I have to comment on the Susan G. Komen fiasco. I debated with myself whether to say anything. This isn't a political blog, but I am so tired of the divisive politics in this country. What happens is the most disadvantaged people get hurt. They are the ones who suffer the collateral damage of nasty politicking.
I care about cancer. I care about what it does to people's lives. And I care about the fact that there are millions of people in this country who cannot afford to protect themselves from being diagnosed with these diseases at a point where treatment is less effective, more costly, and more devastating.
I've never been much of pink ribbon fan. I'm the kind of person who, if I see a lot of people doing something, I am going to do something different. If everybody's doing it, I won't. I'm not a rah-rah flag waver or a magnetic ribbon wielder. You won't see me wearing pink or participating in events like Race for the Cure. I have no objection to other people doing it, as it has supported good causes. It's just that, I prefer to support these things in a different way, my own way.
Personally, I support all sorts of cancer research, support, and screening, for men and women. Men and women are affected breast cancer. But there's more than just breast cancer that deserves attention and money. When I see pink-wrapped candy and other garbage being sold in support of breast cancer, it turns my stomach. What message does that send? That gluttony is acceptable, as long as it's for a cause?
Susan G. Komen screwed up. Maybe they can save face, maybe they can come clean and pull themselves out of the toilet, but I wonder if public trust will ever be restored in this organization.
Our health care system is broken, along with our economic, taxation, political and legal systems. We need leaders who can work with each other for SOLUTIONS despite their ideologies. We all need to let go of our death grips on how we think things MUST BE and start working toward changing WHAT IS. Because WHAT IS is not working.
Unless, of course, you have endless buttloads of money and zero social conscience, then it suits you perfectly.
Fortunately many wealthy people do have a social conscience, but it sure seems these days that they are outnumbered and outpowered by those who don't feel any obligation to their fellow human beings who share this planet. I believe we all end up in the same place. And I also believe that no one greets you at the pearly gates to let you in preferentially just because you made more money than someone else.
Isn't it time we evolved as a society? This isn't the wild west anymore. We have over 300 million people to take care of.
We all have seen the civil rights movement, the womens' movement, the ongoing battle for gay rights. None of these movements are finished, there remains work to be done on all these fronts. The disparity of wealth, power, and resources is sparking a movement too. We need to change the way things are done. It's incremental, and it takes generations. Things don't happen without a lot of resistance and bloodshed by the powers-that-be.
That's where we're headed, folks. It's only a matter of time. When it hurts more to avoid action than it does to take action, things will change. We're getting awfully close.
