Posted on September 11, 2009 - by reallyrotten

American Dream Dying a Slow Death

The American Dream seems in recent times to be seen as possessions people have like two cars, a house with white picket fence etc., but it is really an idea that everyone should have equal opportunities in life and everyone should be treated equally.

So in that sense the American Dream is still alive and still to be strived for: people may be loosing their homes, but largely their opportunities remain as equal as they’ve ever been.

Sure, the rich in American Society have more opportunities i.e. Ivy League education paid for and connections, but by and large the American system has good general opportunities for its citizens.

America, the USA, has a good way to go as far as healthcare is concerned: it remains one of the few countries in the western world where healthcare costs can bankrupt the family. I’m a Limey and I find this scenario un-American, surely the American ethos is to stand together and ride any storm together: a band of brothers and sisters, with everyone equal.

Now, I grew up in the UK which has a free healthcare system which is largely paid for by National Insurance. That is, everyone pays in, and if your unlucky enough to get a major illness, then the care is free (paid by National Insurance and the insurance does not run out).

My Mother had a major illness: Cancer and she received over 10 year’s worth of some of the best free treatment from the renowned Christie Hospital. The treatment was estimated to be 250,000 Pounds worth an enormous sum in the later 70’s. I’ll always be grateful to the British NHS for that care.

Now, if we had lived in the states we would have been bankrupt fairly quickly and I may not have made it to university.

I live in Australia now, and broke my ankle (being stupid) falling off a ladder last November: the ambulance ride to the hospital was free, the Accident and Emergency was free, the surgery to plate up and repair my dislocated ankle was free, The recovery in the hospital was free and they didn’t try and rush me out of the hospital. The physio and check up sessions are free.

The point I’m trying to make is that the American Dream is a kind of level playing field, where people can then pursue their dreams with equal opportunity. If you have people going bankrupt to pay medical bills then how can they or their families be on the level playing field with everyone else?

Barack Obama holds the promise of delivering a large chunk of the American Dream: Nationwide healthcare reform and I hope you recognise it for what it is…The American Dream…everyone treated equally, despite their bank balances, with no medical event or illness able to bankrupt any family.

That’s socialism: NO it’s not…that’s people standing together when one family has a crisis. The way your Medicare system is at the moment is more like the Serengeti…the law of the Jungle…no money, no treatment. Surely, in a civilised society the strong aid the weak: indeed it’s probably why mankind has been so successful. A country is judged by how well it takes care of its old and sick.

In a National Insurance type system of healthcare no one is left without healthcare. I hope you support Barrack Obama in his efforts to create a nationwide healthcare system that doesn’t leave people bankrupt: that’s the American Dream, a key part of a level playing field for everyone.

You’re a Limey what do you know about the American Dream?
You’d be surprised to learn that countries that don’t have the American Dream know what it means.

Take the UK for example, the UK was a class system for hundreds of years…
When cars came along Britain was quite happy to make Rolls Royces for the rich, but when it came to the working class, they couldn’t care less.
Then Henry Ford came along, in his mind, cars were for everyone, not just the rich.

In the American mindset, cars, fridges, washing machines, dishwashers were for everyone: the whole American system is geared for everyone. That’s why you need healthcare for everyone, with no one going bankrupt because of it.

If Barack Obama pulls off Healthcare reform it will be a major achievement: he will have placed a bedrock of the American Dream in that level playing field!

If you’re American, you should prey that the Healthcare reform happens.