America
is the only industrialized nation in the world that does not provide adequate
health care to its citizens. When I think about this absurdity and I do think
of it often; like the recently mandated vaccines for the H1NI flu and then the
mysteriously dropped mandate by Governor Paterson when it was clear that the
Department of Public Health could not provide the vaccines to everyone.
Then,
unbelievably Congressman Scott Murphy voted NO on a health care reform bill
this past week. Like many people I was astounded that he felt the health bill
had too many flaws in it. Does he think he is going to be able to sit down with
President Obama and work out the many flaws? Our health care system is filled
with nothing but flaws. It typically will not pay for preventative care but
will notoriously pay for very expensive surgeries when it is usually too late
to save someones life. By voting no on
this bill, he has alienated his constituents and this is either the beginning
of the end for Mr. Murphy or he is much shrewder than we all think he is.
Just last year
Congressman Murphy pulled a rabbit out of hat by getting himself elected in
spite of the fact that no one had heard of him three months before the
election. I guess it remains to be seen if he has other tricks up his sleeve
regarding health care reform.
This week I
had the opportunity to talk with Veterans from the American Legion Post 234 and
the VFW Post 358 in Ballston Spa and if anyone needs health care its our
Veterans who have a myriad of health care issues. Some Veterans are in need of
basic needs like a place to live and it’s a good feeling that so many Veterans
and other people in this community are contributing to the upcoming Guardian
House ( a home for homeless women Veterans) Our First Lady, Michelle Paige
Paterson is very involved in the Guardian House Project.
I am amazed
at just how much Veterans contribute and not just in a time of war, they
contribute their time and energy to those people who have nothing when they
come back from active combat. They donate things like crutches and wheelchairs,
which really should be provided by our government since they fought to protect
our government and our freedoms everyday while they were deployed. It seems
downright un-American that so many are denied basic health care in this
country. There are many in the community Such as Bob Starks, Joanne Yepsen and
Budd Mazurek who are very adept at fundraising, if they can do it why can’t our
government officials whose job it is to help their constituents get what they
need?
Bob Starks, Commander of the VFW Post 358 told me this week,
[Veterans] “We’re the pillars of society.” I had never thought of it that way,
but you know what, in a way he is correct, can you imagine what this country
might be like if we had no armed forces? Not a pretty thought is it? It makes
me feel blessed that we live in a community where there are people who actually
care and want to help others. It’s easy to feel cynical in difficult economic
times and the state of our current health care system is anything but
uplifting.
However, by being active in ones community such as Ballston
Spa, its easier to see the stars behind the scenes, the unsung heroes who are
instrumental in making our society truly functional and worth fighting for.
These are the people that make American a great place to live because they
don’t talk about the values, ethics, and community service, they live them and
we should all be so lucky. Our local elected officials as well as the ones who
are in Washington should make a
note to themselves that true community involvement is what makes this country
work; it certainly trumps trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
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