>
>
> On Thu, 24 Jul 2003, Brian Siano wrote:
>
>> Call me a deluded bourgeous, but something about freedom of travel,
>> access to all kinds of luxury items, a much freer and open society,
>> nicer clothes, computer networks, cheap books of an infinite variety
>> makes the US of 2003 seem a lot nicer than the USSR of the 60s or 70s.
>
> Something tells me you've got a job with health insurance.
Actually, I don't.
And
> your employer hasn't mismanaged your pension funds (yet). I agree that
> there are much more awful living conditions than typically exist
> in the U. S., but I think you should admit that it's pretty sad
> that a substantial proportion of the U. S. population--many of whom
> work full-time!--cannot afford basic needs like health care. Mix
> that with the rising jingoism (people are calling the FBI when
> they see "potential terrorists" reading anti-Bush/anti-war
> articles), and I don't think we should exactly puff out our
> chests with pride.
Note that I wasn't comparing the U.S. against Western Europe, but against the former USSR.