This year will be remembered as one of the most significant and important elections in American history, because of the problems which have accumulated in past years. To start, our so-called government has recently spent hundreds of billions of dollars in order to get our economy out of recession. To add to that, almost 47 million Americans live without health care insurance, and even some who do have it still struggle to afford the medication and care they need. If those two problems aren’t enough, we have been at war with Iraq for the past five years, fighting over things many of us don’t even understand. The list goes on and on, and although it seems as if our country is loosing the control we’ve had for hundreds of years, our situation is nothing compared to what is happening in places such as Haiti. Reading about the harsh situation in Haiti and the astonishing things Dr. Farmer experiences reminded me of how great our country really is.

One of the main issues being debated today is the lack of affordable healthcare available to us. It has been said that many wrong steps have put us in this situation such as government spending and funding in the wrong areas, misuse of our technology, and insufficient medical research. People not being able to afford the best health care is a big problem, however you rarely hear of Americans dying from easily treatable diseases such as tuberculosis anymore. On the other hand, Haitians die from those diseases every day only because they are not able to get care as simple as a blood transfusion. This is only one of the examples of the advantages we benefit from because we live in America. Health care in the United States is definitely a problem that needs to be fixed, but I’m sure most Haitians would be glad to trade spots with us.

Healthcare aside, many feel that our government has failed immensely in the past eight years. Compared to the standards that some past American presidents have set, I absolutely agree. For example, we have spent trillions of dollars in government spending, yet we are still in the worst economic slump since the great depression. The nation is struggling and we are all feeling the effects. Imagine a world, however, where there was no government. The military would run things and they would physically abuse you till near death just for doing something as small as criticizing the condition of the road you are driving on or disagreeing with how the army is handling things. (Kidder,112). That is the world that Haitians face. Another thing we criticize our government for is the war in Iraq. Trillions are being spent and occasionally, some soldiers die in battle. Americans dying while fighting for their country is not something to be taken lightly, however the Haitian people fight with their government to the point where people die right in their streets every day.  In America, we live knowing we are relatively safe from military violence, something that Haitians can only dream of. Our government has taken some wrong steps lately that need to be fixed, however when comparing it to the government in Haiti, our problems are not so bad.

Lastly, although it is a cliché, a big difference between America and Haiti is the fact that we have freedom. In America, we can say almost anything we want and we can criticize our leaders without getting beaten. We have all also been able to vote for who should lead us ever since the 1920’s. We have had this right for so long, that some of us even take it for granted and choose not to vote, whereas Haitians waited until 1990 to have a national election. (Kidder,108). Freedom is something we sometimes abuse, and something Haitians dream of. That is a main reason as to why many people dream of coming to America.

During election season, we all get caught up in talking about everything that is wrong with our country. We look back at what our president has done during his term and it seems as if we only see that bad things. As we look at our current situation, we see a healthcare situation that is unacceptable, a government that has failed its citizens, and a nation that is loosing its world power. What we should stop to realize though is the benefits we enjoy because we live here; benefits others yearn for. Things such as a health care system that although expensive, will do all it can to keep you alive. A government that sometimes makes mistakes, but always does its best to protect you. And perhaps most important is freedoms. The freedom to speak our mind and oppose our government. The freedom to worship whichever god we please, or the freedom to make a difference in our future by voting. These are the reasons America is a great place to live, and the reason so many want to come here.