A Rant

People act as not being patriotic is a bad thing. I cannot understand the concept of seeing one's own country as being better than others. No country on this planet is perfect. The U.S.A. is supposed to be a democracy, but this is becoming less and less true. People with the most money have too much influence in elections, and how this country is run. Too many politicians are more interested in pleasing the people who donate millions of dollars to their campaigns than they are in helping the people they are supposed to represent. They seem to forget that if more people were earning a living wage, there would be more people putting money back into the economy. Instead, too many CEO's are earning obscene salaries while the average workers at their companies have to depend on government programs to be able to survive. These CEO's do not help the economy at all. They hoard the money they have or use it to buy influence over politicians. These same rich are given tax breaks. These same people say that raising the minimum wage would harm cause jobs to be lost. If this caused jobs to be lost it is only because of their greed. Companies that have the wages are earning more money. Costco, for example, is paying its workers a living wage, and their profits keep increasing. In places where the minimum has been increased the economy has improved. People feel better about themselves when they can earn a living wage and are not dependent on government programs.
It seems that to the conservative Christians freedom of religion is meant for them alone. They somehow see opposing views as being a threat to their own freedom. Allowing other people to believe or not in no way endangers their rights. Many want to discriminate under the guise of religious freedom. Allowing two people of the same gender to marry does not in any way effect their religious freedom. There are those who want Christian prayers to be said at government meetings, but they do not want to allow prayers of other faiths. In some parts of the country atheists are not allowed to run for public office. There are those who equate being a Muslim with being a terrorist. I am sure that the people who think that do not know any Muslims. I am not saying that all Christians are like this.
 Another area of discrimination that needs to be dealt with is that against people with tattoos and piercings. There are people who make assumptions about those who are tattooed and/or pierced. Some companies do not hire people with tattoos that be seen when they are dressed or with certain kinds or piercings. Decisions on whether or not someone is hired for a position should be based on whether or not a person should be based solely on whether or the person has the qualifications that are needed for the job. I feel the same way about people who have hair styles or hair colors that are considered to be the "norm."