A Good Example Of Just WHAT Kind Of A World We're Living In
At a U.N. meeting in the early '60s, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev were sitting face-to-face
...the Secretary of State then asks the Soviet Premier "When are you going to dismantle those missiles you have placed in Cuba and aimed toward us?" Khrushchev then proceeds to deny any knowledge of strategically-placed missiles on the northern Cuban shores. Rusk then presents aerial surveillance photos of the missiles taken by U.S. Air Force reconnaissance planes
...then repeats the question: "Mr. Khrushchev, when ARE you going to dismantle those missiles you have in Cuba, and aimed directly toward us?"
This got me thinking: If my existence has always seemed a bit counterintuitive it may not necessarily be because something is "just a bit off" about me.
It's quite possible I could often be a victim of frequent gaslighting and other manners of social sabotage.
It seems absurd that a bunch of impoverished outsiders with no money, no passport, nothing to offer this culture should be allowed to freely enter this country and take advantage of its services and resources
...while those of us who ARE citizens can't even as much as VISIT another country without having an abundance of financial resources, a valid passport, a valid reason for entering that other country, and can still be turned back for having elements of "questionable character" on public records.
Or that medical and dental care should be viewed as a "consumer service", much the same way as eating out in a restaurant, or as a "financial transaction" much the same way as buying a flat-screen TV or a smartphone.
Or that we, as individuals, should be "responsible for" our own health and well-being so as to not be "constantly bleeding the nation's health care facilities dry" financially. Like, for example, should I be enhancing my telepathic capabilities so that I can read the minds of the motorists I share public space with, so that, even when crossing with the WALK light, I can know in advance when one of them are about to make a sudden turn without signalling or slowing down because I'll already know they're not paying attention and don't see me---so that I can know to stop in my tracks momentarily and avoid ending up in the emergency room, since it's completely on me to maintain my health and well-being?
Likewise, each time things don't work out as they should it "must be something I forgot to do", or "something I did wrong", or "something I failed to mention". Responsibility is all a one-way street. Even if the other person made a mistake, it's still because I "didn't catch it soon enough" and "speak up" right then and there
...as if anyone would ever listen to anything I have to say anyway ....
At a U.N. meeting in the early '60s, U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev were sitting face-to-face
...the Secretary of State then asks the Soviet Premier "When are you going to dismantle those missiles you have placed in Cuba and aimed toward us?" Khrushchev then proceeds to deny any knowledge of strategically-placed missiles on the northern Cuban shores. Rusk then presents aerial surveillance photos of the missiles taken by U.S. Air Force reconnaissance planes
...then repeats the question: "Mr. Khrushchev, when ARE you going to dismantle those missiles you have in Cuba, and aimed directly toward us?"
This got me thinking: If my existence has always seemed a bit counterintuitive it may not necessarily be because something is "just a bit off" about me.
It's quite possible I could often be a victim of frequent gaslighting and other manners of social sabotage.
It seems absurd that a bunch of impoverished outsiders with no money, no passport, nothing to offer this culture should be allowed to freely enter this country and take advantage of its services and resources
...while those of us who ARE citizens can't even as much as VISIT another country without having an abundance of financial resources, a valid passport, a valid reason for entering that other country, and can still be turned back for having elements of "questionable character" on public records.
Or that medical and dental care should be viewed as a "consumer service", much the same way as eating out in a restaurant, or as a "financial transaction" much the same way as buying a flat-screen TV or a smartphone.
Or that we, as individuals, should be "responsible for" our own health and well-being so as to not be "constantly bleeding the nation's health care facilities dry" financially. Like, for example, should I be enhancing my telepathic capabilities so that I can read the minds of the motorists I share public space with, so that, even when crossing with the WALK light, I can know in advance when one of them are about to make a sudden turn without signalling or slowing down because I'll already know they're not paying attention and don't see me---so that I can know to stop in my tracks momentarily and avoid ending up in the emergency room, since it's completely on me to maintain my health and well-being?
Likewise, each time things don't work out as they should it "must be something I forgot to do", or "something I did wrong", or "something I failed to mention". Responsibility is all a one-way street. Even if the other person made a mistake, it's still because I "didn't catch it soon enough" and "speak up" right then and there
...as if anyone would ever listen to anything I have to say anyway ....
About the only good thing about the UK at the moment is the NHS. It may be struggling to handle everyone but free medical care for all is pretty impressive.
ReplyDeleteThat the U.S. seems to have a problem with the notion of establishing its own national health care shows people here generally don't really care much for one another.
ReplyDeleteMaybe for close relatives, offspring, siblings, parents. Or a best friend. But just not for the average stranger.