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Matthew Shelbourn
WEEKLY WRITING ASSIGNMENT: DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICIES
Domestic Policy
Undoubtedly one of the most frustrating aspects for millions of United States citizens is
navigating through the relentless and endless web of our healthcare systems. For the fortunate
who are able to enjoy employer-provided health insurance perhaps it is less of an issue.
insurance can be an absolute nightmare, especially when dealing with a medical issue which
requires hospitalization. This subject is sensitive for me since I was diagnosed with a chronic
medical condition back in 2006 which landed me in the I.C.U. for seven days and an additional
three days in a less intensive unit of the hospital. I was in-between jobs and therefore uninsured.
I left the hospital with a bill in excess of $200,000 and ultimately filed for bankruptcy because of
it. A few years later while self-employed I was paying $850 per month for health insurance
Long preamble aside, the state of healthcare in the U.S. is abysmal. I understand that we
are a capitalist nation, but healthcare should be in a class of its own and profits should not play a
role in how are healthcare systems are governed. According to The Atlantic, the United States
remains to be the only developed nation to not provide universal health insurance to its citizens.1
As one of the most powerful countries in the world, how on earth is this possible? The
Affordable Care Act (A.C.A.) was a giant step in the right direction, but it is far from perfect and
now is a target for dismantling by our Republican-held executive and legislative branches.
In spite of its many shortcomings, the Affordable Care Act (A.C.A.) entitled many
underprivileged Americans with the ability to gain health insurance for themselves and their
1Fisher, Max. “Here's a Map of the Countries That Provide Universal Health Care (America's
Still Not on It).” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 28 June 2012,
www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/heres-a-map-of-the-countries-that-provide-
universal-health-care-americas-still-not-on-it/259153/ (accessed March 30, 2018).
WEEKLY WRITING ASSIGNMENT: DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICIES
families. Although the A.C.A. did not provide free health insurance for U.S. citizens, it did
However, the A.C.A. is polarizing and I can personally view it from opposite ends of the
spectrum. On the one side, you have people who are unemployed or are not provided with health
insurance through their employer. On the other side, you have sole proprietorships and small
businesses who are required to both have health insurance for themselves and provide health
insurance for their employees or pay a fee based on a substantial percentage of yearly income.
Personally speaking, when I have been on the lower end of the income spectrum I have found the
A.C.A. to be a lifesaver (quite literally in some instances). However, when I have been on the
higher end of the income spectrum as a self-employed individual, the A.C.A. essentially forces
me to purchase sub-par health insurance just so that I am not liable for the tax penalty which
All of this has led up to my point that the U.S. should not only provide government-
subsidized healthcare, but should provide universal healthcare akin to the systems in place in
Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and etc. But with all of our money and weapons and
resources, why can we not provide the fundamental need of healthcare to our citizens? My
answer to this question is that it all comes down to money.2 If there isn’t enough money to be
made off an endeavor then the U.S. won’t get involved. Healthcare is a costly business, without a
doubt. However, perhaps a happier, healthier, more secure populous would benefit the U.S. in
the long-run, both financially and otherwise from enjoying the security of government-provided
healthcare.
2 Conversation, The. "Why the US Doesn't Have Universal Health Care Even Though so Many
Other Countries Do." Business Insider. May 27, 2017. Accessed April 01, 2018.
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-doesnt-america-have-universal-health-care-2017-5
(accessed March 28, 2018).
WEEKLY WRITING ASSIGNMENT: DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICIES
Foreign Policy
I remember exactly where I was and what I was doing on September 11, 2001 when the
two towers of the World Trade Center in New York catastrophically crumbled to the ground.
Since then the issue of terrorism has been a mainstay in our culture and has had a common
presence in our media, for better or for worse. Although the military response we had to the
September 11th attacks was widely-accepted as justified, I believe that we have stretched that
justification for too long and used it as an excuse for overreaching military, intelligence, and
The extended powers granted to the C.I.A., Department of Homeland Security, and the
N.S.A. in the years following the September 11th attacks provides a clear example of how the
need for security was sold to the American public by fostering mass hysteria as a result of media
hype related to constant emphasis on terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, and ISIS. The
Patriot Act passed in 2001 under President George W. Bush is a perfect example of this. This bill
gained overwhelming public, House, and Senate support for the simple fact that its purpose was
to give government the means necessary to efficiently and effectively combat terrorism,
meanwhile protecting the United States from future ‘acts of terror’. The truth about the Patriot
Act, however, is that it grants government intelligence agencies the authority to essentially spy
on whomever they want whenever they want, including U.S. citizens who have no known ties to
terrorist organizations.3
With all this said, I am not against government and understand the need for a strong
military presence. In the technological age in which we live the importance of data is ever
increasing. The wars of the future will be fought digitally instead of on the physical battlefield,
which is why I am in support of strong government intelligence agencies. However, there need to
be limits on how far the government can go with its intelligence gathering. In my opinion, since
the concept of terrorism has been brought to the forefront of U.S. public attention since
September 11th, our government has capitalized on the over-heightened fear we have towards
terrorist organizations to get away with acts they previously would not have been able to and
One additional negative consequence of our ‘war on terror’ is that it has undeservingly
vilified several ethnic groups, races, and religious sects, including members of the Islamic faith,
Muslims, and anyone from a wide variety of Middle Eastern countries. Although the most
pointed hatred towards these groups of people came in first handful of months following 9-11,
the disdain remains to be palpable today.4 The United States used to be a nation that welcomed
foreign immigrants with open arms, providing sanctuary, opportunity, and a high standard of
living, but we seem to going in the opposite direction as of late. What happened on 9-11 was
egregious, and the heinous acts that occur day-in and day-out in many countries around the world
at the hands of terrorist organizations are unforgiveable. However, blaming an entire race, ethnic
group, or religious sect for actions that were carried out by a few of their members simply isn’t
fair to me.
I think we can all agree that terrorism in general is a horrible thing, but I believe that we
use the terms ‘terrorism’ and ‘terrorist’ far too loosely in the United States. It is appropriate for
the American public to want to pin events such as 9-11 on a certain group of people because
devastating occurrences like these are easier to process when there is someone to blame. I also
agree that our government should be responsible for protecting us from outside threats, however
using the term ‘terrorist’ as a catch-all for garnering public support since it carries so much
4Lichtblau, Eric. "Hate Crimes Against American Muslims Most Since Post-9/11 Era." The New
York Times. September 17, 2016. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/18/us/politics/hate-crimes-
american-muslims-rise.html (accessed March 30, 2018).
WEEKLY WRITING ASSIGNMENT: DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICIES
emotional gravitas should be stopped. Every group of persons who share beliefs contrary to ours
are not terrorists, they’re simply unique individuals like you and me.
WEEKLY WRITING ASSIGNMENT: DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN POLICIES
Bibliography
Conversation, The. "Why the US Doesn't Have Universal Health Care Even Though so Many
Other Countries Do." Business Insider. May 27, 2017. Accessed April 01, 2018.
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-doesnt-america-have-universal-health-care-2017-5
Fisher, Max. “Here's a Map of the Countries That Provide Universal Health Care (America's Still
www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/heres-a-map-of-the-countries-that-
2018).
Lichtblau, Eric. "Hate Crimes Against American Muslims Most Since Post-9/11 Era." The New
https://www.aclu.org/issues/national-security/privacy-and-surveillance/surveillance-