News from an acquaintance in Germany:
Silvi’s mom basically squandered everything she had. The government had already assessed the children’s income and wealth in order to ask them to contribute to their mothers monthly nursing home bill (Pflegegeld). She didn’t have a big pension either. The stuff she amassed 20 years ago which had value were expensive books which Silvi and her brother had to throw in the dumpster when she moved into the nursing home. The library (and nobody else for that matter) didn’t want them. So in the end there are a few photo albums left and clothing that nobody wants. The good people at the nursing home added to the memorable experience. While Silvia had intended to donate clothing and other items to less fortunate inhabitants of the home, the management already helped themselves distributing stuff among the old folk without her consent. When Silvia arrived the next day at the home, she found the rest sitting in the room, carelessly stuffed into blue garbage bags. Only in Germany …. The little money that was left covered the funeral. Case closed. Silvi can now go on with her life. This is Socialism in a former Communist state.
After reading about Silvi’s mom, it kills me when Americans call Obama a socialist. A young women in my census class made a statement about the government becoming communist. I told her you say that only because you have no idea what it is real communism or totalitarian state is like. She didn’t say anything else.
And I put forward that if you ask any refugee who came to the US (from lovely places like Iraq, Somalia, Vietnam, China, etc) if this country is now becoming one of those awful ‘socialist’ totalitarian states, they will tell you NO. My parents never thought this country was getting like Communist East Germany (except when I was forced to contribute to the United Way!). The ones making these claims (Palin, Tea Party) just don’t know what their talking about. I read that there was a protester at U of M Saturday that had a Obama sign with a hammer and sickle on it. He is showing what an idiot he is.
Americans are really such wimps. If someone cuts back on their soda pop consumption, it’s communism. What do they call it when someone kills your family because they are a different ethnic group? Or you they force you to join a radical political party in order to go to college. Or you have to spy on family and friends so you can keep your job?
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