In God We Trust

This is the same posting as the facebook note. If you have already read it there, don't bother to continue... This post is specifically for those who don't check their facebook on a regular basis. I will write a new post in the next few days about my Abu Dhabi trip. Stayed tuned...

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If I were an American, I would have developed aneurysm after watching the news today.

I was at the gym on the cross-trainer. There are about 12 TV screens in the cardio room, and they offer 6 TV stations. Since I don't have cable at home, my gym is the only place I get to watch cable television. And today, I felt like watching the news. For the lack of better option, I watched CNN.

So I was watching this news clip about how the assholes at Wall Street are getting huge bonuses during the recession... using the money the federal government had given them (tax payer's money).

Okay, this is how I understand the issue, please correct me if I am wrong: Wall street begged and cried and the federal government gave them a bail out a few months ago. The federal government, specifically the Bush administration, gave banks and financial institutions a bunch of tax payer's money so they don't go under. They are doing this to save the economy. Right?

Then election takes place and the Democratics take over. Obama, being a sensible man, decides to fix the problem of the United States by proposing the $825 billion stimulus plan. Yes, it's a huge chunk of money, but I firmly believe that Obama is looking for long term solutions to fix the economy by addressing the issues that caused bad economy in the first place, such as waste of energy, poverty and the lack of education. He's not proposing just a short-term, band-aide solution. He wants to fix the problem once and for all. Of course, the Republicans start to jump up and down and claim that the plan is way too expensive, and it's never going to work.

Meanwhile, you have these assholes in Wall Street getting a HUGE bonus, and they only got this bonus because of tax payer's money. Are people suppose to sit around and take this bullshit?

This isn't the way things are suppose to be, right? Or am I terribly confused and/or way too idealistic? I am watching this news clip and thinking about all this and I was getting more and more infuriated. I am not even an American, and I am pissed off regardless. The president the American people elected is speaking for them, trying to do what he was elected to do: Change. Yet it seems that the Republicans are trying their best to fuck this up. It's all politics. They want to see Obama fail, and maybe come back to power. Once Obama has been crushed, maybe, just maybe, the American people will see that things will never change. The rich will always be rich and the poor will be more poor. That's democracy.

Am I becoming jaded? What the hell is democracy? In God we trust. Only if you are loaded, God will smile upon you. Of course the God of liberty and democracy will make you richer. It's God's will. If you are poor, then you have to fend for yourself. The God of liberty and democracy have no time for you. Liberty and democracy (and education and wealth and etc) are only reserved for those who are privileged.

I live in a country where it's run by a monarchy. Democracy is very far away from here, as far as they are concerned. Luckily, the ruling family is wise (so far) and have made some great decisions and they are generally looking out for their country and citizens. For instance, no one pays taxes, all public funded university are FREE, the government have been plunking large amount of money to develop a public transportation infrastructure. These are only some of the things I can think of. However, no matter how great the leadership of this country is, it's still a dictatorship. As an expat, I absolutely have no rights. I can get deported for many, many reasons. But there is no illusion. I don't feel like I am getting ripped off- because there was never any promises. Yes, I was promised money and I got that. And I don't expect anything else. Is this country worse off than the US because there is technically no "democracy"?

So, what is democracy? Is it an illusion?

I am just so glad that I am a Canadian and not am American. But then again, CBC is not available in my gym. I haven't kept up with Canadian news lately. Won't some of you enlighten me? Maybe I will even be angrier. I don't know.