On Tuesday I had an opportunity to go and experience a real, all-American election rally, as Bill Clinton came to visit UC Davis to endorse four Californian congressional candidates. A few thousand students and staff of the university gathered to listen what he had to say, and some of the aspects of this event really surprised me.
After an hour of waiting in the bright sun, we were first greeted with the flags of USA, California and the University (not sure of the third one, didn't pay enough attention). And then everyone pledged allegiance to the flag. I found this a bit surprising, the same way how I was surprised in Thailand about standing up for the national anthem before a movie starts in a cinema.
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Apparently, the allegiance to the flag is pledged at the start of every school day. And some people think that this is a great way of teaching patriotism to children. In my opinion, the country just should be run well enough so that its people would feel proud about it. I guess coming from a country with a clear national identity, patriotism and pride in one's country are not difficult to conjure, but in a melting pot like USA the national identity is not as clear and the patriotism has to come from elsewhere.
And then there are still countries where the flag is really not a thing to be paraded about, saluted or pledged allegiance to. For example Germany, with it's dark past in patriotism taken too far. And England, where the Union Jack has symbolises far-right wing politics, whereas the English flag is happily displayed in cars and windows during the World Cup.
In addition to pride in one's nation, the pride in one's university seems rampant here. Much more than in Europe, people wear their university's colours (t-shirts, college shirts, hoodies) just about everywhere. And during the election rally, when any of the speakers mentioned Aggies (a term for UC Davis student, deriving from UCD's agricultural background), the student population cheered wildly. I just can't see this happening in Europe - but why? Are we just so reserved, or do we play down our enthusiasm, or are we embarrassed to go to university? Or do we just not feel that we need to identify with our alma mater?
After the flags, there were speeches from the president of the student union, as well as president of Davis College Democrats, and it was funny to follow the crowd's mood. Everyone was expecting President Clinton to speak, and every time the next speaker was introduced as the president of... Davis College Democrats, the crowd would start to cheer at "president" and boo when they realised it was someone else than Clinton.
Really good coverage on who was speaking and what was actually said can be found in the Aggie, including photos and a video of Clinton's speech. Other news articles include one in Sac Bee, with some good photos.
In California, they're not voting only for a president on Nov 6th but also for a senator, representatives, state senators, state assembly members as well as ten propositions that would change California state legislation. All the speakers brought up the importance of being registered to vote (this can be done with your smart phone!) and then actually voting (for a democrat). The speakers also offered their opinions on how to vote for propositions 30 and 32, and some rallyers were carrying "Right to Know, No to Prop 38"- banners.
I think I like the proposition system. I've felt often that voting in many countries bears no difference and that the results are leaders who are exactly identical to each other, but still I always vote. Voting on propositions really gives the power decision to people, and if I was allowed to vote here, I'd make sure to read up all the issues and talk to people about them. Furthermore, propositions can be started by anyone with a sufficient number of signatures on a petition. I guess the biggest downsides are voter apathy/lack of knowledge, as well as voter persuasion by big companies' marketing. But probably big companies can similarly campaign decision makers to their side in Sacramento and Washington.
President Clinton finished his speech saying "God bless you all", and this was greeted with a lot of cheering. This is yet another thing that confuses me, the link between the church and the state. In Europe, if you ended your speech with God's blessings, you'd be considered off your rocker. State and religion don't mix in the Western world, except in this country of extreme political correctness where Christmas is called Winter Holiday to avoid offending non-Christians. Well, I have nothing against Christian values, especially if they would mean that taxes would be spent on supporting the poor and the sick!
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Saturday, 6 October 2012
Health and safety.
First of all I would like to point out that this is my 100th blog post! Yay!
