Blessings and Curses

My relationship with China has often been a volatile one. One day I am perfectly content to be here, and the next I hate it and can't take it anymore. When the pollution is so bad I can smell it indoors, I want to leave. When skies are blue with wispy clouds and I can see the mountains in the distance, I'm pretty happy about my 30th floor apartment. When Chinese people don't demonstrate what I deem to be the minimal amount of courtesy, it's hard not to take it personally and make sweeping generalizations about their bad character. When I spend the day eating and talking with Chinese friends, I can't imagine leaving. When the Chinese government makes it very difficult to access the New York Times (to which I have a paid subscription), I want to scream. When I don't access Facebook quite so often because it's blocked, I realize that sometimes ignorance is bliss. Sadly, I logged on to Facebook this morning and got a reminder of why, regardless of my relationship with China, I'm definitely still not ready to go back home.

I know that politics are often contentious. I know that people hold strong views because they care about something. I know that it's hard to listen to something you think is absolutely, objectively wrong, and not get riled up about it. But, I have to say I was shocked and seriously disappointed by some of the things I read. Nothing was directed at me, individually. Nobody was calling me names, at least not directly. But so much of what was said was name-calling and devoid, as far as I could tell, of any attempt to communicate ideas or persuade. Believe me, I've been there. I've been so angry and frustrated that I didn't see the point in arguing to support my ideas. It's significantly easier to say that someone is just not intelligent enough, or doesn't have enough experience to understand. (A lot of my arguments with Dan end up with me throwing in the towel because he's got a bit more mental stamina than me. And while I may not call him names, I do accuse him of not listening or not trying to understand.) 

So I get it. The people who disagree with you are idiots and un-American. But let's get past that for just a few minutes, because I would like to understand my family and friends who don't share the same views as me.

Here is what I want from our country:

• equal opportunities (i.e. good public education for all)
• clean air, water, and food for everybody
• efficient emergency services
• care for those who cannot care for themselves (in whatever form this may take)
• help getting back on their feet for people who need it (training, job placement, etc.)
• fewer prisons
• less war
• respect for personal choices (any rational person, who can breath and exist on their own should be able to make choices about their own life, body, etc. without the involvement of the government or anyone else, so long as those choices do not interfere with the physical existence of any other autonomous person)
• respect for life (any person born into any circumstances gets the support they need to develop into a productive member of society)
• respect for ideas and dialogue (that we can disagree with a person's ideas without discounting the person, that someday our conversations may have greater "Yes, and" mentality, that we can truly listen and consider ideas that aren't our own without feeling attacked and defensive)

With all of these things, I still won't be rich, and I may not be able to afford my dream kitchen, but I will feel safe, and I will be happy knowing that, as privileged as I am, other people are still able to have a reasonable standard of living.

What is it that you want from our great country? Explain and justify (as I would tell my students), please.