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Date:         Fri, 13 Nov 1992 08:44:37 -0500
From:         ZIMMERJ@WABASH.BITNET
Subject:      Re: things

>From: CLARK@EVMSVMS.BITNET

>You ought to be able to afford your own home.  Not a palace - but a home that
>you afford no matter what your profession - ditch digger or doctor.  But you
>can't.  Not anymore.

Actually, almost everyone can.  I guess what you're mad about is that some
people have to give up something else in order to afford a home.

>You ought to be able to work hard at your job and get something fair in return.
>Like a decent wage.  Advancement opportunity if you're good enough.  Some way
>to take care of your family if you get sick or hurt.  But you can't. Not
>anymore.

You can, assuming you work hard and are well qualified.  You're right, though,
in that the high school dropouts won't have much opportunity for advancement,
although I doubt you can blame society for *that*.

>You ought to be able to walk the streets at night without fear - not because
>you're packing heat but because your neighborhood is safe.  But you can't. Not
>anymore.

I have to agree with you here.  Thanks to the welfare state, many neighborhoods
which used to be safe are now in a state resembling urban warfare.

>You ought to be able to walk into a company the best qualified candidate and
>walk out with a job - regardless of your color or gender or orientation or
>affiliation.  But you can't.  Not anymore.

T!  You're right twice in a row!  Thanks to affirmative action, jobs no longer
go to the most qualified candidate.  Gee, I never realized you were so
conservative...

>You ought to be able, if you apply yourself, nose to the grindstone, and work
>your tail off, to receive the best education and professional preparation on
>the planet.  But you can't.  Not anymore.

No, not everyone can receive the best of anything on the planet.  However,
educational opportunites are open to all more than they have ever been in the
past.  So why the "not anymore" line?  Do you just like the repition?  I guess
Emerson was right; consistency really *is* the hobgoblin of little minds. :)

>You ought to be able to love whom you choose - and raise a family if you so
>desire - without legal or social interference.  But you can't.  Not anymore.

Again, the opportunities to engage in morally decrepit behavior are far more
open than in the very recent past.

>You ought to be able to have the information and means to stay healthy - and if
>you should get sick, you ought to have access to the finest medical care on the
>planet.  But you can't.  Not anymore.

Here again, I think what really bugs you is the fact that most people can't
have "the finest medical care on the planet" *and* all the other stuff they
want.  Then, when they choose the other stuff over medical care, you blame
their choice on society.

>You ought to able, as a hard-working member of society, to afford the basics of
>food, clothing and other necessities of life without going into debt.  But you
>can't.  Not anymore.

Define "necessities of life."  I don't know a single person with a job (any
job) who cannot afford what I consider the basic necessities of life, and then
some.  I have a feeling your view of the necessities of life includes many of
the "finest _______ on the planet" items.

>You ought to be able to be judged on your merits and talents, and not prejudged
>on the basis of your outward appearance.  But you can't.  Not anymore.

Yeah, affirmative action and "multiculturalism" (a term so vague as to be damn
near meaningless) have really done a number on individualism.

>to be able to be free of presumptive justice, and not simply arrested
>and/or convicted due to the color of your skin.

Good job in citing an over-worked cliche.  Would you mind posting a few
examples?  Or preferably stats, since one or two examples out of millions of
arrests wouldn't do much to strengthen your case.

>-T.

Jason
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