I know
that, as an advocate for cancer awareness, I should be taking more time to
research the changes that could/might be happening to our health care system.
And, I'd like to. But, here's the thing. It's a 1000 page document. I don't
have time to read the news. I barely have time to get through my emails - how
am I going to wade through a thousand pages of legal jargon and mumbo-jumbo to
try to get to the crux of what's happening?
I know that this is nothing to complain about - I am hopeful (perhaps optimistically, blindly so) that things will work out for the best. I have faith that our government (all of them) would only do what they think is best for all involved.
And, yet, here's where my cynicism comes in. How can they, being the people making the decision and laying down their vote in Congress, have the time to wade through all of this and get to the core of what this bill says. I am grateful that they are having these town-hall meetings, but how much do they really know about the bill? Again, being optimistic, I have the hope that the reps that are talking about this bill are able to speak intelligently about it. They seem to have good answers to this, and I am pleased with the responses that I have heard thus far to the complaints expressed (generally shouted) in these meetings.
Onto those responses and my rant - one of the things that irritates me about human nature and, in particular, the arrogance of Americans (no hate mail, please - I love this country like it's a family member) is that we feel that freedom of speech also gives us the freedom to be ignorant about the very things we speak of. My opinion is that you should only speak about what you know about - don't speak to something that you don't have any information on. This is one of the things that bothers me about the discussions about this health care plan. People are getting involved, talking about it, having what they feel are intelligent discussions about this issue, and yet, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON IT!!!! I have had more people come up to me and ask me what I think of the so-called "death panels". I did a little research and found out the truth about these death panels - they don't exist. Very easy to find this information out. Google it. If you can spell the words, you can find information. And, please be choosy about the information you choose to believe - if you truly feel that Joe-Bob's website with the misspellings and horrible grammar and obviously lacking-in-proof methods of explanation are the form of knowledge that you choose to believe in, please understand that others might not consider you an expert (or even vaguely informed) about the issue being discussed.
Shocking, I know, that in this day and age, I expect people to be (gasp!!!) informed about the very things they are talking about. This is something that has bothered me for ages, but I haven't had the forum to stand up on my proverbial soapbox and complain about it. So, you lucky people get to listen to me bitch.
Please, if you are going to talk about this issue (or, for that matter, ANY issue), do yourself a favor and make sure that you actually understand the issue at hand and have some intelligent arguments (logical and factual, not emotional) to back up your opinion and viewpoint.
And, I shall now descend from the soapbox. Thank you for your time. :-) You may now return to your regularly scheduled blog.
I know that this is nothing to complain about - I am hopeful (perhaps optimistically, blindly so) that things will work out for the best. I have faith that our government (all of them) would only do what they think is best for all involved.
And, yet, here's where my cynicism comes in. How can they, being the people making the decision and laying down their vote in Congress, have the time to wade through all of this and get to the core of what this bill says. I am grateful that they are having these town-hall meetings, but how much do they really know about the bill? Again, being optimistic, I have the hope that the reps that are talking about this bill are able to speak intelligently about it. They seem to have good answers to this, and I am pleased with the responses that I have heard thus far to the complaints expressed (generally shouted) in these meetings.
Onto those responses and my rant - one of the things that irritates me about human nature and, in particular, the arrogance of Americans (no hate mail, please - I love this country like it's a family member) is that we feel that freedom of speech also gives us the freedom to be ignorant about the very things we speak of. My opinion is that you should only speak about what you know about - don't speak to something that you don't have any information on. This is one of the things that bothers me about the discussions about this health care plan. People are getting involved, talking about it, having what they feel are intelligent discussions about this issue, and yet, THEY DON'T HAVE ANY INFORMATION ON IT!!!! I have had more people come up to me and ask me what I think of the so-called "death panels". I did a little research and found out the truth about these death panels - they don't exist. Very easy to find this information out. Google it. If you can spell the words, you can find information. And, please be choosy about the information you choose to believe - if you truly feel that Joe-Bob's website with the misspellings and horrible grammar and obviously lacking-in-proof methods of explanation are the form of knowledge that you choose to believe in, please understand that others might not consider you an expert (or even vaguely informed) about the issue being discussed.
Shocking, I know, that in this day and age, I expect people to be (gasp!!!) informed about the very things they are talking about. This is something that has bothered me for ages, but I haven't had the forum to stand up on my proverbial soapbox and complain about it. So, you lucky people get to listen to me bitch.
Please, if you are going to talk about this issue (or, for that matter, ANY issue), do yourself a favor and make sure that you actually understand the issue at hand and have some intelligent arguments (logical and factual, not emotional) to back up your opinion and viewpoint.
And, I shall now descend from the soapbox. Thank you for your time. :-) You may now return to your regularly scheduled blog.
Comments:
Heat said...
I've
spent too much time on Facebook. I'm looking for the "Like" button.
If there was one, I'd click it :)
If there was one, I'd click it :)
August
22, 2009 at 12:48 PM
Later:
We have a
general membership meeting next weekend for the Colon Cancer Alliance - Central
AZ chapter. It is our first general membership meeting, and I am hopeful that it
will be a success. Please let me know if you'd like more information about this
meeting, and I'll send you an email. Very exciting stuff!
I have been working events for CCA on Kim's behalf, and the kids and I will be at another one tomorrow night at Glendale Community College. I think it's going to be interesting, attending one of these with the kids, but I think it will be just fine. I am excited about reaching more people and having the kids there to reinforce for others how important this awareness and cause is. And, I think it's a good thing for Julia to see me in advocacy-mode, and to be there to learn about how this process goes.
Also, I have stepped down as the co-chair of the chapter and taken on the PR board member position. There was a change in the membership and a resultant vacancy, which I decided to fill. I feel like this is a better fit for my personality and my talents, and I know that this is a good decision because I am excited about this, again. I haven't been for a while, and I think this is a good move.
What else? Regarding CCA, I think that's about it. More in a bit....
I have been working events for CCA on Kim's behalf, and the kids and I will be at another one tomorrow night at Glendale Community College. I think it's going to be interesting, attending one of these with the kids, but I think it will be just fine. I am excited about reaching more people and having the kids there to reinforce for others how important this awareness and cause is. And, I think it's a good thing for Julia to see me in advocacy-mode, and to be there to learn about how this process goes.
Also, I have stepped down as the co-chair of the chapter and taken on the PR board member position. There was a change in the membership and a resultant vacancy, which I decided to fill. I feel like this is a better fit for my personality and my talents, and I know that this is a good decision because I am excited about this, again. I haven't been for a while, and I think this is a good move.
What else? Regarding CCA, I think that's about it. More in a bit....
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