To Canada With Love... (from Brazil...)

[Michael Stuart Kelly]

To Canada With Love... (from Brazil...)

Here is an email I just sent to a Canadian friend. It is self-explanatory:

Brazil is going through some upheaval right now. However, it is not too bad. There's even a Rand group down there working it, which is more than there was when I was there:

Ayn Rand Brasil

But check this out:

Now my Daughter-in-law, Darlene, just posted the following on Facebook. She probably copy/pasted the text from somewhere, but, still, I translated it for you:

I'm not angry because my electricity bill went up 50%.

I'm not angry because the dollar reached R$3.50.

I'm not angry because the country is in a recession.

I'm not angry because unemployment hit hard in all sectors of the economy.

I'm not angry because labor rights were stolen from the people.

I'm not angry because, once again, income tax brackets have not been set fairly.

I'm not angry because, even paying 40% of my income to the government, I don't have sufficient healthcare, education and safety to live in Rio de Janeiro.

I'm not angry because a full tank of gas for my car now costs R$200,00.

I'm not angry because Brazil's largest corporation has not been able to publish a balance sheet for the last six months because of corruption.

I'm not angry I know that US$88 billion were siphoned off from Brazil's largest corporation.

I'm not angry I know that the BNDES (The Brazilian Development Bank) lends billions of dollars to dictatorships around the world and refuses to be accountable for these loans because they are "secret agreements."

I'm not angry I know that the governor of my state, the former governor of my state, my state senator, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, among many others, are suspected of corruption.

I'm not angry I know that the former president threatened to put a duplicate army on the streets to curb ideas that are different than his.

I'm not angry because that same former president called me (and 40 million Brazilians) a Nazi for thinking different than he does.

I'm not angry because the government pays people to demonstrate in its favor.

I'm not angry at any of this. According to the government party line, I'm angry because I can't stand poor people. Because watching poor people ride in airplanes makes me mad (????). Because improving the living standards of poor people gives me the hives, seeing that I'm in the white elite class. That's what they are saying. And woe be to me to think otherwise.

But I do not think that. And no one is going to shut me up.

Does any of that sound familiar?

Aren't you glad you live in Canada?

Michael

[Darrell Hougen]

Michael,

Your daughter-in-law is very smart and very brave.

Darrell