As a CBS Sunday commentator first pointed out after only one debate, both the candidates and the audience made some appalling revelations, though it can be doubted if they knew that’s what they were doing at the time. Chief among them included Governor Rick Perry touting the number of executions preformed in Texas, a whopping 234, highlighted as more than any governor in modern times. And most startling of all, the audience applauded. Ron Paul shocked TV viewers and venue onlookers when asked about health insurance, how the uninsured with medical emergencies should be treated saying in part “that’s what freedom is taking your own risks… this whole idea you have to prepare to take care of everybody…” When asked if said person should be left to die audience shouts of “Yeah!” could be heard; again applause rang out before he even answered the question. But perhaps most disturbing; Congressman Paul is also a physician. Our commentator was astounded none of the other candidates presented a challenge to either their fellow candidates’ responses or audience reactions, despite many claims of religiosity. Freely acknowledging people’s right to not much more than spew hate, express whatever views they have independent of majority agreement and yet somehow without having admittedly been to church in years manages to remember questions about being your brother’s keeper, a commandment of thou shalt not kill along with a satirical statement that between the let the uninsured die crowd and the presidential wannabe Ron Paul they “weren’t feeling a lot of that do no harm Jazz.”
While the author of this short commentary wonders what possibly could have been the screening process for audience members willing to openly display such callousness, it can be argued that it’s not the screening of the audience that’s needed but rather a complete review of the American value system. Have we really gotten to the point where our attitude towards others is fend for yourself, if you are even suspected of a crime that’s it, a half ass trial and they lock you away for life, put a needle in your arm? Has our stance on healthcare really been summed up by the cynical words of the commentator “Cancer? Tough luck. Get out of bed and come back for chemo when you can afford it?” Governor Perry tried to redeem himself when later questioned about his perceived bragging and his lack of reaction to people’s response, by stating, in part, that people in America understand justice. But is it actually justice; something likewise pointed out by the commentator, a review of the case of one Troy Davis by the supreme court based on the testimony of a psychologist. Unfortunately in the week since that broadcast Mr. Davis was executed, and while the media report on the fall out, experts wonder if this man would have been convicted today, in 2011, as he was in 1994 with no murder weapon, 7 of 9 eyewitnesses recanting, little if any physical evidence. Experts lean towards that answer being no as juror expectations have changed, the standard has been raised. 12 death row inmates in Perry’s own state were exonerated since 1973, author of the commentary astutely asking could they have missed more? Yet here is a politician hearing people applaud and saying nothing, that he has any political viability after doing so is a sickening wonder.
Apparently the Hippocratic Oath, beginning with the words first do no harm, has become more of an oath for hypocrites, or perhaps it is why Ron Paul abandoned his practice of medicine for politics. Whatever the case no physician, currently practicing or not, should be uttering statements like the ones he was openly giving in answer to our country’s most serious issues. And as a point of fact no we aren’t preparing to take care of everyone; there is already a “sandwich generation” caught in a tug of war between raising their young families and caring for aging parents. People who take in said family members to keep them out of nursing homes, enhance their latter years, incidentally at lower cost, people who wouldn’t be able to do so without the stipends Medicare and Medicaid allow paying medical costs, covering things like adult daycare while both younger people work, and many times still can’t get by. Freedom may well be about taking your own risks but it doesn’t mean a lack of government, a lack of society and part of that society being previsions for people with medical emergencies, regardless of whether they can pay for it right that second or not. Additionally Mr. Paul lock step with tea party and under thinking Americans’ nonsense, wrongly assumes people do not have health insurance solely because they do not want to, absolutely refuse to, pay for it; completely forgotten about in his cruel statements are the persons who can’t get health insurance because of a preexisting condition, worse, can’t get it for their children on those same grounds, people who can’t afford coverage, who are not offered it through their employer or hasn’t he practiced medicine in the past, oh 20 years? How about the people who got sick and were dropped for their carrier the moment they needed care at all? We already experience an epidemic of unwanted children in this country, abused children, neglected children, people who have too many children and need government help to support them; does Ron Paul really want that to be every family in America because couples creating families do so on the premise someone has to take care of me in my old age? Leading to questions regarding those who can’t have children, those who outlived their only child, people whose children were lost in accidents, serving their country; who then is supposed to take care of them, in this throw back society based on what used to be 200 years ago? Still this doctor, and his fringe viewpoints, has an at least semiserious shot, at adding the title leader of the free world to his résumè, while those who claim to be of various denominations of the Christian faith forget Jesus’ words about looking after the poor, fatherless and widowed again saying nothing.
