Failure and the American Dream

I never thought I would agree with Bill O'Reilly on any issue . . .political, cultural, or economic. I am a dedicated progressive. But his article in yesterday's Parade magazine was dead on. The subject was the lessons that today's young people can learn from Obama's life story. http://www.parade.com/news/2009/08/09-what-obama-can-teach-americas-kids.html. The lessons are forgiveness, respect, persistence, hard work, and anything is possible. Yes, Obama shows us that anything is possible; the American dream is alive and well. But he didn't realize his dream by being afraid of failure. His parents did not protect him from trying and falling short and getting up and trying again. And this is a lesson learned as a child, not as an adult. We deprive our children of the American dream and stunt their growth as intelligent, innovative thinkers when we protect them from risk and they are never allowed to lose. It's about time we realized that failure is part of life and begin, once again, to teach our children that there is no shame in losing and that failure is an essential step toward the American dream.

Lies, Death, and Health Care Reform

I am a staunch advocate of freedom of speech. I abhor censorship in any form. So I do not think for one minute that Rush Limbaugh and his ilk should be silenced. However, I must ask the question. Why? Why do these talking heads lie with impunity? They are not stupid people. They must know that much of what they expound is based on easily recognizable falsehoods. Does freedom of speech give them the right to lie? Lying to a vulnerable population about the end-of-life counseling provision in the health care reform bill and using such words as euthanasia is cruel and insensitive. And telling such lies to gain power or money and inflate one's own ego is self absorption at its most harmful.

I do not agree with all provisions in the bill, but it's about time we discussed the merits of the legislation based on facts, not lies and innuendos.

Health Care Reform and "End of Life" Counseling

After listening, briefly, to some of the more strident talking heads, I have concluded that they must believe that everyone of my generation is either senile or stupid or cannot read. I fully understand that end-of-life counseling, as provided for in the health care reform bill, is simply a provision that pays doctors to tell us what options we have as we grow older. We have choices, and we definitely need to know what those choices are, think about them clearly, and make our wishes known to our loved ones before those choices are made for us by circumstances.

I have no problem with getting older. I am just as smart, active, and involved as I ever was. Perhaps more so now that I am no longer responsible for children. But I strongly resent the way these opponents of health care reform are distorting facts and scaring people. We need a healthy debate, but we need a debate that deals in facts. Seniors can go to www.whitehouse.gov and find out what this reform is really about. It's about time we considered the reality instead of the fog of fear and distortion that seems to surround this discussion.