Politics and Concrete Don't Mix

I don't talk about politics at work. For the summer, I am holding down a temporary gig as a office assistant at a local law firm (atleast that is what i put on my resume- "office assistant" seems a little glorious for the work that I am doing). The firm specializes in construction law. We handle disputes between various contractors, developers, subcontractors, and pretty much everyone in North Carolina named Billy, Clint, Buddy, and Jimmy.

So talking about politics doesn't make much sense here. Folks at this firm are generally in a different tax bracket than me, and their wealth is directly tied to development; the more that people build, the more disputes arise, and the more work the firm has. I always learned that development was something with which to proceed cautiously- because of its toll on water resources, quality of life, environmental concerns, and traffic. These people build mini malls, apartment complexes, highway extensions and parking lots like they were made of legos. So we're not all on the same page.

Yesterday, for the first time, I got a glimpse of what I had suspected was hidden beneath the dirt-caked surface. I was speaking with one of the secretaries about a recent disappointment regarding her old DUI arrest. A year had passed since she swerved through town in her old green pickup truck, and she expected to have her car's breathalyzer machine removed (For those of you unaware, this is a machine that you have to breathe sober breath into to be able to start your car- they pretty much come standard with all cars sold in NC). Of course, due to some discrepancy between the DMV and the company that manufactures the breathalyzer (and is the only one capable of removing it), she will have to keep the machine on an extra two months.

I made some comment about the how annoying the politics of this can be- partly because it is true and partly because I didn't want to say "well, you probably should have thought of this before you drank and drove". She replied: "Yea. The government always does this."

"But, like my husband says, its not as bad as them takin' over healthcare. I'd go into the doctor with a note to get a wart removed off my neck and they'd cut off my toe!"

...Took me a second to even realize what she was getting at. [Really? You would go into the doctors office with a note to remove a wart from your neck? You have warts on your neck?] But after it hit me, I realized she was coughing up the same talking points that you might hear on Limbaugh, Fox, or the right side of the aisle in Washington: Any government intervention in healthcare will make doctors retarded. And you will lose a toe.

What kind of nonsense is that? There are so many questions to ask someone who actually believes that. Forget political affiliations and educational background- we are talking about basic competence. Certainly, the healthcare issue in insanely complex. But there is a point at which verbal clutter like that does nothing to advance the discussion and reflects a dangerously low level of understanding. I wont try to tackle the healthcare issue here, but maybe a brief overview is in order...

We are sick. We are fat. We are getting sicker and fatter. We spend a lot of money on healthcare and don't get a lot out of it. Some people don't get anything out of it. We need to make sure everyone has access to healthcare, and that we can pay for it. Doctors and hospitals need a lot of money. The government should probably provide some funding. Don't worry, they already do. They offer Medicare and Medicaid- and those are two of the highest-rated healthcare programs we have. But Barack Obama doesn't want to be your doctor. He doesn't even want to choose your doctor for you- that's what insurance companies have been doing. We have to make sure that doctors can see more patients- and that more patients can see doctors. To pay for this, we need less waste in the system. And that means changing a few things. But it doesn't mean losing coverage or access to your doctor. And it certainly doesn't mean losing quality of care.

...Obviously, there is a lot more to it than that. But regardless of how you cut it, what we have isn't working. And what we are saying about what we have and what we need really isn't working. Whatever "news" programs and email alerts have been trumpeting the message of a socialist, pro-toe removal government that wants to takeover healthcare needs to stop. They are probably not being written by the 47 million Americans that are worse off than the rest of us. Or by the Americans who are actually making suggestions and bringing substance to the discussion. So as our country trudges through this one, let's atleast speak about these things intelligently.

I don't talk about politics at work.

-Dave