I just returned from the movie theatre, where I enjoyed another lovely afternoon all by myself watching Michael Moore's new film, Sicko. I agree with many of the reviews I read in that it seems like Moore has gotten away from a more journalistic style, but I think its effect was (or could be, or won't be, depending on your particular political bent) dramatic.
I am inches away from getting those packing boxes ready.
It would be so easy. Tyson's already in Switzerland, working. I could just eBay everything and come, too.
If Switzerland shared France's healthcare system, I would be there in a minute.
But, returning to Planet Earth, where I am in debt, have no passport, have 2 dogs, 2 cats, a bunny, a gecko, a tortoise, a turtle, and a snake to think about, not to mention an impending teenager, almost 3 more years on my lease, and no real concept of how one secures a job abroad, let alone completes permanent-residence status paperwork....and I begin to understand how the only people who can really afford the luxury of up and moving somewhere else are, well, people who can afford it, and people in their early 20s with no money, nothing to keep them in place, and without the sense to know any better.
Well, cheers to them. Maybe the rest of us can work on changing what we've got here.
And my that, I mean looking for jobs in Canada.
2 comments:
My friend Liz's sister, Amy, just graduated from Tech and is moving to Spain in August for at least a year. Your post made me think of her.
I am joyously acting as "foster parent" to her two cats, PK and Edgar, while she is gone.
I would like to leave the country too, for many reasons... medical care not on the list though.
Good luck in finding work in Canada... last I heard they only hire non-nationals for jobs the Canadians don't want, i.e. shit jobs. I saw an interview with Moore. He said no Canadian would trade their national health care card for an American HMO card. Funny, I have known several who did, gladly. Most of them health care professionals of some sort who claimed Canada's health care system was an over rated myth and nothing like the USA's health care. They figured American's, not knowing any better, would screw it up to copy Canada. I don't, nor have ever, lived in Canada but from what I heard, we are better off with what have. Don't get me wrong, what we have has enormous flaws that I can go on about quite a lot, but it could be worse.
I saw some of Sicko. I had to quit because I got frustrated. It was not accurate. I worked in the health care field for over 10 years... my mother died of osteosarcoma... my grandfather's list is too long... and I have two children with all sorts of medical issues. In all cases, we have received good, if not excellent, medical care most of the time thanks to (yes) insurance companies, sometimes even going above and beyond their legal obligations. In fact, particularly in my mother's case, we got far better than we would have in Canada. In Canada terminal cancer patients are not treated for extended life for just a few years. The insurance company could have dropped my mother since the person in charge of paying the insurance bill somehow forgot to pay it for several months. They didn't. She got 5 more very good (very expensive for the insurance company) years out of the deal. Canada's system does not agree that 5 more years to meet unborn grandchildren, etc is really worth the price tag. I am not saying they are wrong, they have a very valid point. American's spend all sorts of money on health care that other countries just don't. They can't afford it. Private business and competition have done good things for the medical industry. Yes, greed is a factor. Show me a human endeavor where it's not. The government keeps claiming that privatizing this or that will save all sorts of money... like for social security for example or education. Well then why is medicine different? I would like the government to stay out of my health care. Their desire to move into health care is far from altruistic, dare I say greed based.
Sure, bad things happen. But, so do good things. Moore left those out. If by "getting away from his journalistic style" you mean Moore is not objective, I would agree, and it disappoints.
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