Day 304, Year 7: In My Opinion
Date: Friday, September 7, 2012
Weather: Gorgeous September Day
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
I’m fully aware that talking about either politics or religion is sure-fired
way to lose friends, but sometimes the stakes are so high that you just
can’t keep silent. After returning from our visit to Mass General Hospital
today, I have to say that the idea of turning Medicare into a voucher system
scares me to death. Every time Mark goes to Mass General for yet another
procedure, I hold my breath for fear of the cost. But in each and every
case, Medicare has taken care of us. Last May when we arrived in Puerto
Rico and Mark needed medical attention, I was SO GLAD that we were in a US
territory that would accept Medicare. Then we sailed to South Carolina
where Mark needed to see a urologist, and again, Medicare took care of those
bills. The list of things Mark has had done at Mass General this past year
fills a single-spaced page or more, and again, Medicare has taken care of
the bills. I know it is not a perfect system. I know that health care
needs serious reform. But I’m one American who really doesn’t want to let
go of Medicare ‘as we know it’ without taking the steps needed to fully fund
it. We are Americans. We can and have done most anything we set our minds
to and I know we can keep Medicare in its present form it if we just put our
collective minds and efforts to that end. Unfortunately, collective and
cooperation are words that have lost meaning in today’s political arena, but
one can always hope. I’ll be up front and admit that even though I am a
registered Independent, I have voted for the Democratic candidates for
President throughout my lifetime. My parents were married in 1923 and had
four children they had to feed throughout the Great Depression. By the time
I was born in 1947, I grew believing FDR was some sort of god. He had made
it possible for my mom and dad to be able to feed those four children and
his social programs assured my dad could retire knowing that his family
would be cared for through Social Security. Medicare was added during the
Johnson administration, and my parents both benefited from that during their
retirement years. Before Mark and I retired, I think we were ambivalent
about these programs. We were convinced that they would probably run out of
money before we could take advantage of them. But now that we have taken
advantage of both, I know I want them to be there for us and for our
children. And I know they can. We just need to come together as a country
and figure out how to make it happen. I don’t know from where the idea came
that government programs are inherently bad, but I don’t buy into that. In
my opinion, having government programs that take care of all, not just those
that can afford it, is what this country is all about. It is what we have
always done and what we continue to do. It is WHO WE ARE. Can you guess
who I’m voting for on November 6? I think that’s pretty clear. And I
invite you to join me.
That’s my political soapbox for tonight, and now for the’ religion’
piece-eating organically grown food. People are very committed to the
choices they make in what they eat. The recent results of a Stanford study
have caused quite a buzz by reporting findings that there appears to be
little or no difference in vitamin and mineral intake between organic and
non-organic foods. Okay. I can believe that ‘might’ be true. But I
certainly won’t take that to mean that we shouldn’t be rejecting foods grown
with the use of synthetic pesticides and eating animal products from animals
that are given hormones and antibiotics. We know these things collect in
our bodies and that they are not good for us. We don’t need science to tell
us that. I’ll not lay out my whole argument for eating organically. I’ll
just say that each of us needs to use our own good common sense in making
decisions about what we will eat. And I’ll leave you with something I read
on my daughter-in-law’s Facebook page last night.
Green is not something you can buy.
Green is a way of life.
Treasure everything.
Think permaculturally.
Maximize efficiency – Reduce waste
Strive to live sustainably in all ways.
Make it, grow it, build it yourself.
Do all you can with what you have.
. . . from the Use Half Now Campaign on Facebook
