Sting reuniting with the Police. Steven Spielberg making another Indiana Jones movie. Michael Jordan returning to basketball. It's hard to call it quits and just ride off into the sunset. So here's part two of my pontification about politics.
I wish I were a politician or an actor. Why? Not only would I either be extremely powerful or extremely well-liked, but I would also have the ability to get away with anything. Secretly destroy classified documents by smuggling them out of the National Archives in my socks? Don't worry, I'll just have to do community service. Get convicted of lying about insider trading? Sure, I'll go on house arrest - on my 153-acre estate! It is shameful that the rich and famous get special treatment whenever they break the law.
I agree that we need to do more to find alternative forms of energy and to help reduce pollution. However, the more that we encourage third world countries to industrialize and modernize their economies, the more damage that they do to the environment. So which is more important - improving their quality of life, or helping prevent further environmental problems? Is it fair for us to criticize other countries for doing exactly what we've been doing since the Industrial Revolution?
I agree whole-heartedly that Saddam Hussein was an evil tyrant, and the world is better off with him out of power. However, does that mean that it was worth the hundreds of billions of dollars and the thousands of lives that have been lost in the Iraq War? In a word, no. The United States may be the world's greatest democracy, but we do not have the resources to topple every dictator. People live under oppression throughout the world, but it is impossible for us to help them all.
The United Nations has done some great things since its inception in 1945, especially in the area of third-world development. However, their failure to act has resulted in mass genocide in Rwanda, Sudan and other areas. In addition, they are fundamentally corrupt. Seriously, any organization that allows Saudi Arabia and Russia to be on its Human Rights Council has some serious issues.
If people want to have their retirement money in the hands of the government, that's fine by me. Unfortunately, while Social Security may seem like a great idea in theory, the way things are going, none of us are going to get a dime of it. Allowing for partial privatization of social security allows those who don't mind additional risks to gain a potentially higher return on their money. The government already spends enough of our money in the form of taxes. They shouldn't get to take more of it if we don't want them to.
Labor unions were once a great force in America, fighting for better pay, working conditions and hours. Nowadays, however, their aims are less clear. Unions take a significant portion of their members' annual paychecks, but what are they fighting for? Their fights for even higher wages have forced companies to outsource millions of jobs to stay competitive. They blatantly donate millions of dollars of their members' hard-earned dues to the Democratic Party, even against the wishes of many of their members. The reason that union membership has declined throughout most of the last century is because many of their actions have failed to help their own members.
Ten years ago, fat-free diets were all the rage. Now, it's low-carb diets. It used to be that eating pizza and eating healthily were mutually exclusive. Now, they say that the lycopenes in tomato sauce can fight cancer. Personally, I think you should eat whatever you want, because in five years, doctor's opinions of what's good or bad for you will change. Think I'm kidding? No one used to talk about the health benefits of chocolate; now, scientists talk about how it can lower your blood pressure, help your heart and reduce your stress levels.
I don't deny that we live in a more violence-obsessed culture today than when our parents grew up. To think that we've gone from "Ben Hur" to "Hostel" in a generation is shocking. However, while it's easy to scapegoat video games or movies for making people more violent, how about considering parents' responsibility? Lots of kids play violent video games without becoming serial killers or crazed maniacs. If you don't want your kids playing Zombie Chainsaw Massacre, don't let it in the house!
America, for all her faults, still allows for more freedom, opportunity and success than any other country that has, or currently does, exist. As long as we continue to recognize our faults and correct them, we can continue to be the greatest country on Earth. That is why I'm proud to be an American.
