With the presidential race to deceive-faster-than-your-opponent coming up, there has been heightened pressure for me to figure out what I think about the issues. America is always zooming forward in the great race or democracy, but I'm just looking for a pit stop before I blow out all my tires. With two children under 3 and no job outside the home, the issues for me are potty training and boogers. Somehow, none of the candidates seemed to want to discuss. Clearly, they are hiding something from us. Scandal.
In my attempt to be well-educated about what matters to me, I began to distinguish (between diaper changes and requests for more markers from the cabinet) the issues that make a difference to me. Abortion/birth control, of course, but I've discussed that until I'm blue in the face. Foreign policy is an issue, but since I've spent the last 10 years in a relationship with someone who's been in and out of Iraq 3 times, it's a sore and often-avoided issue for me. And for now, it remains that way. A little too much scar tissue to go diving in with a scalpel, if you will. What else? There's so many things that I should have an opinion on, but don't. Here are my current musings on a few things.
Healthcare: Everybody is the equal! That's good, right?
Healthcare seems to matter a lot to me, but I am still quite conflicted about this one - as a military spouse I've always received as much care as I need, but because of the socialized nature of Military medicine, it has rarely been of any quality to speak of. Military Medicine: where everyone sees the same docs at the same facility and has the same, equal access to drugs. I believe that I know, just a little, what socialized medicine in America may look like, and it ain't pretty.
Take last summer, when I was given a prescription from my OBGYN during the latter stages of pregnancy. The wait for the pharmacy in the hospital? 2.5 hours (every day). The wait at the on-post pharmacy? 1.5, mostly outside (I was appalled when I saw elderly veterans standing outside the pharmacy in line in 110 degrees Texas Summer). So, I begged my doctor to write a script that I could take to CVS. She looked at me like I was insane. Why would I want to pay for free medicine? But 7 months pregnant with a 2 year old makes a drive up pharmacy look pretty good, and after all, my co-pay was a whopping $3.
How does this inform what I think of the proposed health care reform? I think (though I'm not yet sure) that it means I support the idea that free trade is the only way to regulate a very screwed up system. The pharmaceutical companies have such amazing monopolies on life-giving medications and yet are pushing unnecessary drugs down the throat of the public (longer eyelashes? seriously?), and the only explanation I've come across that makes any sense is that free trade has not been allowed to do it's cut-throat only-the-strong-survive kung-fu action because of government involvement (regulation, subsidies, incentives, research funding). Look - when I needed to go to the pharmacy, I made it happen at the place that met my needs. And I was willing to spend more of my hard earned money to do it. Maybe this is a microcosm. And this doesn't even cover what it's like to see the same doctors. Or what happens if you have an issue that's difficult to solve. Or the gaggle cuss that is "specialty" medicine. For the record, this isn't any one person's fault - some of the docs I've seen are miracle workers. I just think that this is the natural conclusion of the "everybody is equal and deserves the best" mentality. Didn't you guys watch "The Incredibles?" The moral of that story: When everyone is super, no one is super at all. And here comes the evil genius's destructive super-robot. Oh crap.
I also see an appalling waste caused by this type of universally-provided medicine. Guess what folks? That $3 prescription I paid for is actually worth $50. And someone is paying it. Among military dependants, there's a total flippancy about spending money on medicine. Feeling a little sad? Some providers will give you a month's worth of zoloft ($80-$90) without a trip to see even a counselor. Not sure what birth control you want to use? Give Mirena a try - you can always take it out and toss it if it doesn't work for you. And waste the $350 the little device costs. It makes me so mad when people think, "If I'm not paying it, what does it matter?" It's that attitude that must change to get us out of this hole we dug.
Immigration Policy: "It's proud, I am"
As a fourth generation immigrant, I care about immigration. The Irish (my main heritage) were hated as dirty immigrants who stole jobs and put "good Americans" out on their buts for a long time. "Native Americans" of the 1800s hated those Ellis Island pigs. Sound familiar? And guess what? Aside from the 1/16th of my blood that is American Indian, they were ALL immigrants at one time. Some of them would not have been legal under today's laws.
Now, we all know that I'm a fan of all things legal so I am certainly not promoting illegal immigration. And it's not impossible to become an American, either. I have known many many people who joined the military as a fool-proof way of becoming American. That some hard-earned long months, doing a minimum 2 year stint serving the country you want to belong to. I'd like to shake that hand, my friend. So changing immigration laws isn't necessarily the answer. I would just like to see a change in attitude, honestly.
