My Journey for Hope

Thoughts on Healthcare Reform

Sharon — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:48:56 EDT

I wish that our country would embrace a single payor system, but it won't. The financial influence of the insurance industry over our legislators is mind boggling and frankly, depressing. I thought that the Public Option would be a meaningful compromise, but the greed of the insurance and big pharm industries appear to be having an impact. In addition to owning some of our own democratic senators, they have succeeded in terrifying some of our most vulnerable citizens (seniors). It's disgraceful and heartbreaking.

The hate that I have witnessed in this country over the past month is beyond distressing. I barely recognize this country anymore. We have seen some of the ugliest displays during this past month than I have seen in my lifetime. I can't imagine what it feels like to be President Obama at this moment.

I think it's time we face some difficult decisions. There are many who are saying that without the public option, they will not support any reform. But, if you were starving in the desert, would you refuse just half a sandwich? Would you insist on the whole sandwich before you would eat? Those of us who have good insurance can't do that to those who do not have any.

Here's what the President wants, and here's what we need to help him achieve:

1. No discrimination for pre-existing conditions.
2. No exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles or co-pays.
3. No cost-sharing for preventive care.
4. No dropping of coverage for seriously ill.
5. No gender discrimination.
6. No annual lifetime caps on coverage.
7. Extended coverage for young adults.
8. Guaranteed insurance renewal.

If we achieve this, and take the $177 billion saved with the elimination of Medicare-Advantage to expand Medicare, call it Medicare Under 65 and cover some of the under 65 uninsured who are most in need, we are in a far better place than we are right now.

It's not perfect, but it's a far cry better than what we have. I think that Ted Kennedy would take this over doing nothing, and would be pleased to have his name associated with it.

We can continue to work toward single payor, but if we can't do it with a leader like President Obama and a super majority in the house and senate, I can't imagine when we can do it.

A White Woman's Encounter With Racial Profiling

Sharon — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:56:49 EDT

As a middle aged white woman, I would never dream that I would be able to stand in the shoes of anyone who has been victimized by the police in a case of racial profiling, but oddly enough, I believe that it happened.

Earlier this month, I drove to Washington, D.C. to attend a unity rally and to promote healthcare insurance reform with Reverend Dunning. My college aged daughter accompanied me, and with banner in hand, we spent the day in D.C. It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time. Several days prior to the rally, I had decorated my car with posters made available by MoveOn.Org which say, "Real Health Care Reform=A Strong Public Option. And of course, I still proudly display my "Obama 2008" bumper stickers on my back window. They've been there for more than two years now.

I was driving north on I95 and turned off on I895 as I headed home. My daughter, tired from our day, propped her seat back to take a nap. I glanced in the rear view mirror and noticed that there was a State Police car several hundred feet behind me, so I signaled, and moved to the right lane. Of course I checked my speed and was glad to see that I had not been exceeding the recently changed speed limit in the area. I glanced in the rear view mirror a couple of minutes later, and noticed that the police car was behind me. He stayed behind me for at least two miles, and then moved into the left lane as if he was going to pass me. He drove next to my car, and then dropped back behind me again. At one point it looked like he was going to make a "U" turn and go in the opposite direction on I895, but then, he pulled next to me (but not up far enough to see me) and then put on his lights. He was pulling me over, so I signaled, pulled off onto the shoulder, and wondered out loud "what the heck is going on". My daughter woke up and pulled her seat into an upright position. The officer approached the drivers side of my car, and as soon as he saw me, he said, "Oh, I apologize, I thought your tag expired in 1/09 but now I see that it says 11/09." He told me to be careful as I merged back into traffic, and returned to his car. He pulled in front of me and I proceeded through the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel. Within minutes of exiting the tunnel, I saw the same police officer on the side of the road, having pulled over a black woman and he was writing a citation.

Now maybe she was speeding or had some other offense that was deserving of a citation, but I had a very eerie feeling that the officer pulled me over because he made assumptions about my race after looking at my car. I think he tried to see what I looked like, but was unable to because of the posters on my side, rear windows. I still had a bit of an adrenalin rush from having just been pulled over, and I had a sinking feeling in my stomach about the likely reason I had been pulled over.

I can't help but wonder if the outcome of my experience would have been different if I had been black.

While I don't like the word "stupid", and was a little surprised when it was used at the press conference the other night, I'd like to know the last time a white man was arrested in the sanctity of his own home for "disturbing the peace". Believe me, I come from a rather loud family, and we gather together for breakfast every Sunday morning. There have been plenty of times that we've disturbed the peace at my mother's home, yet none of us ever faced the threat of arrest. We should be able to feel safe in our own homes.

As a mental health clinician, we sometimes refer to someone who has a bruised ego as experiencing a narcissistic injury. It happens when someone feels that their position or authority has been threatened. In order to experience such an injury, one needs to be prone to narcissism. The officer in this case should have been able to diffuse the situation in Professor Gates home by apologizing for the inconvenience, and by telling Professor Gates that he just wanted to make sure that his home remained safe. A bruised ego got in the way, and now it's become a huge media event. It just didn't need to happen. The situation could have been handled so much better.

Will the universe right itself?

Sharon — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 14:04:02 EDT

Here's what's mind boggling to me. Barack Obama spent almost a year in Iowa so that the people there could get to know him and his policies. They are a thoughtful, intelligent and hardworking group of people. They take their responsibility very seriously, and they carefully study and listen to every candidate. I would seriously trust them to pick a president for us. Seriously.

