Oh Chariot

Hey boys and squirrels!

Today's a little hectic—we have 2 journals that need to go to press tomorrow/Thursday and I just found out about it yesterday. Originally we were scheduled to just send one, but now we've got double duty going on here. Thankfully, my co-worker Hugh is in here keeping me company and helping with the editing.

One funny thing about that is that earlier I made a joke referring to the classic line from KINDERGARTEN COP where the kid goes, "Maybe it's a tumor," and Arnold replies, "It's not a tum-ah." I only said the "Maybe it's a tumor" part, but Hugh didn't get it. :( But then I got to explain it to him and then I could not stop laughing about that line for seriously a good 5 minutes!

So I've been hearing something recently about some new-fangled health care bill or something . . . am I the only one whose heard of this new thing going around? i hope not. ;)

I know that a lot of my friends have already taken sides. I will admit, when it comes to politics, I tend to be more apathetic, if that. Politics don't interest me much and I CERTAINLY don't think they need to fuel fires of dissension among friends and families. Granted, this is coming from someone who admittedly isn't interested in politics and by nature, I'm an idealist. So there's that.

Here's the way I see it: Our health care system is currently a mess. More importantly, our insurance system is a mess. I have no possible solution in my brain that would meet EVERY need and would make EVERYONE happy. Obama won the election, and thus, we must trust him to make wise choices. They may not be OUR wise choices or what we think is best for our country, but the way I see it, we can either deal with the hand we're dealt and learn to be peaceable human beings about it or we can whine and flood our lives and the lives around us with ridiculous banter about who is going to hell and who isn't,* all the while not adding action to our opinions. If people are desperate for their voice to be heard politically, it would make more sense to work with the politicians they support and fight the fights together. That way in the end, if you don't win, there's at least the satisfaction of doing all that you could have possibly done to change things on a governmental level.

One of the main complaints is that our money is going to help someone who can't afford health care, with drug addicts and homeless people and other "lower class" people benefiting from our tax dollars. I'm trying not to be ignorant about all of this, but, is that SO entirely bad? Would we rather they die from a common cold or a treatable disease? Now I don't personally make more than 200k, but if I did, I don't think it would be SO bad if I learned to survive on less so that all of those around us, no matter what their social standing or personal habits are, could get the care they need? I feel like that's what I'm supposed to 'be about' anyway.

Is this situation fair? Maybe not. But, I've heard that life is not fair.** But from what I can tell, the bill has been passed and there's nothing any of us can do to change that right now unless you have direct personal ties to the White House or the Mafia.***

So what do we do? What are we going to do? What can we do?

Step One: Educate ourselves> HOW HEALTH CARE REFORM WILL AFFECT YOU (article)

Step Two: Assess our current lifestyle and our heart

Step Three: Adjust our sails.

Step Four: Read Psalm 20:7

I don't have all the answers. And I'm not too politically minded. But what I do know is that the government DOES NOT have the power to change my heart and my attitude/outlook on life. I've weathered some pretty hefty storms, going from a broken, lower-income family to a working-class young adult. And I can safely say that whining and getting angry has never helped me take the next step to push me forward through a trying situation. I am the only one who can make myself do the research, come to a rational conclusion, and adjust my sails.

I in no way intend this post as a personal attack against you, but simply an insight to my thoughts and to offer a few steps in a forward moving direction. Please feel free to share your thoughts as well in the comments section, but please, let's keep at least an ounce of decorum and civility with each other.

As a side note, I also read this really good post on Matthew Paul Turner's Blog about a Canadian Pastor who is questioning why Americans are so upset with the new health care bill. It's definitely food for thought.
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* Last I checked, that wasn't my job.

** My parents may or may not have mentioned this to me a multitude of times, growing up.

*** If you are in the Mafia, please don't kill me for posting this. It's just an opinion. And I'm just a peon. I mean no harm. And I like Italian food. :D