A grateful tip of the hat to Lady Liberty and the thousands of tired masses she welcomed would be a nice start. Not being hateful for having to "press one for English" would be a holistic thought as well. After all, why do we speak English in the first place? 7th grade history, folks. In this part of the country, I should be speaking Spanish. If not French. If this country speaks Spanish as their first language in 10 years, I guess I'll be learning Spanish to keep up, not complaining in racial slurs. 63% of my fellow San Antonioians are hispanic, only 28% are white, and a shocking 6% are African American. But back home, the city of my birth has gone from 14 to 17% hispanic over the course of the last 9 years. And I am ashamed to admit that I've heard so many of the white majority in that area say "The hispanics are taking over." Shame on you for thinking that's a bad thing in the first place. But for being that out of touch with what is actually going on? Think for yourselves, people. You're still sitting pretty at 47% white back at home. Relax. Come visit the River City and be appreciative for a family-oriented, friendly, art-infused, religiously-sound culture that I am overjoyed to be submerged in. They can take over if they want to. My Irish ancestors did just that - mixed and fought and worked their tails off when "No Irish need apply."
"It's proud I am to be Irish," to quote the fictious yet friggin awesome Gerald O'Hara (Gone with the Wind) and so I welcome those huddled masses - no matter how they come. I think our attitude informs our legislation. And I'm afraid we've got it all wrong.
Standing against those I love?
In discussing all this, I've made a real discovery about myself. It's very difficult for me to take a stand that is different from my family and friends. It's a pretty simple formula really. (What I think) / (What you think) x (How much I care about you) = (Gagglecuss of emotion). I really just want everyone to get along. I know that you wouldn't guess that from this blog, but it's true. This little blog world is the vacuum in which I can have an opinion that is contrary to that of my best friend or my husband or my kid's godfather (Hi Jimmy!). But what I've learned is that I HATE IT. I spend more time trying to reconcile what you think to what I think than develop what I think at all. Because I love you. Yes you. I guess it's a good thing that my love overwhelms my opinion, but not if it makes me a fence-sitter. The trick is to find out what I think, and love you even if you don't agree with me.
Having political opinions is relatively new territory for me. I spent a lot of my life purposely not being opinionated. "You're probably right, I'm sorry," was my MO. There are many paths to the top of the mountain, a very popular idea, just turned out to be (for me) a load of bunk. In the end, I can't help but come to the conclusion that we simply cannot all be right. Mutually impossible. Yet it still shocks my system a bit when I find myself believing that someone is wrong.
And I have VERY high standards for having a solid stance on anything. My opinion must be well-researched from multiple reputable sources (on both sides of the issue, and hopefully from at least one non-biased source). It cannot be hearsay or pseudo-knowledge. It must challenge authority at all costs, but still acknowledge the value of the accumulative, longsuffering knowledge that authority often carries by it's very nature. It must be humane and empathetic, but convicted. And above all, it must always be ready to be proven wrong if presented with a more compelling argument. Geez. With a list like that, no wonder I'm a fence-sitter. I'm exhausted from just typing it.
So politics makes me feel like I'm running a marathon. In the end, though, I'm glad I'm like this. I wish more people were. It's the folly of my life - high standards for all, and the highest for myself. But I refuse to compromise. I'll just continue to labor under the yolk of my own ridiculousness. Hee-haw.
In my attempt to be well-educated about what matters to me, I began to distinguish (between diaper changes and requests for more markers from the cabinet) the issues that make a difference to me. Abortion/birth control, of course, but I've discussed that until I'm blue in the face. Foreign policy is an issue, but since I've spent the last 10 years in a relationship with someone who's been in and out of Iraq 3 times, it's a sore and often-avoided issue for me. And for now, it remains that way. A little too much scar tissue to go diving in with a scalpel, if you will. What else? There's so many things that I should have an opinion on, but don't. Here are my current musings on a few things.
Healthcare: Everybody is the equal! That's good, right?
Take last summer, when I was given a prescription from my OBGYN during the latter stages of pregnancy. The wait for the pharmacy in the hospital? 2.5 hours (every day). The wait at the on-post pharmacy? 1.5, mostly outside (I was appalled when I saw elderly veterans standing outside the pharmacy in line in 110 degrees Texas Summer). So, I begged my doctor to write a script that I could take to CVS. She looked at me like I was insane. Why would I want to pay for free medicine? But 7 months pregnant with a 2 year old makes a drive up pharmacy look pretty good, and after all, my co-pay was a whopping $3.