This time I've got a variety of observations to share, and they start from San Francisco. I did a day-trip there a couple of weeks ago, and just like last time, managed to walk down the wrong streets in the absolutely worst area (Richmond) after dark. Nothing bad happened, but I remembered once again that the land of the free indeed requires some bravery to walk outside instead of driving a car everywhere. The other people who were on the street seemed crazy, homeless, drunk or criminal... and the way how they behaved really made me scared for my life. This is something I've never experienced in Europe or Asia.
Returning to Davis after San Francisco was such a bliss - my beautiful home town where I can walk and bike and be safe after dark! Except that all the students are back for the new academic year, and Davis is full of people who don't know how to bike. Campus is full of cyclists who can't operate the roundabouts, do not seem to be able to read the signs that say "yield" and never signal when turning. A friend of mine was in a bike accident today, someone talking on phone crashed into her. Inspired by this I went and finally bought myself a helmet.
Interestingly, the law enforcement also scares me. This is probably because in movies American policemen are always tough and out there to get people. There seems to be legislation against everything; no drinking beer in a park, or even in front of your house if you live in an apartment complex. No loitering, no this, no that. However I've been assured that the police in Davis are nice, and not all of them pepperspray peacefully protesting students.
Also, I'm not always sure if the legal system is on the side of an individual, as you can be held responsible and sued for a variety things. Like someone visiting my house and accidentally slipping and hitting their head... yes the medical bills would be mine to pay. Which neatly takes me to my next topic: healthcare.
I had a minor health issue, so I went to test out the healthcare system. I would've got an appointment for the same day, except as a new customer (patient?) I had to book a longer appointment which weren't available until two days later. No problems there. At the clinic I filled in a lengthy background questionnaire as well as answered a multitude of questions to the nurse and the doctor about my eating and exercise habits etc. They checked my vaccination record and decided to give me three more jabs. They did a general check up (eyes, ears, lungs, stomach, blood pressure), the minor health issue was taken care of, and the doctor addressed the variety of symptoms I had indicated in the form I had filled in (stress, stiff neck from working on computer, tiredness). So all in all very positive experience, and it cost me only measly $10.
However, my health insurance costs my employer way more than that. Like, more than thousand dollars a month. People here seem to think that it is a benefit, something extra that you get, and not a deduction on your salary. I view it as a lot of money being paid in the pockets of an insurance company and to private healthcare system, which is convoluted and makes healthcare more expensive. Apparently the percentage of GDP spent on healthcare in America is 17% whilst in Europe the figure is 8-10%. And yet European countries tend to rank ahead of America on most measures of health, such as life expectancy.
I do understand that people here complain about the taxes when they do not get anything of direct value for it; suboptimal schools, the roads, the police and firemen, a massive war, some science. Well what if the employers did not pay that incredibly high amount of money towards insurance but instead paid it to the individual, people could afford higher taxes. Unsurprisingly I expect a lot for my taxes; good schools, accessible healthcare, and social security system that supports every member of the society (including the sick, the young, the old, the students and the unemployed).
And with the presidential elections coming up, I don't think either one of the presidential candidates would even dream of offering everything I'd want. California is a strongly Democrat state, and I somehow would love to meet someone who's supporting the other side to hear their justifications and more about their opinions.
I guess I'm really lucky being offered healthcare benefits by my employer. For that I can thank the University of California Postdoc Union who have negotiated us great minimum salary, 25 vacation days per year and the healthcare benefits.
I can also thank the Union for the free beer and snacks last Tuesday, and an opportunity to meet someone who's applied for a job on Koh Rong (one of my most favourite places in the world, remember?) to study the underwater life and help setting up Cambodia's first marine national park. It seems that Cambodian government is attempting to do some good after the marine life has been wrecked by legal and illegal fishing (they sold the fishing rights to Thailand and were surprised when the Thai fishing fleet came and emptied the waters). It's a shame that Koh Rong is planned to become a five-star destination with airports and all, but at least they're attempting to conserve some of that amazing nature.
