Want pretty? Have a flower.
As the ugliness that is our country’s new day to day grows more gruesome I find myself spending more time cruising Twitter. Maybe it’s the opportunity to ingest the day’s horrors in nibbles, I don’t know.
Last night I read the news about John McCain being diagnosed with a brain tumor. I’m sorry to hear this, for him and his family. I don’t like his politics, was horrified by and still believe he opened the door to our current administration by choosing Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008. I lost whatever respect I might have had left when he got on board to support 45 despite knowing he was unqualified and being publicly disrespected by him (which in turn disparaged all our veterans and troops); supporting and voting for his extremist and unqualified nominees while purporting to be a moderate. He’s still a human being facing a painful and difficult path, and I don’t have it in me to actively wish anyone harm.
That said, I was surfing a little while ago and a Tweet popped up in my feed, imploring us not to politicize McCain’s cancer. Really? Maybe if I was a saint, or at least more highly evolved, I could agree with this. I understand the sentiment behind it, and it certainly sounds reasonable in 140 characters or less. Maybe if I wasn’t spending every fucking minute of every fucking day worrying about Art Child and Husband, what can/will happen if 45 and the GOP (of which McCain is a member) have their way with health care.
I’m sorry, but the reality is this is political. John McCain is a political figure, by choice–and a powerful one, whose voice is influential and whose votes have had an impact on all of us. He’s now got an aggressive type of brain cancer, a tumor known as a glioblastoma that is likely to have a poor outcome regardless of treatment and health insurance. I wish him the best possible outcome because he’s a human being, and I am, too. Because he has good health insurance and because he’s a senator he does have treatment options (and will regardless of how/what the Senate decides for the rest of us), and if the worst occurs, those options will include excellent palliative care and a measure of dignity. That’s political, and it will remain so until and unless we all have the same excellent and affordable healthcare with appropriate support and funding for science, research, and medical advances.
I’ve been quiet on the blog because I understand how very boring it is to my readers to hear me rant repeatedly about health care– why it’s important for all and why it’s personal for me. So many personal stories going around the various news outlets and social media platforms, my story is no more or less meaningful than anyone else’s, and I’ve already shared what I’m willing to.
And honestly, I’m uncomfortable with the way these stories have been shared recently, the stress on photos of beautiful children who need their healthcare, Grandma in a coma lying in a hospital bed paid for by Medicaid who’s being told she should just get a job. Is this supposed to show the cutest kiddos deserve treatment? What if kiddo X isn’t considered beautiful by all who see them? Or are the effective photos the ones that show the kiddos with the most tubes, the most pills? What about kiddos with invisible disorders? I understand these photos are meant to personalize the potential impact of these proposed health care regulations. I just don’t believe that isn’t already understood by the GOP. They know how many will be hurt, and in how many ways, they know how many will die–they don’t care. How easy it is for these photos of beautiful (because yes, I believe they are all beautiful) children to be coopted by people who don’t care about any child’s plight, with flat-earthers (boy was I shocked to find out this is a real thing) posting ignorant, disgustingly callous comments or hurtful memes.
Maybe this is yet another example of how slow-witted I can be, or what a downright bitch I am, but I don’t see how Senator McCain’s medical needs are sacred while those of my family, my loved ones, and the millions of others in this country who need to keep their health insurance are political. I can wish him well while reminding him and his peers their votes, words, and actions are actively harming the rest of us.
mrsfringe 
Hi, Mrs. Fringe. Long time, no see; not your fault. For various reasons, I’ve been neglecting all things blog, including yours (mine, too).
My bad. But I’m like you: I feel like I’ve already said what I’ve wanted to say about 45, his soul-sucking administration, and those who continue to support him/them for whatever reason–ignorance, greed, hate. At this point, I shake my head in disgust and disbelief, and try to unsnarl the perpetual knot in my stomach by reminding myself that there are still people in this world who believe in taking care of our planet and the most vulnerable among us; who believe in fairness and ethics and honesty and all that good stuff.
But yeah, it’s been hard. Then I read about McCain and man, that hit me. I have a friend fighting a rare and dangerous cancer right now. I have an older parent who is having health issues right now. Of course, I feel for McCain and his family and the tough row they’re going to have to hoe, and that’s with the best care money can buy. But the reality is, most folks aren’t that fortunate. Medicaid and Medicare are their lifelines. They need to know their representatives understand that. They need to know their lives are as valuable, as precious, as the lives of those they voted to represent them in government.
Even if they didn’t vote for those representatives, even if they didn’t vote at all, even if they’re here illegally or find themselves here as refugees, each and every one of those people deserves access to the best care possible. Regardless of what they have, or who they are, or where they came from.
Where healthcare is concerned, politics can’t be set aside. Not even when one talks about McCain, who was a brave soldier and a loyal patriot, but who was also a man who allowed himself to be partnered with an idiot for his running mate, and who has done other things that suggest maybe he didn’t have this country’s best interests at heart. Health care *is* political. It shouldn’t be–not here, not in this day and age–but it is, and until it isn’t, we have to keep speaking up and speaking out.
Thanks for the reminder, Mrs. Fringe.
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Thank you for weighing in, kk. This impacts all of us, whether we realize it or not, it will be literal life or death for us & our loved ones sooner or later. Wishing you and yours peace and ❤
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Likewise, my dear.
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At the risk of causing outrage, I find it really hard when the media focuses on cases like Baby Charlie (who is covered by NHS in the UK and is seeking experimental treatment in the US), while so many ordinary citizens have little or no health insurance for common illnesses and disabilities. I am not saying it’s either/or – every person matters.
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Agreed. Particularly when a significant percentage of those who are outraged by the possibility of a baby like Charlie not receiving treatment are the same who will tell child Charlie’s parents that when he still requires expensive treatments at the age of 7, 10, 14 etc, that it’s unfortunate, but some will just have to die to save money for the rest. The reality is there are many, many baby Charlies, child Charlenes, and adult Charlottes who deserve the same opportunities for treatment.
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As long as we treat our politicians as celebrities instead of the people we sent to Washington and our statehouses to work for US, we are doomed to be led around by our noses into pointless squabbles and conflating personal tragedies into national one.s
It’s perfectly legitimate to say you wish John McCain well and point out the fact he and his party of choice are poised to remove healthcare choice from millions of Americans. McCain may or may not survive his dire prognosis. I am hopeful he does, but I am also hopeful if he does he realizes how cruel and selfish he and his colleagues are being to the very citizens they are sworn to protect.
Anyone who has a problem with the truth has a problem I can’t solve for them. Tell it like it is and don’t be muzzled by the phony pious and the situational social monitors.
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Agreed, all the way around. I think much of the problem is in the American Puritan roots, setting us up to be locked into black/white thinking: i.e.: if you oppose police brutality and overreach you’re against police, if you want McCain and Congress to recognize everyone deserves the same opportunity for quality and affordable healthcare, it must mean you wish McCain harm. This line of thinking is ludicrous, juvenile, and harms us all. I believe this thinking is a significant contributor to what brought us 45 & co, and will prevent us from true progress after he’s gone.
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As a senator, McCain has great health insurance–which I’m sure he’s glad of right now (if he isn’t so insulated from reality that he takes it for granted). It’s a damn shame he doesn’t want the same for the rest of the country.
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A shame and a sin. 😦
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