To be or not to be...Gay that is.

In an article published in THE UNITED-STATESIAN, Justin Sitarz comments on what Gay Rights really mean. He points out that the fight for civil rights, no matter their cause is the same and I agree. I don’t see the difference, whether it is about rights for women, rights for blacks or rights for gays. There should not exist, in our country or our world, a subset of humans who cannot take advantage of and be protected by rights enjoyed by others. 

Sitarz also mentions that the same fear tactics that were used during the civil right struggles in the 60’s are being used today to discourage politicians and constituents from granting equal rights to the LGBT communities. It is such a shame that this is even an issue that we have to fight for. It should be self-evident, and any American that can justify their desire to withhold equal opportunities from their neighbors ought to be deeply ashamed of themselves. The idea that gay marriage threatens the sanctity of straight marriage, that is a favorite statement thrown around by the fear mongers, is simply erroneous and, well, for lack of a better word, dumb! Let’s examine for a minute what that means. Sanctity; “noun- the state or quality of being holy, sacred, or saintly... Ultimate importance and inviolability: the sanctity of human life.”

I don’t know a lot about religion, but I am fairly certain that you aren’t to hold yourself to be holy or sacred and you can’t just call yourself a saint, so I don’t see how you can apply this heavy noun to your marriage, and anyway, how does your neighbors gay or straight marriage affect your admittedly, if not arrogantly, stated saintly straight union, may god forgive you. Also, if your marriage is so inviolability (never to be broken, infringed, or dishonored) I don’t see how anything could threaten it except your ignorance and hate. Okay, now that that is off my chest, let’s move on.

I like what Sitarz says about the government needing to lead this fight. He points out that in 1948 Truman desegregated the military and it still took three years for full desegregation. It took many years after this to obtain equal rights for blacks, but the government was needed to lead the way. I hope to see DADT rescinded soon and I do understand the need for a hold on the initiation of it abolishment. It would be devastating to allow those that are LGBT serving in the military to be able to come out, only to have it over turned again leading to many discharges and angry retaliations, but I too would like this to be done sooner than later.

Who’s Business is Your Health?

While we are debating the Health Care Reform bill and attempting to ascertain whether it can benefit the people and the economy, who deserves it and how much it will cost, I feel that we haven’t asked the right questions. Is your doctor making you better, are your ailments disappearing after you try the latest drug therapy? Outside of injuries and pneumonia, childbirth and infection, what is it we are looking for from our doctors?

How many loved ones have you lost to cancer, heart disease or diabetes? I’m guessing most of them had doctors, utilized hospitals and took medication. Probably many medications. I’m 33 years old and most of my friends are on medications that our parents never even considered! Blood pressure, depression, cholesterol, anxiety, thyroid, laxatives, blood thinners and on and on and none of them have a time frame to get off of these drugs. 

If you are on blood pressure medication, will you be off of them soon? Are you planning to get well or planning to take medication for the rest of your days? Have you considered what Ritalin looks like in 35 years later? Is your anxiety cured? Are you awaiting the next drug to make it all better?

What in the world is going on? This is not simply a case of being able to diagnose symptoms better and then research the drugs to make you well again, because if you haven’t noticed, people are not getting better, and big pharma is getting richer. Our deductibles increase and our benefits decrease. Has your doctor ever told you to not eat fast food and replace it with organic fruits and vegetables when you came to him/her with an illness, depression, diabetes, allergies, high blood pressure etc? Has your doctor ever inquired about your vitamin intake? Has any ever suggested you could treat yourself for the cost of food and still eat your food?

Money is being made on the backs of the chronically ill, and you can sure bet our government is getting paid. According to 60 Minutes in Prescriptions And Profit “the United States is the only industrialized country without some form of control on the prices of drugs. The U.S. also accounts for more than half of the industry's profits.”

The pharmaceutical industry has plenty to say about the out of control prices for medication in the U.S. and keeping the citizens on the drugs, and they are yelling it from the roof tops, and in our faces I might add. According to 60 Minutes, “Since 1999, the drug industry has given more than 45 million dollars in political contributions, and it's spent hundreds of millions more on an army of more than 600 lobbyists to work its will on Capitol Hill.” 

If you think for a minute these drugs are safe, you are dangerously mistaken. The same companies pay for the research, fund the universities, the manufacturing and advertising of prescriptions and the safety of said drugs. According to Over Dose: The Case Against the Drug Companies “Dr. Marcia Angell, former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine: "To rely on the drug companies for unbiased evaluations of their products makes about as much sense as relying on beer companies to teach us about alcoholism."

According to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (1998), 106,000 people die annually from the expected side effects of medication (300 people a day!) and more than 2 million people had severe reactions to medications in hospitals every year. Severe reactions being disability, hospitalization or death. These are reactions to drugs taken properly, with a prescription, not abused drugs.  According to Jay Cohen, M.D “the intense, fast-paced competition of the medication marketplace frequently spurs drug companies to conduct small, brief, insufficiently extensive studies on the dosages of new drugs - dosages that will be taken by millions of people.”

So the drugs we are taking are not safe, and seemingly not effective. Perhaps it isn’t health care we should be debating, but why we are so dependent on it and what it is that is making us so sick.

Here’s a good place to start.

Woe is the Republicans

A fellow student posted a commentary named Republicans Want Change. She points out that America was promised hope and it has not been received. It brings to mind a few questions, do only republicans want change? Is the hope promised up to the president alone? Can the executive branch make changes without the help of congress? Was it intended that the president would single handedly change our government while the house and senate engaged in childish power struggles and slander? Where are the people? I can’t seem to hear their defeated sighs over the tea parties anger.

In case it isn’t evident, I am very frustrated by this idea that the president hasn’t done what he promised. We are a democracy, which means the citizens participation is crucial. We have a unique power system designed WITHOUT political parties in mind. If we had a reality TV show about congress I bet we’d be rapt with awe at all the drama.

When a political parties main agenda is getting a president out of office and reversing any progress that has been made, openly pushing this agenda, how does an individual look at that and say “Yeah, let’s screw em, that’ll help!” Wouldn’t you rather see your government bodies focusing on the issues and working together to make changes that benefit the population and not their own financial or political gains?

Can you “force” a president to have a working relationship when all you want is to oust him? How does the GOP taking over congress allow us to work together when they have continued to be the whiny toddler on the floor not getting it’s way? 

Health care...should’ve known. I am sure we would all like to choose whether we have health care. I also want to know that a wart I had removed when I was 12 didn’t stop me from using my insurance because it is deemed a pre existing condition, and you can’t have both. Most importantly, how many Americans don’t want health care? Those on medicare? Medicaid? Congress? That is all government run health care, it is much needed and I can name quite a few citizens who would be lost without it, and guess what, you don’t have a choice how to use your medicare. Does it make sense that that we are okay with insuring our young and our elderly but not our working citizens who we rely on for our economy? I wish the republicans got this worked up when it became mandatory to carry auto insurance, no one complains about that! Or when they allowed credit history to determine your premium.

Oh the republicans have plans alright, how far do you think they will get if the president and the senate blocks their every move? They don’t want to spend, they don’t want to tax, they want a small government, they want it all and they want to stamp their collective foot until they get it and guess who is going to be at fault if they can’t deliver? You. Us. We the people.

Do you really want change? Then be like Ghandi, be the change you wish to see!