This time I've got a variety of observations to share, and they start from San Francisco. I did a day-trip there a couple of weeks ago, and just like last time, managed to walk down the wrong streets in the absolutely worst area (Richmond) after dark. Nothing bad happened, but I remembered once again that the land of the free indeed requires some bravery to walk outside instead of driving a car everywhere. The other people who were on the street seemed crazy, homeless, drunk or criminal... and the way how they behaved really made me scared for my life. This is something I've never experienced in Europe or Asia.
Returning to Davis after San Francisco was such a bliss - my beautiful home town where I can walk and bike and be safe after dark! Except that all the students are back for the new academic year, and Davis is full of people who don't know how to bike. Campus is full of cyclists who can't operate the roundabouts, do not seem to be able to read the signs that say "yield" and never signal when turning. A friend of mine was in a bike accident today, someone talking on phone crashed into her. Inspired by this I went and finally bought myself a helmet.
Interestingly, the law enforcement also scares me. This is probably because in movies American policemen are always tough and out there to get people. There seems to be legislation against everything; no drinking beer in a park, or even in front of your house if you live in an apartment complex. No loitering, no this, no that. However I've been assured that the police in Davis are nice, and not all of them pepperspray peacefully protesting students.
Also, I'm not always sure if the legal system is on the side of an individual, as you can be held responsible and sued for a variety things. Like someone visiting my house and accidentally slipping and hitting their head... yes the medical bills would be mine to pay. Which neatly takes me to my next topic: healthcare.
I had a minor health issue, so I went to test out the healthcare system. I would've got an appointment for the same day, except as a new customer (patient?) I had to book a longer appointment which weren't available until two days later. No problems there. At the clinic I filled in a lengthy background questionnaire as well as answered a multitude of questions to the nurse and the doctor about my eating and exercise habits etc. They checked my vaccination record and decided to give me three more jabs. They did a general check up (eyes, ears, lungs, stomach, blood pressure), the minor health issue was taken care of, and the doctor addressed the variety of symptoms I had indicated in the form I had filled in (stress, stiff neck from working on computer, tiredness). So all in all very positive experience, and it cost me only measly $10.
However, my health insurance costs my employer way more than that. Like, more than thousand dollars a month. People here seem to think that it is a benefit, something extra that you get, and not a deduction on your salary. I view it as a lot of money being paid in the pockets of an insurance company and to private healthcare system, which is convoluted and makes healthcare more expensive. Apparently the percentage of GDP spent on healthcare in America is 17% whilst in Europe the figure is 8-10%. And yet European countries tend to rank ahead of America on most measures of health, such as life expectancy.
I do understand that people here complain about the taxes when they do not get anything of direct value for it; suboptimal schools, the roads, the police and firemen, a massive war, some science. Well what if the employers did not pay that incredibly high amount of money towards insurance but instead paid it to the individual, people could afford higher taxes. Unsurprisingly I expect a lot for my taxes; good schools, accessible healthcare, and social security system that supports every member of the society (including the sick, the young, the old, the students and the unemployed).
And with the presidential elections coming up, I don't think either one of the presidential candidates would even dream of offering everything I'd want. California is a strongly Democrat state, and I somehow would love to meet someone who's supporting the other side to hear their justifications and more about their opinions.
I guess I'm really lucky being offered healthcare benefits by my employer. For that I can thank the University of California Postdoc Union who have negotiated us great minimum salary, 25 vacation days per year and the healthcare benefits.
I can also thank the Union for the free beer and snacks last Tuesday, and an opportunity to meet someone who's applied for a job on Koh Rong (one of my most favourite places in the world, remember?) to study the underwater life and help setting up Cambodia's first marine national park. It seems that Cambodian government is attempting to do some good after the marine life has been wrecked by legal and illegal fishing (they sold the fishing rights to Thailand and were surprised when the Thai fishing fleet came and emptied the waters). It's a shame that Koh Rong is planned to become a five-star destination with airports and all, but at least they're attempting to conserve some of that amazing nature.
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