Do not fear: This is not 'Miel's pregnancy blog'
Dude, no way! Not that you care.
But like all experiences this one makes me realize how annoying I find our current political climate. Or maybe the United States as a whole. I keep thinking: Why couldn't I be from Canada?
And not just because I really like maple syrup and other maple flavored things.
But also because this 'every man for himself' country is a scary place to have a baby in. What happens if I am disabled? Or lose my job? Or lose my health insurance? Or get too poor to pay for the baby's health insurance?
In general--every medical checkup I have reminds me that there are thousands and thousands of pregnant women who either can't see a doctor regularly or who must pay out of pocket to see a doctor. I guess they are supposed to leave things up to luck?
OK--that would be one thing. Yes, I've lived in and visited countries where not only does no one have health insurance but there's about 1 doctor for every 250,000 people. Where there is no health care whatsoever. Not neosporin. Not band-aids. Not advil for pain. I think the complete lack of medical care really was more shocking than the people having no shoes or 12 year olds being the size of American 5 year olds. If you get sick....sometimes you just die. Sometimes people mortgage or sell whatever they have and go to the city. Mostly, thousands of people die of things that I could probably cure just with what is currently in my medicine cabinet.
So what am I complaining about? It's simply that combined with this utter callousness toward any have not in this sickeningly affluent country is a total sanctimoniousness about 'families' and 'mothers' and 'children.' A sickening piety in a situation where almost no help is provided to anyone with children. Day care? Forget it! You are scum if you are poor but if you work to better yourself you are also scum because you aren't taking proper care of your children. And no resources are available to help those who--like me!--are scraping by at the moment. Yeah, people like me who worked their asses off in college and can barely pay the rent. Can't have any socialist rent control or anything like that now can we?
I fortunately will get a little paid maternity leave. A year ago I wouldn't have. Again--too socialist! You don't want the government interferring in your life and making it possible to spend time with your newborn (who--by the way--is ineligible for most child care).
And then there is the problem of public schooling. All I can do is hope that my child inherits those auto-didactic tendencies of my side of the family.
It's unclear to me what we will do in our current situation with respect to child care and all the rest. I'm supposed to be evil for (a) waiting to have children (b) worrying about my career. They act as if a woman's career is some kind of frivolous frippery that she is too vain to relinquish thus harming her children. Huh? I'm the one with the health insurance! Where do these people live?
I wish I didn't know all those people from Iceland--comparing their child rearing prospects to mine is just depressing!
It would be annoying to have to watch this plutocracy parade go by. It's worrying to raise our child here. But to hear all the claptrap at the same time....it's more than I can stomach.
God bless America! Our great homeland!
Dude, no way! Not that you care.
But like all experiences this one makes me realize how annoying I find our current political climate. Or maybe the United States as a whole. I keep thinking: Why couldn't I be from Canada?
And not just because I really like maple syrup and other maple flavored things.
But also because this 'every man for himself' country is a scary place to have a baby in. What happens if I am disabled? Or lose my job? Or lose my health insurance? Or get too poor to pay for the baby's health insurance?
In general--every medical checkup I have reminds me that there are thousands and thousands of pregnant women who either can't see a doctor regularly or who must pay out of pocket to see a doctor. I guess they are supposed to leave things up to luck?
OK--that would be one thing. Yes, I've lived in and visited countries where not only does no one have health insurance but there's about 1 doctor for every 250,000 people. Where there is no health care whatsoever. Not neosporin. Not band-aids. Not advil for pain. I think the complete lack of medical care really was more shocking than the people having no shoes or 12 year olds being the size of American 5 year olds. If you get sick....sometimes you just die. Sometimes people mortgage or sell whatever they have and go to the city. Mostly, thousands of people die of things that I could probably cure just with what is currently in my medicine cabinet.
So what am I complaining about? It's simply that combined with this utter callousness toward any have not in this sickeningly affluent country is a total sanctimoniousness about 'families' and 'mothers' and 'children.' A sickening piety in a situation where almost no help is provided to anyone with children. Day care? Forget it! You are scum if you are poor but if you work to better yourself you are also scum because you aren't taking proper care of your children. And no resources are available to help those who--like me!--are scraping by at the moment. Yeah, people like me who worked their asses off in college and can barely pay the rent. Can't have any socialist rent control or anything like that now can we?
I fortunately will get a little paid maternity leave. A year ago I wouldn't have. Again--too socialist! You don't want the government interferring in your life and making it possible to spend time with your newborn (who--by the way--is ineligible for most child care).
And then there is the problem of public schooling. All I can do is hope that my child inherits those auto-didactic tendencies of my side of the family.
It's unclear to me what we will do in our current situation with respect to child care and all the rest. I'm supposed to be evil for (a) waiting to have children (b) worrying about my career. They act as if a woman's career is some kind of frivolous frippery that she is too vain to relinquish thus harming her children. Huh? I'm the one with the health insurance! Where do these people live?
I wish I didn't know all those people from Iceland--comparing their child rearing prospects to mine is just depressing!
It would be annoying to have to watch this plutocracy parade go by. It's worrying to raise our child here. But to hear all the claptrap at the same time....it's more than I can stomach.
God bless America! Our great homeland!
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