I want to live in a good place.
I want to live where the teachers are held in high esteem, and paid well, not denigrated as freeloaders and demonized.
I want to live where overt religious bigotry is not publicly tolerated and justified.
I want to live where living, loving pets are not disposable and casually discarded when the whim or convenience is gone.
I want to live where I can work hard all my life, not be forced to work hard all my life.
I want to live where exercise, and fresh air, are essential to daily life.
I want be able to finally retire without fear that I'll have no safety net, after Wall Street has decimated my life's savings.
I want a life where I can afford to go to a doctor for preventive care, and afford treatment when needed.
I want to be able to afford to buy a place to live, to call my own.
I want my childrens lives to be better than my own. At least as good as my own.
I want education to be valued by society. I want students to desire good grades, to exhalt in learning for it's own sake, to take pride in educational achievements.
I want a place that doesn't pretend that plates of deep fried beige-colored processed things are ... food.
I want to live in a place where it is professional accomplishment and mastery of one's job, no matter what it is, that is revered, not one's salary level.
I want to live where becoming a reality star is not anyone's life goal.
I want getting enough sleep to be a sign of self-respect, not laziness.
I want to live where those held up to high national office have a public servant mentality and are the best and brightest, not the hateful, dumb and cultish.
I want to live where science and critical thinking are revered, not denigrated.
I want to live where people worry about their carbon footprint.
I want to live in a society that believes in the concept of society: that believes in sharing, in cooperation, in mutual respect, of the right to independence of choice and spirit, in the realization that we are a tribe that thrives best together.
I want to live in a good place.
I am increasingly concerned that the United States can no longer provide common opportunity for such a life. I love my country. But I am deeply worried about the quality of life available here.
If you didn't live in the United States, what country would you go to? Why?