A historic day; no cosmic shift

The health insurance reform bill passed the House of Representatives last night. They needed 216 votes for passage and received 219. Not a single Republican supported the bill and 34 Democrats voted against it. The bill goes to the president for his signature and the Senate will debate and vote on changes the House made to the bill. Want to bet on how that vote will look?

I am in favor of the bill. I don't think that it is perfect, as many don't, but I do think the country is moving in the right direction. We are the only "first-world" country that does not provide coverage for its citizens. Many "second" and "third" world countries provide coverage for their citizens. Surprisingly, Iraq and Afghanistan have universal coverage provided by U.S. war funding. (http://www.gadling.com/2007/07/05/what-countries-have-universal-health-care/) I have heard the arguments from those who oppose the bill. But having gone without health insurance when I was a single parent because I had no coverage from my job and I couldn't afford it otherwise, I understand how necessary this is. So yesterday was a historic day towards universal coverage.

But one thing remained unchanged. The Republicans were still the party of No. They cried foul because it wasn't bipartisan but offered no real alternative. They complained about the "back-room deals" and the lack of transparency. They used fear to undermine support for any reform. They voted as a bloc. One shouted an insult at a fellow member of the House. They showed themselves to be unified in their rudeness and ignorance.

I wonder though what would have happened had John McCain won the election. He supported making health insurance accessible to every American and making an affordable option for middle-class families. (http://usconservatives.about.com/od/johnmccainontheissues/tp/McCainOnTheIssues.htm) That sounds like universal health care and a public option. Could we have had a similar bill with Republican support?

We will never know. The U.S. has taken a step towards ensuring every American has access to health care insurance. And the Republicans have once again shown that they would rather pout and whine about not getting their way instead of engaging in the work of the country.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

to all the Irish and Irish-Americans. To the rest of you who pretend to have Irish in them for today, find a holiday from your heritage and celebrate that. Leave St. Patrick for the Irish.

There is a reason I feel so strongly about this. Many people claim to be Irish on St. Patrick's Day so they can have an excuse to get drunk and act silly. All this is doing is continuing a stereotype that people created segregating the Irish when they arrived in America. Irish immigrants were barred from many public places, had difficulty getting jobs and were treated with less respect than most people would treat animals. They received a reputation for being drunkards and were victimized by such negative stereotyping for years. To this day, we continue the cliche with people dressing in green and going to bars to get drunk because "they are Irish for the day." Many are the same type of people who would never repeat a Polish joke, aren't racist and would deride anyone else who openly was.

If you really want to celebrate St. Patrick's Day like an Irishman, go to Mass in the morning. Spend the rest of the day with your family and friends. Enjoy real Irish food. Finally, retire for the night contented that you had a good day. Otherwise, mindfully consider why you are celebrating. The world is full of enough hatred and prejudice.

What to Say?

A co-worker has experienced profound loss this week. Within hours, he lost both his mother and grandmother. They had been ill and the loss wasn't completely unexpected. Tomorrow, I will be going to the viewing with my family. I am going to support my co-worker but I am not familiar with the rest of his family. I am not sure what to say to the other members of the receiving line. Many people say "I'm sorry" or "You're in my thoughts" but these phrases seem so cliche. They don't begin to express what I'm really feeling.

I think maybe part of the problem is I am not sure what I am feeling. I can not begin to relate to such grief. I can not imagine what he is feeling. I have not had to make difficult arrangements yet so I don't know what that is like. I am not aware of my co-worker's feelings of death and the afterlife so I don't know if those thoughts bring him any comfort. Without knowing his thoughts and feelings, I am unsure what words to say to him. And I never know what to say to other family members for similar reasons.

Someone said to me once that it is more important that I was there. This week, I was told that knowing his classes were in good hands was helpful to him because it was one less thing to think about. I know that, when I've needed comfort, just having someone sit near me was enough. I have also appreciated having someone listen to me when I just needed to talk. So maybe, if I don't know what to say when I go to the viewing tomorrow, it will be okay. Maybe just being there says more than I could ever speak.

Dedicated to Mr. Bluhm and his family