Hysteria

Many of my friends and family may be thinking that I have gone off the deep end with the whole issue of the swine flu vaccine. I have been spouting off on Facebook about how upset I am with people not wanting to get the H1N1 vaccine because they think it is unsafe. Even healthcare workers were up in arms about being mandated to get vaccinated in New York state. That mandate has since been recinded.

One woman who is a healthcare worker and a parent at my son’s school said, “I don’t want to be their guinea pig.” Some have said they don’t understand the need because the flu is not the same as other diseases eradicated by vaccines like small pox or polio. That may be true but the H1N1 flu strain is new, except for a strain that was around 30+ years ago, so there is little or no immunity to it and it is having the same effect on healthy children and pregnant women such as serious complications or death as the seasonal flu has on the elderly and people with underlying conditions. 

People who are afraid of the vaccine say it was rushed and not properly tested. Some even say it wasn’t tested on humans at all. This is just ridiculous. The vaccine may have been rushed but there were several clinical trials and it was most certainly tested on actual people! And to date, there have been no reports of serious side effects from the vaccine itself. 

Many are also blaming the media, as usual, for creating fear and panic over the swine flu and saying that it is all hype and propaganda. 

This was really the last straw for me!! Pretty much ever since our new administration took office in January, the paranoia and panic about everything as a socialist, government conspiracy has just gone off the deep end. Between the outrageous Town Hall meetings on healthcare reform with people shouting about “death panels” and the insane reaction that came over the president wanting to speak to students across the country about working hard and staying in school. There were people who actually opposed the latter calling it an attempt at indoctrination of a socialist agenda. Are you kidding me?? Really people?? All of this fear of governmental takeover and socialism is simply ridiculous and very stupid to say the least. 

The Bush Administration attempted to have the most governmental control and takeover of everything from banks and creditors to trying to rewrite the Constitution defining marriage and basically erasing civil liberties by denying due process and holding people indefinitely without charges as long as they deemed them “enemy combatants.” 

When 9-11 happened, President Bush was actually in a classroom talking to students in Florida or don’t you remember!!! But Obama sending a taped message to work hard and you can achieve anything is considered by them as an indoctrination. 

And somehow, when President Obama wants to make sure healthcare is affordable and available to all citizens, the conservative, narrow-minded, fear-mongers shout the loudest about government takeover!

Why is it that the people who shout the loudest, no matter how much what they are saying is untrue, get the most attention? My one fault with the media is that they are giving these radical, right-wing, conservative or  as some like to call themselves, independents, more attention than they deserve. This makes the rest of the country and the world think that all Americans feel this way and we don’t!  Healthcare should be available and affordable for EVERYONE in this country!!! Vaccinations are safe and should be used to either eliminate or lessen the effects of diseases! And presidents should be able to inspire school children with their words of wisdom!!! These are NOT socialist beliefs!!!! This is COMMON SENSE! When did this country lose its common sense?

I guess all the radical right-wingers  are being inspired by the biggest, loudest blowhard of them all ….Rush Limbaugh!! Enough said…

Healthcare reform scare tactics

If you’re like me, you can’t miss the news coverage of all these Town Hall meetings on the proposed health care reform bill and how the participants are getting unruly. What bothers me the most about all of this is that the majority of the people who are attending these meetings are not informed about the actual proposals before the House and Senate.

Outlandish claims of the government having access to people’s bank accounts and the elderly losing Medicare are ridiculous and frankly untrue. Screaming  matches, people being escorted out by police and even one gun-toting “real American” have made the government’s attempts at a more transparent process look like a free-for-all.

What’s sad is that instead of welcoming the opportunity to have a say in how things are done – a great departure from the Bush-era secrecy and lies – some are taking this misinformation and using it to discredit Obama and his administration.

We fear what we do not understand. This has been shown time and time again in America’s history. But now because we have our first African-American president, everything somehow turns back to race. What started as a plan to make sure that all the uninsured or underinsured were able to receive access to quality healthcare has turned into a fright fest about how we are losing our country, “this is not the America I know,” and “this is unconstitutional.” Well my friends, it was Conservative Republican George W. Bush who was the one trying to rewrite the Constitution, not Barack Obama remember?

If all these Conservative, Republican, God and country and my gun, idiots would realize that if you are going to live and die by the Constitution then you need to apply that to the entire Constitution. Including the part about “all men are created equal.” Why isn’t that something that these people aspire to? They sure hold on to the usual “right to bear arms and “separation of church and state.”

Okay, so I got off track there a bit I admit. But I just hate the haters. How everything seems to go back to race boggles my mind! I do agree that there is a lot of misinformation out there and Obama should really try to fix that. Maybe a prime time news conference to explain, clearly, the proposed plan. But instead of taking rumor, inuendo and Fox News as gospel, maybe do some research and find the facts for yourself.

If you still disagree with the plan, fine, but don’t criticize the process of the government for once actually listening to the people instead of acting like they know better what is good for us, i.e. Cheney, Bush, etc.

Happy Blog Day to me

Well today is my 38th birthday and I decided to start my first ever blog. I have no idea what I am about to get myself into but I think it will be interesting and challenging all at the same time.
I usually don’t get myself any gifts for my birthday but I think this blog is just what I need right about now. I don’t know what I will blog about (can’t believe that’s a verb now.) But I feel that I really need to have an outlet to express myself and this blog might just be the thing.
First, some thoughts about turning 38. I hate it! No pussy footing around, it sucks! For some reason 37 didn’t feel as bad because it somehow seemed closer to 35, but 38 is way closer to the dreaded 40 than I ever thought I would be.
The funny thing is, I don’t feel how I imagined nearly 40 would feel like when I was a kid. Inside, I still feel like I am 22 but obviously I don’t look that way on the outside.
It’s not like I haven’t accomplished what I thought I would by this age. I mean, it’s not like I am single and still living with my parents or something. I am a college graduate and have had a relatively successful career. I have been married for 11 years to a wonderful man and have two great kids. We have a modest house in a good neighborhood and are living the ideal “suburban” existence ala “Pleasantville.”
I know that I am already committing the biggest blog blunder … using my blog to complain about my life. But I just don’t know where the time has gone. How can I be this old already? Depending on who you talk to, age is a very relative thing. My almost 80-year-old mother would argue that I am not old at all and being silly about all this. While my 22-year-old brother in law thinks I am ancient and hopes he never gets this old. Okay, he didn’t actually say that I am just projecting.
But I guess I should take my mother’s advice on this day and “just be happy that everyday you wake up and are still here is a good day!” Go Mom!