My neighbor just rammed home to me what is wrong with America.

[Cleita]

The dirt road next to his house is a little bit flooded, maybe just puddled even though we are on a slope. One of the neighbors and he decided to dig a ditch across the road to drain the water. I said what he needed was a culvert or pipe under the road. Additional rain storms would only erode a ditch creating a bad road and then I asked who was responsible for maintaining the road anyway. He said we and the neighbors were because all the roads from the main road were private roads. So I said we needed to get someone professional who knew what they were doing because drainage was also involved.

Then I sarcastically added that this must be the Libertarian paradise everyone likes like Haiti. Then he asked me if they were still killing each other. He must be watching local news which is run by Fox. To which I said that they were dying because in their Libertarian paradise they have no building codes or much infrastructure like police to keep things orderly. I also added that the USA was responsible for much of the poverty and misery that Haiti has endured even before the earthquake. What made him think that all that was happening was that they were killing each other?

Then I said that the problem around here is that there aren't enough road and building codes to keep erosion from happening. Fools with property don't seem to know what they are doing and what should and shouldn't be planted or built in various localities. To that he answered to me that he was only interested in what was going on within his fence, on his property and his life. All the rest of it is of no interest to him. Now this is no dummy. He went to college, medical school and completed his internship and residency to become a medical doctor. Most of the time he's a good guy and cares about other people. He made a point of calling me up to see if I was all right when our electricity went out for a day even though he was visiting with family.

But this is the core problem with Americans. They don't give a damn about what is going on beyond their fence. That's why we are being swallowed whole by criminal enterprises that are doing their wholesale piracy on us legally.

I GIVE UP!!!

[inna]

1. KR. And please do NOT give up - not that I thought even for a second that you were.

:hug:

[Go2Peace]

26. "only interested in what was going on within his fence, on his property and his life"

That completely sums up the difference between a Conservative and a Progressive. It is light and darkness. I consider it is the difference between good and evil. Evil triumphs through pride and selfishness. This is a principle the world over.

[nadinbrzezinski]

2. And they prefer the thousand points of light of a safety net

see Haiti.

You got it.

[Speck Tater]

3. Devil's advocate position:

Sounds like what your neighbor needed was a friendly neighbor to help with the the drainage problem, and what he got was a lecture on partisan politics instead.

The real problem seems to be that when a road is flooded and needs someone to grab a shovel, people stand around and shovel BS instead.

Just saying.

[90-percent]

4. Illustrates a point

Being highly educated in one specific area does not make one an enlightened person.

I do respect the rigors Doctors have to go through to become M.D.'s. The life of a medical intern is downright medieval.

-90% Jimmy

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

5. He doesn't go into any building or structure he doesn't own?

Because that's the only way he can make such an argument and not sound like a moron.

[lunatica]

6. Don't give up, but also don't waste your time either

It's good to know when to fold em

[90-percent]

7. Partisan?

Don't see it.

Seems to be more of a discussion about regulation and personal rights versus the well being of the community?

Just because you own the property doesn't give you the right to do whatever you want with it. Unless you're in a very rural unregulated community that has no zoning or land use laws.

-90% Jimmy

[RevCheesehead]

8. I just had a similar conversation with a friend today.

She noticed that an older woman at the store couldn't get her trunk opened to put in her groceries. Tons of people were around, but nobody bothered to help her until my friend did. She asked me "what the hell is WRONG with people, that they can't just stop for one minute to help someone else???"

We are selfish, self-centered naval-gazing assholes. :banghead:

[depakid]

9. One thing I've noticed about physicians is that they tend to be rather narrowly focused and educated

yet seem to think they know what they're talking about in areas well beyond their interests or expertise. You can almost count on some that I've known to do something stupid like this guy seems to be set on doing- then find a way to place the blame on someone or something else.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

12. They are not educated, they are schooled

Medical education, starting at the undergraduate level, is basically a trade school.

[depakid]

18. It tends to be more pronounced with the British model

where medical (or law) degrees are sought directly after secondary education- although this is beginning to change in Australia, where more universities are requiring undergraduate degrees.

Curiously though- even those tend not to be as broad in terms of required curricula as what one typically sees in American universities- partially because the usual high school graduate who moves on to university is at about the level of a American college sophomore or junior.

I had a neighbor in California who reminds me of the guy in the OP- a cheerful enough fellow, and insistent "landscaper" who regularly amused us with his projects (the consequences of which thankfully remained on his own property).

[kestrel91316]

17. Physicians make some of the worst, most uncaring and irresponsible

pet owners I have ever seen, too. If you can believe it.

[Lorien]

10. I hear you. A few years ago we had a major problem with forest fires in our area

(mostly caused by "prescribed burns"). Some got so out of control that they were burning down homes in some communities. I mentioned to a friend that a community not far from her had been affected and I wondered if any relief efforts had been organized for the uninsured who had lost everything. She said "Oh, I don't know. If it's not happening in my own backyard I really don't give a crap." that right there says it all. :-(

[BrklynLiberal]

11. Selfish, self-centered, narcissistic, ego-centric...anti "socialism" or

any other thing that even hints at helping others less fortunate...even if it takes a bit of effort on our part.

