Love America, Hate the Politicians

People say, "Why do you hate America?"


I say I don't hate America. I love America. I hate the actions of the government bought by the rich corporate PACs and the wealthy who don't give a damn about Americans or the rest of the world. They only care about themselves. Their motto is "I've got mine and screw the rest of you."

There is still this mindset of "America, love it or leave it." Yeah, well my mindset is this nation is better than that. This nation is part of the rest of the world and is obligated to make the world better for all people. Rather than bombs and troops we could drill wells and reduce the number of children dying by millions. And it would be billions and billions cheaper. So why not? Stupid question. There's no profit to be made in improving the lives of the impoverished and most miserable peoples of the world.

Look at Haiti, if you can without crying or puking. Where did all those billions of dollars go to help the people? NGOs claim they've improved things but the people say things have gotten worse. If you only have 6-10 toilets per 8-10,000 people and the toilets aren't cleaned out daily is that considered an improvement over no toilets?

There are a few thousand different NGOs taking the money to bring relief. In their free time many of the staff have nice beds in luxury hotels. They eat steak and shrimp across the street from a refugee camp so crowded cholrea will kill thousands before it is controlled.

The USAID, a US governmental agency gives relief but there are certain conditions. If they buy grain it has to be American grain. If they send equipment it has to be equipment from American corporations. 93% of the billion or so dollars sent for relief is recyclyed to America corporations, many of them within the beltway of DC. Even when the food or equipment is cheaper or closer for immediate needs from non-American sources. Is this how the US wins hearts and minds?

Americans are so ethnocentric and Eurocentric they either can't conceive of the squallor of Haiti or other nations ravaged by wars and famine or they don't want to know. They don't think there are consequences for American foreign policy over the years and when there are attacks on Americans become the whining, bitching, never forgetting victims. What the hell do they think when they allow our government to impose corrupt leaders on nations, bomb, strafe and destroy civilian population centers and rape the land for natural resources? Do they really think because we're America everybody should love us.

Americans are better than they've allowed the government to be. But their voices of reason are being sold out. And too many think they deserve freedom but anybody different doesn't. Tim Tebow is the darling of the American public. How would he fare were he Muslim? How would he fare if he were gay? Intolerance has not diminished because we have laws against hate crimes. It just manifests itself in different and more sinsister ways. If we say our hate and racism is part of our religous beliefs should we get an exemption from the laws?

Or how about the Catholic Church and others who have openly bashed gays for hundreds of years? Or women who choose to have an abortion are murderers but a President sanctioning torture and indiscriminate bombing isn't a war criminal?

I don't like this America! I don't like an America where hate and violence prevail. I don't like the America where greed prevails. I don't like an America where corporations are considered people and allowed to buy my government. You can tell me to love it or leave it but I'll tell you I'm not leaving and neither are some of my best friends.