(rebloggable version per request)

Unfortunately, it’s true. I’m a dual citizen, Italian/American.  I’ve been fortunate to have lived in many places.  I lived in various parts of California and Georgia for many years, but also lived in two very socialist countries (Austria and Belgium) as well as the UK, which has a National Healthcare Service.

The difference is unbelievable.  Unfortunately, many Americans are brainwashed by the media (funded by politicians, corporations, and pharmaceutical companies) to think that they have it best- no national healthcare, almost no support for students, on top of many other basic needs.  The result is that you get half of the country actually believing they have it best, when really the US has it worse than most countries.

To Europeans, Scandenavians, and almost any other country in the world, the idea of having no national healthcare is unfathomable.  But I have so many friends in the US who suffered because they were too scared to go to a doctor when they had really extreme health problems, because they were scared they’d never be able to afford the bill. (Even a checkup is very expensive.)  But in the UK (and many other countries) you can get pretty much ANY healthcare for free.  One’s heath is considered a basic right.  To anyone who has experienced socialized medicine or student support in another country, it’s inconceivable that a world superpower would have such a low quality of live for the average citizen.  The situation reminds me of North Korea, that’s how glamorized American conservative’s view is compared to the bitter reality.