What are your assumptions about the direction of your country? What do you like and value? What do you fear?
I tend to think we are slowly improving, things that were considered okay a few generations ago, are now by the majority clearly understood to be bad ( slavery, interracial marriage) and I feel like this progress, though slow, is continuing in the correct direction. I like that i can look back and ahead and see this general improvement. What do I value, in terms of the country i live in? I value that there is law and order. I suppose that sounds like a tv show, but I like that the legal system balances out the policing system. I value that education is available and a right, through school. ( my parents had to pay for me to go to school). I value free enterprise, a functional fairly stable economic system, and obviously the right to vote is not a big one for me, since i never applied for citizenship.
-How do you fit into your country? Are you treated fairly? Do you have opportunities? What are your biggest obstacles?
I a resident alien. I arrived with very little, basically two suitcases, twenty dollars and the right to work. I needed a place to stay and a job, was able to get both fairly rapidly, and have been able to maintain life and the pursuit of happiness ever since. I can only say that is fair. I am white, although have been accused of being not white on a couple of occasions, i have also been spoken to in spanish, although i am not hispanic, and was once refused treatment by a Jewish dentist who thought i was Arabic. I suppose, especially in the summer when I have a tan, i might give the appearance of being not quite white. This is the third continent i have lived on, and I think i like it best, ( America) in my ideal word i would be able to have the best off all three worlds i have lived in, but have grown up enough to realized the goods and bads are linked to each other, its impossible to take only the good. my biggest obstacles, well to be honest I had to change careers three times because of sexism. Yes bona fide. My first two choices did not, at that time allow females in the field. Yes, i still think, even here in the USA, that there is a certain amount of difficulties a female experiences that no male ever has.
-What is your ideal society? How did you come to this conclusion? i do not believe in socialism or communism as I understand it. I thing bringing everyone to a common denominator tends to bring everyone to the lowest common denominator, to the highest. why? maybe i am still brainwashed from the cold war.
-What elements of your country's politics and values do you most cherish? Which bring you anguish?
i hate hate hate despise how long the presidential election process is. i hate how many millions are spent on it. i dislike how there are only two significant parties. I dislike how there is no sense of co operation . actually i just do not like politics. There is one thing i hate more than politics and it is the media.
the thing i dislike most about the media is the way it takes a fact. (Mr Big said its a sunny day.) and make it whatever they want it, ( Mr Big took credit for the sun coming up ) to (Mr big thinks makes the sun shine out of his) i have found that about eighty percent of the time, when i actually find the original quote, it has very little to do with the headline written about it.
This is true of supposed science studies too. ( i am being a bit satirical here) but it has been discovered that 100 percent of people getting cancer had mothers. OMG Mothers are the cause of cancer.
okay, spent too long on my peeves, lol
In other words, what were key insights, experiences, or understandings which led you to think the way you think? When i was an early teen we lost everything we owned/worked for, because of a political situation. I suppose this is ultimately fuels my desire to be able to keep that which i have worked to gain. I have lived in situations where there really was no equal or fair right to the protection of the law. It is so inherently unfair, i hope we never go back there again.
Finally, i have lived under a fairly socialized system. medical benefits social welfare etc. if some one bought a new car there was no, " oh hey, congratulations, new car: there was this accusation, who did he cheat to be able to afford a car. a farmer built a new wall for his gate, and all the locals thought he was being uppity for improving the appearance of his farm, they called him farmer gate. No celebration of each others successes, just this dour accusation if some one appeared to be doing too well. I see the beginnings of this sort of thing in the USA now and i do not like it. As you can tell, I no longer live there
I feel like this is not going to be of much enlightenment to anyone but who can resist answering questions when asked?