American Arrogance

I have to keep asking myself every day if there are two wars going on because all I hear about is the bailout of the rich. I'm sure there are troops in Iraq and Afghanistan that are looking for relief. I'm sure the people of Iraq and Afghanistan would appreciate an American bailout. The folks in Haiti would surely appreciate getting a bailout after being battered by four storms. Folks are still waiting in the Lower 9th Ward for their promised bailout. And it should be remembered the ethnic and tribal cleansing in many parts of Africa continues with daily slaughters. Those left to fend for themselves probably need some relief as well.
The point is; peace and justice now means the American economy more than it means an end to aggression killing many thousands each day. How American of us. The bottom line is American's 401k's, mortgages and a continued lifestyle permitting us to remain the biggest consumers of the world's resources is taking precedence over the rest of the world's misery.
Oh, I know, it is foolish to overlook the fall of the great American Empire's greed machine because the rich over-lords will extort Americans for their pensions and housing before they will sacrifice their riches if we persist on objecting to any bailout. And without a doubt, the people will cave. They will prefer remaining economical slaves to a failed system rather than risk losing their comfort.
Americans like to believe they are the most important people in the world but that arrogance is a major reason this nation has elicited hate around the world and the financial ship is sinking to the delight of many in the world. If we travel outside this nation we will find people who will never have a tenth of what most Americans have had. How they must enjoy the frenzied rich Americans thinking their world is coming to an end because they stand to lose part of their wealth. How amusing the cries of “the sky is falling, the sky is falling” from the Wall Street crooks to the American media it must be to the terrorists Bush and Company have demonized so often to keep us in line. Turns out the terrorists that have done the most harm to this nation resided not too far away from the Twin Towers.
Meanwhile, back in the rest of the non-industrialized world places like Tibet and Myanmar face true life and death issues not involving 401ks or stock portfolios. Places like Darfur still have those babies with bloated stomachs caused from starvation. Iraqi children are still threatened each day with the crossfire of the 10 billion dollar a month army and the “insurgents”. Hell, even here, where all the news has to do with Wall Street and Main Street there’s still “skid row” and “Bushvilles” full of homeless people who were homeless before the current “crisis” and have few hopes of anything changing.
Here in Denver, the alleged public hospital of the state’s major university closed the doors to their inpatient psychiatric unit under the cover of the market collapse. That leaves two hospitals in the metro area to care for the thousands of mental health clients that will require some inpatient intervention. The closure was about converting the unit to higher paying medical beds where the use of multiple procedures and pharmaceuticals add up much faster than caring for a few “loonies” in crisis. The mentally ill will be on their own once the full effects of the great American robbery trickle down. Their protection and care are always the first to get the budget cut in hard times.
Americans consistently lack a world perspective, however. It is always about them 24/7, all the time. They seriously believe their current plight trumps all other problems in the world while the vast majority of people on this planet don’t have time to worry about the possible decrease in American lifestyle. They don’t care about you or me losing homes that seem ridiculously large and lavish to them as they live in just a few hundred square feet that house large families. They don’t care if we have to cut back on cable, Starbucks, driving one to a car wherever we want, ringtones on our cell phones, cell phones with internet capability, X-Box and Wii entertainment games, I-Tunes, 150 dollar Nike running shoes, Macy’s and Dilliards and all the other American “necessities”.
We run around crying about the sky falling, afraid our lives will become more difficult. Many in the world would say, “Welcome to our world”. This is the true reality show, AmeriKa. This is Survivor: America. Maybe Sarah Palin will soon get her chance to put her finger on the nuke button and the rapture will begin like LaHaye and Jenkins have duped their readers into believing. If not, the majority of the world doesn’t have time to worry about the “great American plight”. They struggle to stay alive in the deserts and mountains of Iraq and Afghanistan. They struggle to eat and have potable water in Africa. They struggle for the very basics of life and they don’t really care about you, America.