CONSUMER, KNOW THYSELF
67A Wall of Ignorance
Does this really qualify as bliss?
will·ful also
wil·ful (wlfl)
adj.
1. Said or done on purpose; deliberate.
See Synonyms at voluntary.
2. Obstinately bent on
having one's own way.
ignorance [ɪgnərəns]
lack of knowledge, information, or education; the state of being ignorant
The Truth Is Rarer Than Fiction
Literacy Statistics
* 42 million American adults can't read at all; 50 million are unable to read at a higher level that is expected of a fourth or fifth grader.
* The number of adults that are classified as functionally illiterate increases by about 2.25 million each year.
* 20 percent of high school seniors can be classified as being functionally illiterate at the time they graduate.
(Emphasis added)
The number of people without health care is somewhere
between forty and eighty million, depending on who you ask. Is even the lowest
number acceptable in the land of liberty and justice for ALL?
There are at least twenty five million under insured.
The U.S. has among the worst health statistics of all rich nations. Here are just a few among many.
Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births):
United States 10.4
The highest of the top eleven first world countries.
Death rate of 1-to-4 year olds (per community of 200,000 per
year):
United States
101.5
The highest of the top eleven first world countries.
Health Care Expenditures (percent of GDP)
United States
13.4%
Worlds highest.
Doctors' incomes:
United States
$132,300
Worlds highest.
Life Expectancy (years):
Men Women
United States 71.6
78.6
Number ten of top twelve.
Unemployment, not counting those who have given up searching, is nearing ten percent. It will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.
WHY?
The richest nation on Earth.
The only remaining Super Power.
Land of the free, home of the brave.
Liberty and justice for all.
In your dreams.
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Comments
You're welcome eovery.
You too!
Watch yourself man. From Cassandra to Hunter; prophets tend to find madness the more we shout our visions to those that smile and nod and continue the dance. "We know your right, but come dance with us it will all be ok. The ship is not sinking, the music's still playing. Come dance with us."
We all live in very interesting and challenging world don´t we? Capitalism is for many people very cruel society with shining slogans...But every system has shining slogans and many rotten things underneath. BTW, if USA has such problems, just imagine what is going on in majority of other countries... Right now there is so many people on this planet and obviously humanity did not plan the future for all of them properly.
What we can do in this chaos? The most important is to take care about ourselves, stay healthy and find our own way towards financial security.
Wishing you the best.
I'm getting too old to dance much any more Horatio.
Even if I felt like dancing I couldn't to the music they're playing right now. Everything is out of tune and it's got a lousy beat.
Well Tatjana, I'm not sure if interesting or challenging are quite strong enough words to describe these times.
Maybe maddening and catastrophic.
It's interesting you should mention the problems of other countries. If you'll take a little time and do a little research, you'll find that a lot of those problems are a direct result of globalization and the spread of amerikan style free market kapitalism. Other peoples trying to live like amerikans.
Did you know that if everyone on Earth were able to live as wastefully as we do that we'd need four more Earths to provide the resources?
We can only do what we believe is right. Taking care of ourselves and each other is a good place to start.
Personally I think the phrase "financial security" is a non sequitur. Finances are the source of nearly all the INsecurity in today's world.
The best to you as well.
CWB, I still have to laugh sadly that so many people here are wailing about Socialism and screaming that we are in danger of losing our Capitalism. What has Capitalism done for the wretched and undereducated, underemployed and underinsured?
It's given them more misery and then has the guts to point at others as having caused the problem. The major problem I have is that it grows more and more frustrating to point out that these huge mega-national corporations are not there for you and me; they are there for themselves, and only themselves.
But so many of us just go on playing the game, or as stated above by Horatio, dancing the dance. I remember hearing one Holocaust survivor saying that music played as the Jews arrived as Auschweitz, making people feel as if, "Hey, this isn't too bad. And we get a free shower, too!"
We are lemmings blindly running over the cliffs and thinking we are on the right path. Silly us.
Cheers!
Chef Jeff
"What has Capitalism done for the wretched and undereducated, underemployed and underinsured?"
It has added greatly to their numbers! They should be thankful that they have more peers every day. More "underachievers" to commiserate with.
If you haven't visited yet, please do.
Yes, CWB, the other countries tried to live like USA used to, or...like USA marketing presented the world that americans live. This was/is ideal also here...and causes are all big problems.
Heh: 90% of movies or documentary programms we ever watched here...was American, the same is in the rest of the world. Products we buy, style of clothes we were... Politicians also force american influence, even nobody knows what that really means. They forced us to enter into NATO, did not let referendum, because people would be against NATO.
I used to volunteer for few African countries, so spoted the same problem. People force themselves into progress on american way, but they still do not see that it leads into disaster.
Majority of Croats are paying price of this "progress" already, and became aware that nothing good can be achieved through this globalisation.
In addition to that, we are forced to enter into the world we know nothing about, but as countries which are new in this world (or less worthy) we did not get all nessessary "bussiness tools" people in western countries have: we are not equal....
