I think the better question for me is, how am I helping someone in need around me.

Andy-very well said about the Gypsy community. It’s very easy for me to cast judgment without realizing how difficult it is to put myself in another’s shoes.

I haven’t followed the debates regarding the health care bill much. Nevertheless, I am certainly with you on points #1 and #2.

One thing I often find libertarians and right-wing advocates (that I would often agree with on many points) miss is the great impact of circumstances on a person’s spirit.

Let me suggest one example. In my country one of the big issues is the problem with gypsies or the Roma people. They are probably a typical example of people living with a sense of entitlement. Many of them are not working at all, begging on the streets or engaged in criminal activities. Therefore it has been very easy for the rest of us to conclude that they are lazy and unwilling to better their own conditions of living. After all, why would they not send their children to school to get a better education and improve theirs and their families’ lot? However, that’s just one side of the problem. Because through the years I have realized that it is extremely hard to start making different choices in an environment that is generally against you. Once a gypsy man or woman decides to get an education, they become suspicious to their own people. Their own people feel they are now feeling superior due to their choice and as a result treat them as traitors. On the other hand, non-gypsy Bulgarians view them with suspicion because there haven’t been enough good examples of gypsies, who are serious and committed to their work or studies. The sad story is that the person who decides to work toward changing the status quo would be unacceptable to both sides. Could you imagine then how hard it would be for one to go against the system with support from no one? It’s not impossible and there have been a few (very few) good examples but the environment is still terribly hostile.

I wish more people in the U.S. would realize that the so called “protestant work ethic” is a great thing but it does not work the same wonders in every environment. Indeed, issues like the health care system or welfare are much more complex than popular arguments on both sides reveal.

Warm greetings, bro!

i personally am so grateful and blessed to have good healthcare coverage through my job. my mother, on the other hand is self employed and cannot find anyone willing to give her health coverage because of pre-existing conditions! she has been trying for the past few years to no avail. she’s had to save up money to go to the doctor, and once even had to go to the emergency room because she could not get the tests she needed otherwise! i know plenty of other people with similar stories and this is why i believe in supporting people who are sick and getting sicker because insurance companies refuse to cover them. if we can give money for medical care for impovershed people in other countries, why can’t we sacrifice for those with medical needs in our own country?