My political rant

I woke up at 5:30 this morning thinking about that lady that was just released from her home as a prisoner is Myanmar. She had been held as a prisoner in her own home for 7 years because of her pro-democracy views. I think I might have had a dream about her too. That's kind of weird, but it got me thinking. I had recently read an article about a man in China who had spoken out against the government and he was imprisoned also. People have such a warped view of freedom these days, and what it actually mean to live in this country. Freedom does not mean you are entitled to free stuff and the government's job is not to provide for you, but to protect you from any outside sources that threaten to take away your freedoms.

I'll cite one example. There was a man in Tennessee (I think) that lived in a rural area that had no fire protection available. A neighboring city offered the residents to protect their home in case of fire for something like $70 a year to help cover their costs. This man chose not to participate and later, his house caught on fire and burned to the ground because the fire dept of this neighboring city would not protect his home. While this is incredibly sad, and I feel bad for this man that just lost his home and everything in it, I do not believe he was entitled to the firefighters protection. The firefighters are paid through the taxes of the neighboring city and the cost of sending the trucks to outlying areas out of that city had to be covered someway. I know my belief, in this situation is an unpopular one. I don't think people are entitled to this kind of thing. Although it is very nice to have and we have grown accustomed to it, it does not mean that it is our basic right to have it. The woman in Myanmar is proof of my point. Her only crime was speaking in favor of democracy. The great thing about our country, is that I have the freedom to rant about what I think real freedom is and not worry about being imprisoned for it. Our basic rights are that we can speak our mind without fear and we can live our lives as we see fit.

The problem with government today, is that they are worrying about things that don't effect our freedom. I'm mostly thinking about healthcare when I say this. I don't believe it's the government's job to provide healthcare for everyone. If you really want healthcare, then you have to make sacrifices to get it. I am proof of that point. Here is my story. Since I've been married, we have been pretty dirt poor, up until about the last year. While Craig has been going to school, I have been the breadwinner for the family, working part time from home, so I could take care of my child. I was fortunate to be able to take part of the Medi-cal program during this time. I did not feel it was my RIGHT to have it, I just felt fortunate it was available. Soon after our first child was born, I was no longer eligible for the program, so I bought private insurance, with maternity coverage, because I knew there was a chance I would get pregnant again. We sacrificed a lot of things to pay for this coverage. We didn't buy new clothes, we cut back on our groceries. We only spent money on our basic needs. One of my biggest beefs with being on Medi-cal was going into the office for something and seeing the other participants with $100 cell phone and $100 shoes and yet saying that they need help from the government. This was so frustrating to me, because a lot of people felt they were entitled to this free healthcare coverage and did not make it a priority to take care of it themselves. I feel I can sit on my ivory tower of judgment because I have been in the same situation as these people.

I feel strongly that people are confusing what the governments job is. They are trying to replace their family with the government. Your family is who should be providing for your physical needs, including extended family. They are the ones who should be reaching out to help in times of need. If you have no family, I would hope that you had friends who would be willing to help. The government should be turned to as a last resort. The duty of family is being transferred to the duty of the government.

I'm sorry you had to be subject to this long political rant of mine, but I couldn't sleep anymore and thinking about it was getting me all worked up. I had to write it down and get it out of my system. Now, I think I'll go take a shower. (What?? A shower before 7am?? This is crazy!!)