Seizing Opportunity in the Land of the Free

Cartersville resident Fabian Zender is described by those who know him as an upstanding member of society.

He’s a family man, a devout Republican, an active and recognized member of the Bartow GOP and attends the with his wife and children.

A senior at Georgia Tech, Zender is finishing his degree in Aerospace Engineering, with the hopes of landing a job with a company such as Lockheed, and is heavily involved in student government programs.

Zender is well on his way to achieving the American Dream.

The only thing left for him to do is to become an American.

Born in Bonn, Germany, Zender lived there with his family until a high school student exchange program brought him to the United States in 2005 and opened his eyes to new relationships and many possibilities.

After graduating high school Zender married his wife, Kyrie, who is a Cartersville resident and U.S. native. The couple decided to live in the United States, pursue their degrees and start a family.

“I sent my citizenship paperwork off in March and I’ve had my interview already,” said Zender. “The only thing left is to be officially sworn in.”

Besides everything in America being so much bigger, seeing as how the entire country of Germany is about the size of Montana, Zender says that one of the biggest differences between the U.S. and Germany is healthcare, hence, his affinity for the Republican Party.

“I’ve heard people reference the universal health care programs in Europe as if they are the perfect solution,” said Zender. “The problem I have with that is that there isn’t a European country I can think of where it’s actually really working. There isn’t a country out there that can really afford it. It’s a crippling system.”

In Zender’s native country, health care is partially private and partially government-funded. Citizens can choose which system they’d like to adhere to.

“My mom’s a doctor back in Germany, so I’ve seen for myself the real difference between the two options,” said Zender. “What it leads to is that with private insurance you can pretty much be seen right away, just like here in the U.S., but with government-funded health care, it can take weeks or months to get an appointment or a procedure scheduled and the bad side of that detail is obvious.”

Zender also said that similar to other government-funded assistance programs, Germany’s universal health care system is widely abused. Hospitals become local hang outs for people with nothing better to do because it’s free. This clogs up the works, slows down hospital productivity and adds to the mountains of red tape and paperwork associated with the program.

“There would be so much waste with government-funded health care. The government shouldn’t be expected to get involved and be there to that extent for the people. It has a big financial impact on unemployment because it prevents businesses from hiring new people. It steers where the country is going as a whole,” said Zender. “Obamacare is definitely not my favorite idea.”

Since his move to the United States, Zender has taken the time to educate himself on multiple different issues and form opinion on them.

He said one of the main reasons he wants to become a citizen is to earn the right to vote and participate in the future of the country, and he doesn’t understand people who don’t vote and think their vote doesn’t count.

“Another issue I’m concerned with is defense spending. A lot of people see the U.S. as the world police and call that a bad thing, but coming from Germany, I see the benefits,” said Zender. “Germany’s hands are tied in a lot of ways when it comes to acting on defense or humanitarian needs. They would love to give food to other countries, but it’s the American military that has the equipment for that. We can’t cut military funds for the sake of saving money. We don’t want to end up relying on China or Russia to do the jobs we’re doing now.

“Obviously, immigration isn’t something I have a problem with,” said Zender. “I like that people feel they can come here and have a good life, but they need to be required to become citizens.”

The Bartow County GOP recognized Zender at its  for going through the legal process of becoming an active citizen and member of the Republican Party. 

Zender hopes that a lot of the current issues will be taken care of after the upcoming presidential election.

“The Republicans have really attracted me because I’ve noticed that they empower you instead of just handing things to you,” said Zender. “Republicans give opportunities, not handouts.”