{"id":137,"date":"2004-12-10T01:06:04","date_gmt":"2004-12-10T08:06:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/?p=137"},"modified":"2005-11-16T16:12:24","modified_gmt":"2005-11-16T23:12:24","slug":"diplomacy-starts-with-a-smile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nerdseyeview.com\/blog\/2004\/12\/10\/diplomacy-starts-with-a-smile\/","title":{"rendered":"Diplomacy starts with a smile."},"content":{"rendered":"
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This morning, I am off to the dentist. I hate going to the dentist, even when my teeth are totally fine \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which they are. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m seeing the dentist here because I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any US dental insurance right now. The contract agency I worked through wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sell me dental and optical only and I wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to go on their health plan just to get the dental coverage. The basic dental plan offered in Washington State, which covers 50% of your costs and has a ton of exclusions, costs 40 dollars a month. A standard checkup costs 188 dollars at my dentist in Seattle. Here, thanks to social health plans, it costs about 60 dollars, x-rays included. I just need a regular 6-month check up. I was going to put it off for a year, but since I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m here, I figured I might as well, then I can wait a year if\/when I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m back in the US. I can also get a second opinion on if those fillings need replacing and if I should get a crown on that molar.<\/p>\n

Yesterday we picked up my green card (it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pink, really) at the immigration office. I have full residency now until 2014, which should be plenty of time for the Bush Administration to run out, get defeated, and then, to find another anointed heir to the throne to run in 2012. Not that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m considering staying that long, but there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no denying it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s handy to have options. Once I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m a resident for 5 years, I qualify for full citizenship and I can get a passport.<\/p>\n

A few days ago I was on the phone with a friend in Germany. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153You should really get your passport as soon as you can,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The world is not getting any smaller any more, in fact, things are getting further and further apart and if you have a European passport, it will make it easier.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d While I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not really thinking about settling in Europe, I do agree with him.<\/p>\n

In the early 80s I spent a lot of time in Israel. At that time it was popular wisdom among travelers that having your passport stamped by the Israelis was sufficient reason to be denied entry in some Arab nations. I spent a few days in Cairo getting a second passport \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the embassy had been through this before and there was no trouble getting it issued \u00e2\u20ac\u201c so I could go on to Pakistan. In the current anti-American atmosphere out here in the world, I wonder if my American passport will start to have the same stigma that my Israeli stamped passport used to have. My EU residency will ensure that I have little trouble getting in and out of Europe, and really, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s most important, but longer term I hate the idea of being restricted based solely on the accident of my being born in America. The recent dissing of the Kyoto treaty is just another nail in the coffin of American diplomacy. God, we used to be so proud. This is embarrassing.<\/p>\n

The other night on the news I watched two French political analysts discuss the impact Bush\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s election (I refuse to call it a re-election) will have on US-EU relations. One of them said that because Bush was elected by a majority, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s clear that he has the support of the American people and that we approve of his actions and policies. This led to a lot of screaming at the television. \u00e2\u20ac\u015349 PERCENT! THERE IS NO MANDATE! THE NATION IS DIVIDED!\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Useless activity on my part, but I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t help it. It makes me pretty angry to hear some French pundit discounting my convictions.<\/p>\n

This is all a roundabout way of saying I would rather not have to pursue alternate citizenship just to visit France. I would rather not get suckered in to the hierarchical and bureaucratic ways of the typical European business just so I can make a living. I would certainly rather not see a new dentist. Things being what they are, it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really make sense not to. The travesty of US diplomacy. Our struggling economy. The fiasco that is health care in the US. Yeah, I am following up on my options, even it means something as mundane as going to the dentist.<\/p>\n

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This morning, I am off to the dentist. I hate going to the dentist, even when my teeth are totally fine \u00e2\u20ac\u201c which they are. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m seeing the dentist here because I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have any US dental insurance right now. The contract agency I worked through wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sell me dental and optical only and I … <\/p>\n


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