Honestly, I was very frightened on the beginning, now I have to see that as challenge, in order to survive...this madness.
Your Hubs are great, and I am very honored to read them.
I am just too angry to dance to that dull droning drum. I need something more aggressive. And speaking of one of my favorite subjects; Nazis, I love all Reich wingers that want to compare the on going policies to Nazis. The Nazis were not even true socialists they were fascist socialists. They didn't create government industry they sponsored private industry through the government largely with slaves and assets stolen from those they enslaved and a plan for endless conflict (sound familiar). And when they had more slaves then they could use, they sent them to the camps, and what was written above the gates from which the music was heard; Work Will Set You Free. It has always seemed that is a good slogan for the right. The left in this country has always been more; The more free you are; the better your work. Not me though; I thrive on adversity.
Tatjana, if you haven't already, I would strongly recommend that you read The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein.
It is very relevant to the global impact kapitalism has had.
I have the book in PDF format and would be happy to email it to you upon your request. You may contact me through the HubPages email connection on my profile page.
Thank you for your very kind words. It is I who am honored by them.
All things in moderation Horatio. Adversity may, on occasion, be a useful prod, necessity being the mother and all that crap.
For the most part, humans invent because they want to. It's part of our nature. Most great advances of "civilization" sprang from a simple desire to know, not to profit or to slaughter.
As I sit at the front counter and take in new unemployment claims every day, I am amazed but also saddened at the number of people who are barely able to read the instructions, not because they are written by a lawyer in legalese, but becaue they somehow made it through our school system yet are barely able to read.
Twice, sometimes more, every day I have to help adults, some in their 50's or 60's, write an appeal or write some other small missive, because they can't spell, can't put the spoken word into written form, or for many other reasons. Our forefathers & foremothers said that for our nation to flourish we need a literate populace. This illiteracy is the sad testiment of our society when the people who run it are more worried about their profits than they are about Democracy.
Chef Jeff
Our society is becoming a herd Jeff.
Docile, unthinking and just waiting to be led to slaughter.
They wait to be told what to do because they are incapable of making their own decisions. Then they do what they're told, even though it brings nothing but further misery.
No good can come of this.
I agree with you whole heartedly and I'm glad to see an American who doesn't get all star-spangled-banner on us all. I have read the Shock Doctrine and the fact the Milton Friedman was given the Nobel Prize for economics just shows what a Fascist world we all live in. My only incite is to say: beware all good men the fascist dogs are still having puppies.
Thanks for the feedback michael.
IMHO, Friedman was a genuinely evil person. So narrow minded and willfully ignorant that he believed the ends actually justified his means.
Economics is a voodoo members only club. It's lies and deception, smoke and mirrors and, like any cult, serves only the agenda of the priesthood.
At this moment, the fascist dog is the alpha male. That could mean extinction for all dogs.
Cool hub and witty picture :). Yes, we really need to take care of our people. There's nothing wrong with going to the doctor, after all, and insurance premiums are really high. Health insurance, in my opinion, should be one of the most affordable commodities.
Thanks WR. I really enjoy doing computer graphics.
Health is not a commodity WR. Let's assume that at some point in the future the air becomes really bad. Like it's not bad enough already. How would you feel if there were companies, like the power companies with electricity, who put air filtration systems on homes and then charged people for the privilege of breathing? Believe me, if the opportunity presents itself, the money worshipers will leap at it.
Pathetic as it is, I need to learn how to do computer graphics. Being in my 30s, I should be an expert.
As for health insurance not being a commodity, it already is. We purchase it...we sort of get it. Sort of, unless we have pre-existing conditions. I really prefer a government run health system myself, that's one of the reasons I voted for Obama. To free healthcare from big business's clutches but all in all it has to be paid for which makes it a commodity doesn't it? You know, I think Ted Kennedy is turning in his grave.
ColdWarBaby, What can I add to these comments that may be a new perspective? Not much. You've said much that has been on my mind for a long time, as you know having read some of my hubs. This health care fiasco is mind boggling -- as I write I hear more blah=blah-blah on the TV. It's a simple proposition -- why then is it made so complicated? A nation without access to affordable and equitable health care is a sick nation. Add sick to undereducated, underemployed, underfunded and overspent and you have an ugly picture indeed. Well, as my floors dry I'm off to read another of your hubs.
Things can be paid for with fiat currency, issued by the government without interest charges WR. I didn't say insurance wasn't a commodity. HEALTH is not a commodity.
I absolutely agree that single payer is the only rational option. It should be paid for as I said at the beginning of this comment.
Private sector banking is our main problem. The federal reserve, a privately held, for profit entity must be returned to the control of the people, along with the rest of the government. Profit is something that's only needed by people who don't want to work and contribute to society.
“Capitalism is the legitimate racket of the ruling class.”
--Al Capone
It's all about profit Immartin. Buy or Die.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
- J. Krishnamurti
eovery says:
2 months ago
Thanks for the numbers.
Keep on Hubbing!