Is the US the Best at Anything?

I didn't care about politics much when I was in college, or in my early 20s. That carryover "I know everything, I'm all set" feeling from teenager-hood came with me for a bit. Doing well in college, having fun, no rules, and parties, made it all the easier to stay wrapped up in my middle-class college student bubble.

I graduated from UF in 2007 and started working at a publishing company in town. I ended up staying there for 3 years. Every year, my group of friend would shrink or change altogether as the transient nature of the town shined through.

In 2010, I was able to find a (terrible) job in New York City and lived every suburban middle-class Jewish girls dream of leaving Florida and moving to the big city. In New York, I could be whoever I wanted. I was no longer the only Jewish kid in my grade, and I was ready to start the rest of my life. At 23, I felt like I was on top of the world.

NYC is many things. It's beautiful, interesting, a melting pot, diverse, boasts amazing food, millions upon millions of people, things for any interest, 24/7 delis, and more.

In 2010, in NYC, I was lonely, broke, and bored.

I didn't know anyone and definitely did not realize how difficult it would be to make new friends in a new city, I didn't realize the job I'd gotten from back home was a scam, would only last 7 weeks, and I would end up unemployed while frantically searching for a new position before completely running out of money.

I was on a precipice, a life-changing experience was happening to me, and I grew up.

I spent all day long in a public library searching for jobs. Not because of the free wifi, but because I had a horrific roommate who refused to give me a key and I had to leave when she left and come home after she got there in order to get in and out. She would arbitrarily "decorate" my room for me, by going in without my permission and putting ugly stuff on top of my TV. She ended up stealing my security deposit and refusing to give it back with no reason. Honestly, she was a huge jerk and I hated her a lot. The one time she saw my boyfriend when he was picking me up and I was running late, she made sure to stomp around for a week yelling about how I wasn't allowed to have guests over. This lasted 6 months before I moved out and never looked back (BTW, Amanda, if you are ever reading this: still hate you, what you did was theft, and I think you are a terrible person.).

All day long I was scouring job boards, trying to tweak my cover letter and resume, and applying for anything and everything. In the end, I was unemployed for almost 6 weeks. Which may not sound like long, but I had only been in NYC less than 4 months, and was only 3 weeks out from not being able to pay rent and having to move back home to Florida.

During those less than 4 months, I had wracked up almost $5000 in credit card debt, and my savings account was completely wiped out. I finally had stable work and a paycheck and was able to breathe.

At this point, I met the man who would later become my husband. But this is not that story, this is different.

Being unemployed is always difficult. Being unemployed in an expensive city where I don't have any friends and no one to talk to about my problems, well it forced me to finally and truly grow up.

I learned to cook more and better and why fresh ingredients matter. I was manic about saving money so that situation couldn't happen to me again. I started taking a far more serious interest in the world around me, the news, and politics. Politics opened up a whole new side of life for me. I became even more passionate about certain issues, I learned where different candidates stood on issues. I got involved in debates, I actually watch the televised debates. I get angry, frustrated, sometimes all I can do is laugh. But I learned.

I started caring more about the world as a whole and less about the area that immediately surrounded me. I became appalled at the state of our two-party system and how it specifically cultivates a divided mentality. I started learning about what other countries do and how they work, and why. I started questioning why the US can't implement certain things. I started to get frustrated and disillusioned by our system.  We talk about being the greatest country on Earth, the last remaining superpower. But are we?

Robert Quigley discusses this infographic: "The USA may still lead the world in GDP and rank highly in such stats as population and human development index, but its lag in other key categories is alarming. You’ve heard about the education gap, but did you know that U.S. students’ math scores are among the lowest in the developed world? Charles M. Blow and the New York Times put together this infographic comparing the U.S. to other countries by 9 key metrics: The U.S. comes in at “worst of the worst” in four categories and “worst” in two more, with zero “best” rankings."

Looking at this, can you truly claim we are the best of the best? People shout "USA! USA!" But what ideals, what freedoms are we shouting for? A black man quietly protesting has been condemned in the news and by the people, despite the fact that his right to protest is what our soldiers fight for.  We glorify our soldiers, instead of condemning why we even need them.

I still believe that you cannot complain about the state of our country if you won't go out and vote and be informed and at least try to make a difference, but I also sometimes wonder if I'm making any difference at all.

It is frustrating to be a voter in this country, at least right now. Feeling like none of the nominees represent me. Something I'm hearing more and more often is "I can't vote for either of them!" or "Well, she is the lesser of two evils."

And in the end, that is what the choice this year has come down to. Someone who isn't as bad as the other, terrible candidate, but still isn't that great and doesn't truly represent me.

How incredibly sad.