On the night of the Republican convention, Sarah Palin read a speech from a teleprompter that had been written by George Bush operatives and it sounded like something that we would see in the early morning hours on Comedy Central. She's repeated that same very mean spirited speech during the past week (using the teleprompter- For God's sake, I could give it without the prompter at this point) and across the nation she is now the second coming.

If this trend continues, I am embarrassed for our country. In a poll of 22 countries from around the world, Barack Obama comes out well ahead of John McCain on every single one. The world is looking at us as if we have lost our ever loving minds.

Sarah Palin has yet to publicly speak an original thought. She has not said a word to the press and she won't answer questions from participants at her events. So the bottom line is this... You know nothing about who she really is. She has yet to tell you. But what we do know, is that she feels that women should not have a choice regarding their reproductive health, she thinks gays can just pray it away, she wonders if "Go Ask Alice" and "Dear Pastor, I Think I'm Gay" should be removed from the Wasilla library shelves, she tends to fire people who don't agree with her, or she fires the people who won't fire the people she doesn't like, she claimed executive privilege and withheld 1,100 emails that had been requested under the Freedom of Information Act, but 40 of those emails had been cc'ed to Todd Palin, she charged the State of Alaska for 312 nights that she stayed in her own home, and she's lied about bridges to nowhere, e-bay, firing chefs, and who knows what else. Four of her best friends would not commit to vote for her on camera.

have faith that over the next few weeks, those among us who are not at the most radical right end of the bell curve in this country will shake their head and say, "Good grief, what was I thinking, she's not at all the person I thought she was".

Until then, I will proceed as usual and continue to work with everything I have for Barack Obama. He doesn't live next door to Russia, but I sure trust him with our safety a hell of a lot more that the Intermittent Explosive Disordered twins.

Letter to the Editor

Sharon — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 12:00:39 EDT

Dear Sir or Madam,

It has been 12 days since John McCain announced his running mate, and she has yet to take a single question from the press. This is unprecidented in our nations history, and is a frighteningly similar practice to nations who have dictators.

Sarah Palin read a speech at the convention that had been written for her by George Bush's speechwriters. She hasn't answered any requests from the press for interviews, and the McCain campaign has said that she will do no interviews unless it either benefits them, or until such time that she is treated with "deference". I would like to know why the American press is tolerating this? With such a short time between now and the election, John McCain is asking America to vote for him, a 72 year old cancer survivor, but not to ask any questions about his unknown VP candidate.

This is insane, America. This is not a casting call for a Lifetime Original Movie. Our country is drowning in debt, our jobs have gone overseas because of poorly conceived and poorly executed free trade agreements, our schools are failing, our children are dying in wars that should have never been waged. This is the most serious time this country has faced in my lifetime, and John McCain wants this country to focus on scripted personalities.

Let me be candid. There are people in this country who have been raised to have issues and concerns about electing a black man to our nations highest office. I am blessed, as a middle aged white woman, to have grown up in a home that did not plant this seed in me. I see something in Barack Obama that I have never seen in one of our nations leaders in my lifetime. We have a chance to make things better in America. We have a chance to honor our responsibility to make this nation as great as it can be.

So I ask you, please focus on the issues. Close your eyes and ask yourself, "Are you better off now than you were eight years ago?", "Do you think our country can survive four more years of this?" We're not better off, America and I don't think we can survive four more years of this. So I ask you today to do the right thing for yourself, your children and your country. Help us find our way back. Help Barack Obama turn this mess around. We can't put the same people with the same policies back into the White House and expect anything to be different. John McCain is not different. Barack Obama represents a new way of approaching our problems, and if we have the courage to elect him, we will all be the better for it on so many levels.

I thank you and God bless you..

Conflict Resolution Skills are Essential to Any President

Sharon — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 01:48:26 EDT

I think that this entire country will agree that conflict resolution skills are essential to a president. This Newsweek story tells of a very disturbing, long term pattern of a family that lacks any such skills.

This is not a matter of a personal criticism or attack. It is not an overstatement. We absolutely can't afford to have a president and a vice president who share the common trait of complete lack of impulse control.

It is no wonder that in a Reuters poll released today, 22 countries unanimously voted for Barack Obama over John McCain. It is no wonder that the British Prime Minister broke with tradition and endorsed Barack Obama today.

It is not because they care so much about us, but they care about the impact that our decision will have on the world. This is not about having coffee with a friend. It's about solving domestic problems and keeping us safe.

We have too much to lose to spend our time here obsessing over how things are going. If each and every one of us goes out and reaches 25 undecided voters, we will have influenced 50 million people. We must remember that we have the power to do this.

No more fretting over this. Take it into your own hands to convince 25 people of why you support Barack and Joe.

And if you need some motivation for why it is so important that we do this. Read this Newsweek article. Is this how you want our leadership to approach a world crisis?

http://www.newsweek.com/id/158140/page/1

Why I'm here

Sharon — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 11:03:41 EDT

I've been an active supporter of Barack Obama since January 2007. I have not been involved in a political campaign before, but have been inspired by the senator and have participated in many activities related to the campaign. Mr. Obama makes me feel as if this country can be restored to goodness, and I want this for the sake of myself, my daughter and future generations. I believe that we are amazingly lucky to be handed this gift and I feel hopeful for our future. I will work tirelessly to support Barack Obama's bid for the Presidency of The United States of America. Won't it be nice to be The UNITED States of America again?