ONE IRATE NURSE & OUR PUBLIC PURSE

I had a conversation recently with a health care professional, one under stress, emotions all too evident. Basically, while communicating their opinion, framed by crude references, this person began railing that socialized medicine is not the answer to what ails America's health care conundrum. While I knew that I was walking a delicate line between sanity, irrationality and seething anger, I am not one to be easily dissuaded by obstacles, nor swayed by intellectual arguments punctuated by crudity. Therefore, I moved forward, attempting to bring levity, a lightness to their day and humor to diffuse the smoldering disagreement this individual obviously had with my publicized political and social positions. Character began to fray...

Why is it that some, who claim to be helping professionals, fail to observe civility, unable to disagree without being disagreeable? My reasoning is: A) They are overwhelmed from stress in the workplace, working far too many hours, while being chronically short-staffed; and B) They bring personal problems into their careers, which are exacerbated by work stress; and C) They feel marginalized by the hierarchical structure of the medical model of care observed in America. What I found fascinating was that this person chose to inculcate and adopt the AMA message that voting for Obama would result in socialized medicine.

Funny, if the current system was functional and things were great these past eight years, why all the stress, negativity and ignorance? Hillary Clinton learned the hard way that when rational discourse, social policy, politics and entrenched interests collide, the patients are the losers. Apparently, the person in question was on the losing end of an administrative turf war this day; and was too overwrought to allow for a more calm discourse. Funny, but fifty million people without health care coverage in America may not agree with the AMA and were looking for solutions when they voted.

So, my friends, when an irrational, shrill person tries to shout over your opinions and tries to suppress rational thought, be wary. As for me, I used to live in Oz; and now I know that one can have a heart, a brain and the courage to disagree with the shrill and alarmists, who claim that health care change means rationed, socialized care. Fifty million consumers without health care cannot be wrong. Our health care system is broken and does not work efficiently. Thank God for change!