Sunday, March 21, 2010

HCR: Health Care Reform has arrived in America....the First time in Fifty Years since Medicare Passed in the 1960


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was very exciting watching the Dems march to the House arm and arm and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi carrying her Gavel. (HUGE gavel that was the size of a crochet mallet, a gavel that said "I mean Business"). It reminded me of the Civil Rights Marches of the Sixties.After a seething weekend of volatile hatred spilling from the Teabaggers and the Republicans it was somehow fitting to see the Dems arm and arm, united walking tall..almost defiant. I was proud of them, moved by them..Hopeful.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So I hung out with my son watching the last 2 hours of debate that felt like an eternity intense Chamber Rumble that lasted all day. I was on Twitter where people kept careful track of all that was said and it was a roller coaster of Honorable Amazing Democratic Speeches and hate filled GOP rants....and then the three Votes came and the counts...and by 11:46PM we had Made History. I am heart filled with gratitude and relief that we are on the right path with this, it is a Start.

As an UnInsured RN with a late teenage son , I have been very worried for too long. My son is covered under his dad's plan but next year he would not be. So now he will be covered until he is 26 years old and that means everything. And for Millions of UnInsured like me we will have a chance again to find Care, I hope and pray. I have been UnInsured since 2006 and I have been battling my own health battle alone, like millions of others. We now are no longer Invisible, forgotten, cast aside.

I have thought alot about Senator Teddy Kennedy through all of this. Off and on I have been relieved he did not see all of this Hatred and angst and ugly smears and slurs. Teddy would have wanted to have seen people working together and problem solving and that was not every what went on with this Bill, from day one it turned into so much more of a problem. And at times the MSM did not help, fueling the Foxy Propaganda and labeling a Hate Fringe Group as a "grassroots movement" was beyond foolish, it was dangerous and False. The Media Pretending that the Tea Party is a legitimate "Group" was basically empowering a Climate of Hate and Racism cloaked and costumed by the MSM as " Patriotic". And yet in some way Teddy would have had Courage and Insight to confront such Hate, but it was up to all of us to Face it and Confront it and Dismantle the Lies and Bigotry. And this Battle will rage on, that we know.

After he died last summer I kept thinking, WHO will be the Lion in the Senate. I kept worrying what if No One steps forward to fight and fight for people that need it. Then What. And then I realized, it it is not about Finding a New "Lion" , It is about digging deep finding the Lion within ALL of us and Fighting together. We are the Pride Now. It is time for us to Roar. Our Time. We truly are WHO we have been waiting for.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"The work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives and the dream shall never die".....Senator Teddy Kennedy 1980 DNC Convention
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
** Great article from Michael Tomasky in The Guardian on how the Dems reached their goal.
*(Photos from HuffingtonPost)*

5 comments:

Fran said...

Nice recap & I love the 1st photo. Funny about Pelosi's gavel. Maybe she went for the long handle in case she needed to bonk heads?

It is historic & humane, and a ray of hope.

Of all the stuff the guvmnt spends money on, what better thing than letting the people have health care for the people.

Enough with the funky spending already!

This is a wise & proper use of public money.
Too bad the entire GOP lost touch with the "care" part of healthcare.


I heart socalism.

Thanks for all your efforts to make this happen. Must restore your faith in humanity.

landsker said...

Nice one guys, always good to hear a communal roar...Socialism....??
Maybe just communal support, and equality of rights...anyway...well done, and ^onwards!

糟糕 said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Kittie Howard said...

Lovely re-cap, Enigma. I believe Pelosi's gavel was loaned to her by someone in the Civil Rights movement for this historic event. She explained on tv just as the phone rang, didn't catch all, no further mention.

I'm constantly amazed at what is labeled socialism and what isn't...what about roads, NASA, the FAA, and other infrastructure items that serve the common good?? I fail to see how having decent health care is socialism as implied in the negative sense but more a continuation of what is for the 'common good'. I fail to see how reigning in greedy companies works against the American people. Yet, it's been my experience that those who rail the loudest against something are first in line with their hands out once it becomes law. They don't want to do the work but can't wait to feed at the trough. Hypocrits! And, I hope our new law eases your insurance status, Enigma. You deserve the best our country offers.

enigma4ever said...

Kittie-the Gavel was from Dingell.....I think it was the gavel that was used to pass Medicare-but I will check on it..

in a Civilized society people take care of each other...and yes, what about roads, garbage,schools, EMS, etc etc...

the Repugs think they should woo the Teabaggers...big mistake...

about me....50 Million need Insurance ( my best estimate is that it is above 53million) and estimates are that it is atleast 30million are PreExisting condtions...So many in need...one of the things that made me work on this...such a huge number...even if I had had insurance it would leave me sleepless and worried...