It makes me ashamed to be an American, not because I am ashamed of myself (I am not!) but because I am ashamed of many of my fellow Americans, who take this gift we have, this freedom, and want to tear it up and destroy it.
The spoiled pieces of crap in New York "occupying" Wall Street have no idea what real poverty, real hunger and real oppression is. We have the best of all worlds in this country, and one of the main reasons we have these wonderful freedoms (apart from the founders who formed our Constitution and the men and women over the years who have died to preserve them) is because of the capitalist underpinnings that make the prosperity possible.
I was online recently, and came across a video that immediately came to mind when I read how Mr. Birman's uncle got permits for a new Ikea in ten days.
Ten days!
I saw this video: Russian youths play rock and roll traveling down a highway
This is a silly thing, but it made me realize that in some aspects, there is more freedom in the old Soviet Union than there is here!
I cannot believe I am saying that, but it is true. Watch the video, and look at these young, helmet-less men, driving a contraption of their own construction down a highway, playing loud rock and roll.
Is there anywhere, ANYWHERE in the USA that you could do that? Anywhere?
The answer is NO. You would be pulled over immediately, no helmet, no permit for the motorcycle, not buckled in, making a public disturbance and probably DAMNED SPEEDING.
Now, I understand the need for many regulations we see, but this nanny-statism has creeped up on us over the last four decades, and it is going to kill us.
They regulate how much water we can flush, how much energy our lightbulbs use and are on the way to seriously restricting what we can eat and drink. They are going to take away (already well on its way) to removing any kind of freedom of choice in health care.
I simply can't believe I am even saying this, but I think it is true. It galls me and shames me.