama took so long to tailor his message to the masses. As a leader, he should know when to leave the opposition behind and not cave to the demands of lunacy. He has compromised so much that the integrity of his initial vision is almost unrecognisable. Access to preventative health care should be considered a basic human right and not something to be bartered to make the few comfortable.

Autumn is on the minds of many looking to say goodbye to the searing temperatures of this past summer, but winter has already set in.