Health Care

The quote going around on Facebook yesterday was, "No one should die because they don't have healthcare and no one should go broke because they get sick", and to each one of these quotes, I commented that I agreed but wasn't sure the plan before us was the right one.

Well, talk about being misconstrued! Apparently, my friends took that to mean that I wasn't concerned about those who are dying or suffering in other ways because they lack health care. As I lay awake last night pondering this situation, and licking my wounds, I decided to just let it go. But, I've been thinking about this for days, long before this quote began to circulate on FB.

As Christians, I think we need to be concerned about those around us who are hungry and hurting. I think we need to do whatever is at hand to alleviate the suffering we see on a daily basis. I met a woman this summer, a nurse, who had serious back surgery. The result was that she wasn't able to go back to nursing, she lost her job, she lost her health insurance and has been denied Social Security disability twice already. She has gone through most of her savings, had to sell her rental property (which was her retirement back up). She has very little. I stood and listened to her in awe. Was I concerned? Was my heart heavy for her? Absolutely.

I believe we need a plan. A workable, well-thought out plan. I don't, however, necessarily believe the one on the table is right. Does that make me a bad person? Does that mean that I don't care? I'm just saying, let's go back to the drawing board. I ask our legislators to cross the aisles. Let the smartest and best and most qualified of those we've elected forget their party affiliations and sit down and draft a plan that works.

And while I'm on this soap box let me say to those conservative Republicans who have been interrupting the Town Hall Meetings all across America, "Get over yourselves." So many of us (Republicans) claim to be Evangelical Christians. So, let me ask you this question. Are you praying for the right plan? Do you pray for our president? Do you pray for the Congress? Are you trying to be a part of the solution rather than part of the problem? I'm so very tired of the partisanism in this country.

In our little community here in New York, there is a huge to do going on between a citizen's group and the School Board. As I stand by and listen to both sides of this issue, I keep wanting to say, "Are you praying about this?" I truly don't know who is right and who is wrong. Probably the truth is somewhere in the middle, as is usually the case. What I do know is, that these people are angry and hurt and it's sad. Again, if we could just sit down and talk, disregarding the need to be right, we could accomplish so much.

So, in closing, I want to say to my Friends. I love you all or I wouldn't call you friends. Isn't it great that we can disagree and still love and respect one another.

~Hippo Hugs~

Help publicly. Help privately. Help in your actions

by recycling and conserving and protecting, but also in your

ATTITUDE. Help make sense where sense has gone missing.

Help bring REASON and RESPECT to discourse and debate.

Help science to SOLVE and faith to SOOTH. Help law bring justice,

until justice is commonplace. Help and you will abolish apathy--

the void that is so quickly filled by ignorance and evil.

~Tom Hanks