You know, I don’t think that USA is dysfunctional as a whole, at least not more than an average developed country. But some details seem deeply dysfunctional. And most Americans probably think it is completely normal, while everyone else is shaking their heads in disbelief.
And I suppose other countries have the same problem, except with a different set of details. (Like, in Slovakia, getting a prescription for glasses is trivial. But after we learned about how our system handles childbirth, we decided to have our child born in Austria instead. And our neighbors didn’t understand, because all the things we complained about, are just normal from their perspective.)
Is there a way to fix this? Like, if I was a dictator of the planet, I would probably make it mandatory for everyone to spend at least one year of their life in a foreign country. And I mean like mingling with the locals, not grudgingly staying in a ghetto with their compatriots. So that people would have a chance to see which things can be done differently, so when they return, they can make an informed choice.
Just making a documentary would probably not be enough. The author would probably insert their political biases there (e.g. Michael Moore couldn’t criticize American healthcare without making some absurd statements about healthcare in Cuba). Also, the point is not to criticize one specific country, but rather to allow people worldwide to learn from each other.
Yup, it’s a problem. As an American I’ve had an optometrist not want to give me my prescription!
Things like this make me wonder...
You know, I don’t think that USA is dysfunctional as a whole, at least not more than an average developed country. But some details seem deeply dysfunctional. And most Americans probably think it is completely normal, while everyone else is shaking their heads in disbelief.
And I suppose other countries have the same problem, except with a different set of details. (Like, in Slovakia, getting a prescription for glasses is trivial. But after we learned about how our system handles childbirth, we decided to have our child born in Austria instead. And our neighbors didn’t understand, because all the things we complained about, are just normal from their perspective.)
Is there a way to fix this? Like, if I was a dictator of the planet, I would probably make it mandatory for everyone to spend at least one year of their life in a foreign country. And I mean like mingling with the locals, not grudgingly staying in a ghetto with their compatriots. So that people would have a chance to see which things can be done differently, so when they return, they can make an informed choice.
Just making a documentary would probably not be enough. The author would probably insert their political biases there (e.g. Michael Moore couldn’t criticize American healthcare without making some absurd statements about healthcare in Cuba). Also, the point is not to criticize one specific country, but rather to allow people worldwide to learn from each other.