Disgust this

San Francisco is a beautiful city.

But there is a dark, very visible problem – one that frames our current national Health Care debate. The problem stems from what has been the traditional US approach: It’s not even happening or We wish all that would just go away.

For the rest of the country, it can be adapted to the acronym: NIMBY. It’s Not In My Backyard so it doesn’t exist. Or: we don’t see it in our backyard, so it’s not actually there.

Danish band Mew was in SF recently and guitarist Bo Madsen posted a simple but poignant observation on their MySpace blog. Here’s the text:

sep 09. on tour through the fascinating land of america.

Friends and strangers, please.

ok, here we are in this beautiful city named san francisco, and oh golly, is it lovely! the streets curve here, up and down, in and out of the hills that are shaped like the tender bodies of blooming women. walking here is their caresses to the soles of your feet. the air is fresh here and often misty, evoking in you sleeping longings. the wooden houses are beautiful with high self esteem: you don’t find buildings like this anywhere else in the world! and as i am writing this, i am being served delicious food at one of the great local restaurants. everything is so good here, that even the indie stadium concert audiences amaze u !!

there is however one thing that really casts a shadow over this good city. it has materialized on the body of the city like an open wound. the homeless. i know it is a general problem in america, but it just becomes so obvious when you go to SF.

how come the worlds richest country cannot protect its citizens better from this terrible poverty? i dont believe the ‘they are too lazy to work or its their own fault’ rhetoric. living on the streets no one chooses.

their destiny america wears like a badge of shame.

b

+

My wife has more to say about this issue on her blog – she speaks of my father-in-law (whom I’ve never met) and the allure of The City by the Bay.

It comes down to health care. Something that should be our right as American citizens. But isn’t.

Image found via Buzznet

4 Responses to “Disgust this”

  1. Garmin 1490t…

    […]below you’ll find the link to some sites that we think you should visit[…]…

  2. 1.) Recommendation…

    2.) […]here is a site that I like. If you have a few minutes then take a look too[…]…

  3. Featured…

    …These are some featured websites that we choose to honor with a link back to their site……

  4. Garmin Nuvi 1490t GPS…

    […]just below, are some totally unrelated sites to ours, however, they are definitely worth checking out[…]…


Creative Commons License

the work at the mehallo blog. beta. is licensed under a creative commons attribution - noncommercial - no derivative works 3.0 united states license.  if reposting, credit must be given to steve mehallo - and if possible, please provide a link back to the mehallo blog. beta.

i include images for the purpose of critique, review, promotion and inspiration - and always make my best effort give credit/link back to the original source.  if i’ve screwed up, please fire me a note.

page layout based on the wordpress 'darkwater theme' by antbag, adapted and redesigned by mehallo.  valuable php assistance from bill mead.