How does this inform what I think of the proposed health care reform? I think (though I'm not yet sure) that it means I support the idea that free trade is the only way to regulate a very screwed up system. The pharmaceutical companies have such amazing monopolies on life-giving medications and yet are pushing unnecessary drugs down the throat of the public (longer eyelashes? seriously?), and the only explanation I've come across that makes any sense is that free trade has not been allowed to do it's cut-throat only-the-strong-survive kung-fu action because of government involvement (regulation, subsidies, incentives, research funding). Look - when I needed to go to the pharmacy, I made it happen at the place that met my needs. And I was willing to spend more of my hard earned money to do it. Maybe this is a microcosm. And this doesn't even cover what it's like to see the same doctors. Or what happens if you have an issue that's difficult to solve. Or the gaggle cuss that is "specialty" medicine. For the record, this isn't any one person's fault - some of the docs I've seen are miracle workers. I just think that this is the natural conclusion of the "everybody is equal and deserves the best" mentality. Didn't you guys watch "The Incredibles?" The moral of that story: When everyone is super, no one is super at all. And here comes the evil genius's destructive super-robot. Oh crap.
I also see an appalling waste caused by this type of universally-provided medicine. Guess what folks? That $3 prescription I paid for is actually worth $50. And someone is paying it. Among military dependants, there's a total flippancy about spending money on medicine. Feeling a little sad? Some providers will give you a month's worth of zoloft ($80-$90) without a trip to see even a counselor. Not sure what birth control you want to use? Give Mirena a try - you can always take it out and toss it if it doesn't work for you. And waste the $350 the little device costs. It makes me so mad when people think, "If I'm not paying it, what does it matter?" It's that attitude that must change to get us out of this hole we dug.
Immigration Policy: "It's proud, I am"
As a fourth generation immigrant, I care about immigration. The Irish (my main heritage) were hated as dirty immigrants who stole jobs and put "good Americans" out on their buts for a long time. "Native Americans" of the 1800s hated those Ellis Island pigs. Sound familiar? And guess what? Aside from the 1/16th of my blood that is American Indian, they were ALL immigrants at one time. Some of them would not have been legal under today's laws.
Now, we all know that I'm a fan of all things legal so I am certainly not promoting illegal immigration. And it's not impossible to become an American, either. I have known many many people who joined the military as a fool-proof way of becoming American. That some hard-earned long months, doing a minimum 2 year stint serving the country you want to belong to. I'd like to shake that hand, my friend. So changing immigration laws isn't necessarily the answer. I would just like to see a change in attitude, honestly.
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| Gerald O'Hara. So one of my personal heroes is fictional. So what? |
"It's proud I am to be Irish," to quote the fictious yet friggin awesome Gerald O'Hara (Gone with the Wind) and so I welcome those huddled masses - no matter how they come. I think our attitude informs our legislation. And I'm afraid we've got it all wrong.
Standing against those I love?
In discussing all this, I've made a real discovery about myself. It's very difficult for me to take a stand that is different from my family and friends. It's a pretty simple formula really. (What I think) / (What you think) x (How much I care about you) = (Gagglecuss of emotion). I really just want everyone to get along. I know that you wouldn't guess that from this blog, but it's true. This little blog world is the vacuum in which I can have an opinion that is contrary to that of my best friend or my husband or my kid's godfather (Hi Jimmy!). But what I've learned is that I HATE IT. I spend more time trying to reconcile what you think to what I think than develop what I think at all. Because I love you. Yes you. I guess it's a good thing that my love overwhelms my opinion, but not if it makes me a fence-sitter. The trick is to find out what I think, and love you even if you don't agree with me.
 |
| Even these letters know that not everyone can be right. |
And I have VERY high standards for having a solid stance on anything. My opinion must be well-researched from multiple reputable sources (on both sides of the issue, and hopefully from at least one non-biased source). It cannot be hearsay or pseudo-knowledge. It must challenge authority at all costs, but still acknowledge the value of the accumulative, longsuffering knowledge that authority often carries by it's very nature. It must be humane and empathetic, but convicted. And above all, it must always be ready to be proven wrong if presented with a more compelling argument. Geez. With a list like that, no wonder I'm a fence-sitter. I'm exhausted from just typing it.
So politics makes me feel like I'm running a marathon. In the end, though, I'm glad I'm like this. I wish more people were. It's the folly of my life - high standards for all, and the highest for myself. But I refuse to compromise. I'll just continue to labor under the yolk of my own ridiculousness. Hee-haw.
1 comment:
On the healthcare one im going to lean that i am for it because i think its a more than awesome deal, wait a little longer because more lives are getting saved. I think everybody should have a fair shot at fixing their symptoms. The private market will be there for people who are willing to pay an extra three bucks. Immigration is should be a little more strict. If you get a degree you should at least get a permanent resident card, if you do any criminal activity you should be deported. If you are here illegaly and havent done either of the above well then we let them work until they do one of the above. for president i would like ron paul if he wins the republican nominee, if not ill be sticking with obama. well, those are my two pesos for your blog. hehe
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