The point
We visited with old friends this last week. Rob and Craig have been friends since fifth grade, and Craig’s entire family has become like our own. I call them the Jersey Gang. We’ve all vacationed together, the men played softball (pretty badly) for years. We have welcomed babies and watched them grow up and grieved together as parents, friends and then Mike died.
Both Cindy and Fran lost their fathers a couple weeks before Mike died. It’s been a rough year for all of us.
We went for a hike in the woods Sunday afternoon and talk turned to politics. Peyton and Cindy and I walked a little ahead, since we weren’t in the mood for the conversation. But as it went on, I started steaming. They talked about the gossip surrounding the candidates. Will the false rumor that Michelle Obama used the word “whitey” hurt Obama?
“Well, it’s false,” one of them said.
“So? It’s still being talked about.”
That was enough for me. I stopped and turned around.
“You know, tens of thousands of people are dying every year because they don’t have access to health care,” I said. “More than 4,000 Americans and countless Iraqis have died because of an illegal war, the price of gas and food have shot through the roof, millions of people are in danger of losing their homes and you talk about whether a false rumor can hurt a candidate as though it were a real issue. What the hell is wrong here?”
“You’re missing the point of the conversation,” one of them said.
“No,” I said, “your conversation is missing the point of the issues.”
I’m so damn sick of hearing about Obama’s flag pin or Cindy McCain’s purloined recipes. Why do we care about this drivel? Why do we let the corporate media feed us this crap and why do we swallow it like cotton candy? Why can’t we call them on it and insist we talk about the issues?
Write to the editor, e-mail the television stations and the networks and insist they cover the news and not celebrity gossip. I know it works if enough people do it because I work for a newspaper and I know editors read and take into account what people have to say when they care enough to sit down and write.
Demand that we see coverage of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan instead of just hearing about how things are getting better. Demand to hear the candidates’ positions on the issues.
What are their plans for fixing our horribly broken health care system? Demand answers. Don’t back down.
Tags: Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a new peer support program for people newly diagnosed with chronic or serious illness or with a new disability and their caregivers.
Patient Pals are people who have experience with various illnesses and disabilities, who can help someone newly diagnosed or with a new disability work through the fear, frustration, confusion and grief often experienced in the first few months.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
People with new illness or disability fare better when they have a role model -- someone who can help them negotiate their new path in life.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
Post a comment