America, Home of the "Slave"
I realize that this article might ruffle a few feathers, and I sure hope it does. A few weeks ago, as a tribute to the 4th of July, I wrote an article on the true meaning of freedom. Since then I have to admit that I have seen some things in my own life that have made me question our choice of freedom in this country. I am not too terribly old but I have lived long enough to see some changes in this country that have seriously altered my opinion of "freedom."
Just yesterday I was shopping with my sister at a local department store in Cleveland. She was adamant about getting some new makeup product at one the many counters. So, just to be social, I decided to approach one the counter sales clerks about a makeup product I have been using for years but just haven't been able to find. Since I don't like to wear heavy foundation on my face (I prefer a more natural look-this might be TMI) I choose to use a tinted moisturizer. In the summer I like to have a natural tinted moisturizer with no sunblock, but for the past 2 years it has been impossible to find and I am getting real tired of trying to squeeze another drop out of the tube I am already using.
When I asked the clerk where I could buy such a product, she said that ALL of the makeup manufacturers have decided to put SPF in their product since "it is better and healthier for your skin." "Oh really?" I guess I never knew that...right! Of course I know that too much sun is bad for your skin, but really, how much sun are we talking about when we women wear foundation makeup? We walk from our car to our jobs, back to our car, and then back to our attached garages. Ooooh, I'm sure I am killing myself. The government even went so far as to add an "extra" tax on purchases at tanning salons. The truth is, I like to have a little color on my face. I look at all the white pasty people walking around in the middle of summer and think, "you would look so much healthier with just a little bit of color on your skin." Now come on people, you know you've said it yourself.
And what about all those people in hot tropical places like El Salvador? I'm pretty sure they are not strolling up to the Este Lauder counter and demanding sun block for when they work in the fields. They look good to me! They look healthier than most of the pasties in this country. And then came the announcement from the Cleveland Clinic that they will no longer have any food items available that contain sugar, in any of their facilities. So now we can add sugar and sunshine to cigarettes and tanning the drug companies, government officials, and doctors have declared are no good for Americans.
The most ironic thing to me is that you can turn on the TV, and while I do not subscribe to any pornographic channels (to the dismay of my teenage boys), we can all clearly read every smutty description on every Pay Per View channel available; or we can walk down any neighborhood street and get an abortion, no questions asked, or buy a gun and carry it almost anywhere; and there are probably more young adults on "prescription" marijuana in the state of California than anywhere else in the world! But get a suntan...how dare I?!
It doesn't stop there, now we have cameras watching our every move as we drive down the street. You can be happily driving along, and then BAMB...you get a bill in the mail for $200 for going 10 miles of the speed limit. It's crazy and it is an encroachment on our freedom. You want to get me speeding, catch me fair and square, after all we are paying tax dollars so that we can have police on the streets to do just that. We have all this being taken away, but the one thing we Americans NEED we can't seem to have...a job. We have restrictions on so many things these days but I never thought we'd have restrictions on finding work. A friend of mine told me that a friend of his took his life last week because he had 3 kids and a wife and could not find a job for the past 3 months. 3 months, and he killed himself with one of those guns anyone can walk up and buy. Those won't kill you but sunshine sure will!
Come on people, get real. Stop telling everyone what to do in this country. When I was a kid I couldn't wait to become an adult so that people would stop telling what to do all the time. Now that I am an adult I feel like my "parents" are still barking out orders. I want my face lotion without sunscreen. I want to be able to put on the TV in front of my kids without cringing at the vulgar language. I want to be able to drive down the road to my house in peace without fear of getting a nasty bill in the mail. I want to live in AMERICA, the home of the brave, not the slave.
Who's with me on this one?
I'm sure there will be those who think this article is anti-American but I am hear to say it is VERY American. I am exercising my right of free speech....at least while I still can!
Just yesterday I was shopping with my sister at a local department store in Cleveland. She was adamant about getting some new makeup product at one the many counters. So, just to be social, I decided to approach one the counter sales clerks about a makeup product I have been using for years but just haven't been able to find. Since I don't like to wear heavy foundation on my face (I prefer a more natural look-this might be TMI) I choose to use a tinted moisturizer. In the summer I like to have a natural tinted moisturizer with no sunblock, but for the past 2 years it has been impossible to find and I am getting real tired of trying to squeeze another drop out of the tube I am already using.
When I asked the clerk where I could buy such a product, she said that ALL of the makeup manufacturers have decided to put SPF in their product since "it is better and healthier for your skin." "Oh really?" I guess I never knew that...right! Of course I know that too much sun is bad for your skin, but really, how much sun are we talking about when we women wear foundation makeup? We walk from our car to our jobs, back to our car, and then back to our attached garages. Ooooh, I'm sure I am killing myself. The government even went so far as to add an "extra" tax on purchases at tanning salons. The truth is, I like to have a little color on my face. I look at all the white pasty people walking around in the middle of summer and think, "you would look so much healthier with just a little bit of color on your skin." Now come on people, you know you've said it yourself.
And what about all those people in hot tropical places like El Salvador? I'm pretty sure they are not strolling up to the Este Lauder counter and demanding sun block for when they work in the fields. They look good to me! They look healthier than most of the pasties in this country. And then came the announcement from the Cleveland Clinic that they will no longer have any food items available that contain sugar, in any of their facilities. So now we can add sugar and sunshine to cigarettes and tanning the drug companies, government officials, and doctors have declared are no good for Americans.
The most ironic thing to me is that you can turn on the TV, and while I do not subscribe to any pornographic channels (to the dismay of my teenage boys), we can all clearly read every smutty description on every Pay Per View channel available; or we can walk down any neighborhood street and get an abortion, no questions asked, or buy a gun and carry it almost anywhere; and there are probably more young adults on "prescription" marijuana in the state of California than anywhere else in the world! But get a suntan...how dare I?!
It doesn't stop there, now we have cameras watching our every move as we drive down the street. You can be happily driving along, and then BAMB...you get a bill in the mail for $200 for going 10 miles of the speed limit. It's crazy and it is an encroachment on our freedom. You want to get me speeding, catch me fair and square, after all we are paying tax dollars so that we can have police on the streets to do just that. We have all this being taken away, but the one thing we Americans NEED we can't seem to have...a job. We have restrictions on so many things these days but I never thought we'd have restrictions on finding work. A friend of mine told me that a friend of his took his life last week because he had 3 kids and a wife and could not find a job for the past 3 months. 3 months, and he killed himself with one of those guns anyone can walk up and buy. Those won't kill you but sunshine sure will!
Come on people, get real. Stop telling everyone what to do in this country. When I was a kid I couldn't wait to become an adult so that people would stop telling what to do all the time. Now that I am an adult I feel like my "parents" are still barking out orders. I want my face lotion without sunscreen. I want to be able to put on the TV in front of my kids without cringing at the vulgar language. I want to be able to drive down the road to my house in peace without fear of getting a nasty bill in the mail. I want to live in AMERICA, the home of the brave, not the slave.
Who's with me on this one?
I'm sure there will be those who think this article is anti-American but I am hear to say it is VERY American. I am exercising my right of free speech....at least while I still can!
.JPG)
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