Spirituality today seems to be an asset to intrigue voters and kicks into high gear in promoting abstinence only sex education, fearing information might give adolescents ideas, when the exact opposite has been proven true, in baring teens from birth control, ironically then blasting abortion, screaming about television the violence and “moral depravity” seen there being the source of all society’s ills, forging the models seen in the home not on a screen. Gay marriage is the biggest no, no, these guys can think of aside from the size of government and the amount of taxes paid by the average American, even coming from tea totaling tea partiers who haven’t properly paid their taxes, not the sex scandals of the Catholic church, not the sexual abuse perpetrated on children by fathers, uncles and creepy neighbors across the country, or haven’t these people looked up from their bibles long enough to know where some of the “promiscuity,” another thing that must be eradicated forthwith, comes from; we already know from the gaffs of candidate Bachmann the average tea party, conservative doesn’t have a grasp on the foundations of this county’s history, never mind events shaping current times. Or here’s a thought taking a second to demonstrate your faith holds real value, substance in the face of snubbing such basic pillars of many religions, Christian or otherwise, like do not kill and taking care of those less fortunate than yourself, by speaking up, by showing your distaste toward the lack of respect for life. Instead even Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith is blatantly only good for looking good to the public and flouting polygamy laws in any and every state under the phrase freedom of religion. Freedom of speech, also a portion of the bill of rights, totally got lost as those same audience members booed a presumed gay soldier asking if the current crop of republicans would uphold the repeal of “don’t ask don’t tell;” notice no one in this or the Sunday Morning piece questions the right of selected Americans to voice their views only the taste and spirit in which it was done, are the would be representatives saying these things the ones we want serving us and what does it say about our nation people are behaving this way?
On par with the religion being infused into politics, political conservatism equals shouting about what is unconstitutional and therefore should not be paid for by the government, shielded in the cloak of also not being paid for by the tax payer under the unrealistic idea of putting mentioned monies back in the hands of average citizens, rather than the reality it would simply be shifted to some other form of government waste; top on the cut list, the department of education and FEMA. However the same constitution snobs forget due process if a person is even suspected of crime, a minority suspected of a crime against the all-important white man, case in point, the aforementioned Troy Davis. Political conservatism is great when pandering to small mined ideas brought about by supposed constituents seeing one side of things and nothing else, when talking about eliminating social security, Medicaid, Medicare, balancing budgets by removing people from welfare, cutting aid to the poor including utility subsides while utility companies continue to turn more than a profit, but never come into play in regards to corporate welfare and their laundry list of tax breaks, government waste taking shape in $16 muffins $8.00 cups of coffee and expensive plane flights all in the name of event planning, news outlets still can’t get a price on the well put together presentation materials used on the congressional floor of both houses every time some crusted political blowhard wants to give his point visual appeal validity. Tell me Mr. congressmen what’s wrong with $2.00 foam board from Wal-Mart and high quality copy paper sold roughly $5.00 a package of 500 sheets; throw in the same type of glue your kids use for school and you have about a $10 presentation . Yet again irony of ironies, perhaps it should be idiocies, the latest round of spending cuts seem to punish those trying to do it right, trying to better themselves, slashing aid to low income college students along with funds for job training, absent those things how are people supposed to function without the welfare you just kicked them off of; vicious cycle anyone? Political conservatism is wonderful when touting the evils of masturbation, but obviously has trouble finding the evil in killing the wrongly accused or negligently ending the lives of people by denying them medical care.
And the individuals portrayed as “everyone” are for lower taxes, smaller government, gutting Medicare, Medicaid, being downright inhumane to persons on welfare, minus a job, without insurance, persons who run afoul of the justice system, tossing out illegal immigrants, in the name of saving money and jobs. That is until they don’t have something their tax dollars would have paid for, until they have done everything they can to look for work, still don’t have any and know they aren’t lazy, until welfare and food stamps are how their children eat, have a roof over their head and supplies for school. Everyone has enthusiastic affirmatives for demonizing those who require medical care but can’t pay until it’s them, their kid, their mother their father, until they realize firsthand what championing these type of laws really means. God forbid we give medical care to undocumented persons, families until someone points out their communicable disease doesn’t care about immigration status, or country boarders, until they are forced to make the connection that medicine means ability to work, translating into contributing to the local economy, that their kid sitting next to yours in class could mean the difference between more funding and not based on number of students attending said school. Yes while esteemed citizens residing in the country of wealth and privilege, by almost every standard worldwide, are saying it’s about time, referencing Alabama’s tough immigration law requiring schools to report the documentation status of new students, sparking a mass exodus away from the state, we’ll see what happens when those schools lose funding, they have trouble finding people to scrub public toilets, do other medial, distasteful jobs because there are no immigrants around willing to work for less and no American willing to take the job at all.
The picture painted of this cluster advertised as “everyone” are for Judeo-Christian values, at least their down home, back country, red neck, bordering on uneducated, interpretation of same until it means standing up for the rights of people with a different lifestyle, until it means giving of yourself, taking a little out of your pocket voluntarily to help someone else. Until it translates into no, you don’t have to support gay marriage, gay rights but you should display some manners and not boo someone giving their opinion while they are overseas making sure terrorists don’t remove your freedom to open your mouth in such a way, not being so overtly racist as to refer to our president as a monkey, like early tea party signage did. These people positively drool over Judeo-Christian values until it means obeying the laws of the land and having one wife, paying your taxes or anything else they don’t agree with. Like the Sunday Morning commentator, many are against the tea party; many more are shocked at the comments made during the GOP presidential debate. So if this is not you America, it’s time to stand up; if you’re tired of “let the uninsured die” party, the lets disband FEMA because someone, thousands of someone’s, built their home in a flood plain, where a tornado might be, a hurricane might come party, the let’s make education that much complicated, no doubt worse, by letting each state decide curriculum and standards rather than a clear cohesive system party, the we will balance the budget of the backs of the poor masses while letting the rich fat cats remain party, the execute those on death row at all costs party, the sex before marriage, masturbation and sodomy are evil, and that’s all we care about party, speak up, before America isn’t America anymore.