This the same population that is against welfare, food stamps,medical care for those who are unemployed,etc

They don't want THEIR tax money spent on those who are not willing to go out and help themselves!!! ...Like Halliburton and Blackwater..who helped themselves to all the tax money they could get their hands on...

[newspeak]

13. they're for food stamps and assistance

when THEY need it. See, they're hard working and deserve help when they need it--it's those other people who are the deadbeats when they need assistance.

[BrklynLiberal]

15. Yep Exactly....

[dmr]

14. I bet he'd care if what you did on your property affected his

and I bet he cares that there are traffic lights to stop traffic from ramming his car; that there are drains to keep the major roads from flooding. He'd be screaming bloody murder if damage was done to 'his'.

No man is an island.

[BeFree]

16. Scairt

Land of the free and home of the brave, no mo.

Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose
and everybody is scared to get involved.

They got us right where they want us.

I might give up. Am on vacation anyway. It's nice. Yep. It is sweeter this way.

[Gregorian]

19. Rugged individualism is short sighted.

Now the West has been won. There's no place to run. Can't get your gun. No more fun. I'm the only one.

Ignorant people will always be with us. I'm building a shop, and the guy who is doing the work is a Palin supporter. Babe in the White House would just make him happy. There is no such thing as global warming, I heard him say.

I say give up. Give up on some of the people. They have no chance. But there are some. There are a lot of people who are mature and intelligent. People who know that we are in this TOGETHER.

No one knows just what we're doing here on this planet. But you know, I'm going to take my chances that being good is the right thing. Helping those who need help.

We have higher standards, us Democrats. And if I dare say we are more valid. Our arguments, our goals, our vision, our methods.

Don't give up on us.

[igfoth]

21. Why did you Hire a Palin supporter?

You get to vote every day with your wallet.

Why would you support someone who would give money and vote Republican?

Vote with your wallet very day, do not support Pubs, Teabaggers or Red States.

Case in point a few years ago I was meeting with a builder and was about to sign a contract with him to build my home, I found out he was a McCain supporter...so to make a long story short..I decided to stop all dealings with him and find a builder who supports progressives causes.

Money and Physical violence is all Pubs understand..you go to jail if you beat them but no laws against not doing business with them.

[Gregorian]

24. I know. I know. But I'm building something very unique.

This is a steel building, and I also live in an area that is just devoid of everything. I couldn't find a builder that did metal. I had to go outside the area. And the area is overwhelmingly liberal. Which is just strange for a rural area. I also didn't know until after he started.

No, I agree with you. And I've always operated that way. In fact, I worked with my dad for some years. When he got a military purchase order, he gleefully dropped it into the garbage. Screw the money.

By the way, I'm just building the garage. Yesterday I found someone who I think can do my house. And I'm interviewing him this week. So these guys are probably not going to get the best part of this job. Haha!

[Mopar151]

20. If this guy does'nt care about the world outside his fence

Why did he buy on a road that requires him to share in road maintainence? A good New England winter would straighten him out - private snowplowing figures at $50+ an hour hired out, or equivalent effort or cost DIY. And in spring runoff, bad drainage and poor roadbeds will make muck that will swallow his Beemer x5 (SUV) whole.
DIY culverts are do-able - but it'll cost y'all $500 in cash, for culvert and rental on a mini-backhoe. IF there is place for the water to drain to. A good backyard gardener can figure out the drainage. Here in NH, none of you could have gotten a morgtage on a house without access to a maintained road, and a road put in by a developer has to be up to code before being accepted by the town. It can get a little excessive - my friend built a house, where the driveway comes out at the crest of a hill. He still had to put a culvert under the driveway....
Oh yeah - Ask Medicine Boy if he's interested on the "deal" like the one you're looking into, on an underground tank for your own gas pump.Tell him you're gonna buy generic 86 octane, and boost it to premium with 104+ Octane Boost - which contains MTBE. Don't do it - it contaminates groundwater like crazy - but the thought of it should send him into shiverin' fits! It's fun to prank moneyed idiots.
Oh yeah - I got the idea from the cheap-ass New Yorkers who fuel their Mercedes Diesels from their home heating oil tanks to save on road tax. Then they drive to Vermont to go skiing - and the #2 fuel gels in the tank, necessitating a flatbed tow and an indoor thaw-out.

[Hubert Flottz]

22. Chalk it up to the Dumbing down of America project...

It has really worked. It's just too much trouble for most people to think, to wonder, to care...we depend on our "leaders to take care of things.

Too lazy to survive perhaps.

[glitch]

23. Trained narcissism.

Empathy has been trained out of him, unless he is one of the rare ones who wasn't born with any.

Not just his medical training, I think the sensory overload in our culture plays a part, along with the callous snark of our "media".

He's overwhelmed by the demands of actually being human. Don't give up, have a little pity for him.

[SoCalDem]

25. and he does not care that the "ditch" he digs will eventually affect

someone else who is further down the slope.. Those people probably are NOT "getting water" ..perhaps because of the way THEY prepared their own land, but HIS impromptu ditch, may direct water into their property, and foist a big mess & cost onto them..

Out here (in my city anyway), you have to get a permit to alter the grade of your property when you do concrete work or put up retaining walls, or even terraced ledges.

We had concrete work done few years ago, and it involved movind some fence posts..the landscaper had to get the proper permits because moving the fence involved changing some levels between our property line & our neighbors.