This is my first attempt at a diary. I'd ask for leniency, but that would be a cop-out, so feel free to comment honestly, but respectfully. In other words, please don't hurt my tender little old lady feelings too much.
My daughter got me interested in DailyKos more than a year ago. Since then I have turned to it daily. As my login name suggests, I am a grandmother who turned 65 this year. I have been involved in liberal politics all my adult life. I have seen a lot in the past 45+ years; being a foot soldier in the civil rights movement, women's movement, anti-war activities, and working to elect Pres Obama.
I have been disturbed, but not surprised, by a lot of the "my way or the highway" comments about health care reflected in recent diaries. We elected a person who could fight in the dirt of politics, trusting at that time that he would fight and get us much further along the road to a more just society than the one we had under Bush.
We fought to achieve that election victory, some of laboring in really, really red states like AZ and others. We did it for various reasons. Mine was so that my grandchildren, when they ask what I did during this time, I could answer and not be ashamed. And for justice.
I believe Obama is doing a good job. I will not second-guess how he should fight for health care reform at this time. We are already further than anyone else has come.
I keep remembering that this is a process, an arc of health care justice, which will bend toward the justice of health care for all. I do contribute my opinions and belief to the White House. I also do phone banks with my own cell phone for folks to call their congresspersons and senators in favor of health care reform, and for the public option. I even tell them my own experiences.
I am one of those people who declared bankruptcy after catastrophic medical bills. I did this at the age of 63, before I was eligible for Medicare. I went without health care coverage for two years. Even though I received social security disability, Medicare did not kick in at age 63. My SSdisability was over the $740/month limit for a single person in AZ - Medicaid was then not an option.
I was luckier than many others because I have two loving daughters and sons-in-law who saw me through this time. And my cancer was the easily curable kind, breast cancer, stage 0, intra-ductale, non-invasive. I was lucky.
So many,many others in this country are not so lucky, facing catastrophic medical and prescription bills that they cannot pay for. The best health care can be had, but only by those with a ton of money.
One of the things I like about the health care bills being discussed is a closure of the donut hole for Medicare recipients. I'm currently in the donut hole, but remember my beautiful daughters who will not let me sink. I know people who have to buy very costly cancer meds on social security. They go without food to buy them. They die because they cannot afford them. Even on Medicare.
And this is only us old folks. What about the young who die for lack of money for care? Where is their process toward justice?
I don't believe the bills we have seen will be the best to cover all these folks, yet. What are our choices here? I am not going to answer that for you. I am going to tell you a story instead.
Back in the 70s I returned to school, finally getting an MA in philosophy. But I was politically active even in school, even with two young children, and working part time. And in those days, women still did all the housework. (Another reason I am a feminist.)
I remember one time when we were fighting to get food for children who had no food. One friend at the time argued against this. She believed if the kids were hungry enough the parents would join the revolution toward justice and equality.
She was childless, of course, and had never really been responsible for feeding a specific child. My comment, which apparently swayed her and others was that the hungry children didn't know about politics yet, they were just hungry, all the time, hungry. The revolution can take care of itself - feed the kids first. (When I was growing up, there were periods of hunger - I know how it feels.)
I am in favor of single payer. Incidentally I am in favor of Medicare for all, at senior rates. I pay $98/month for 80% of my health care, and at present $104/month supplemental insurance for the remaining 20%. Plus $32.40/month for a prescription plan. I pay that last figure even though I am in the donut hole. I pay for them not to cover me, apparently.
Will we get single payer this time out? No, I don't believe we will. But we will eventually, if we keep on fighting. The arc of justice will bend toward that as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow.
We need to "feed" the hungry that we can reach now. If the fight needs to continue next year for single payer, so be it. I've been around long enough to understand the process, I guess. I've also been around long enough to know that each generation has to enter the fight.
I'm a little old white lady who wept when we won the election. I can only imagine how my AA friends felt as they wept. I am amazed that electing an AA president happended in my lifetime. It seems only yesterday that I marched for things like open housing in Evanston.
We can be certain of two things in the health care debate - we will feed some of the hungry for healthcare this year, and that we will see more progress toward a single payer system that feeds everyone fairly soon after that. This will not take another 40 years.
So keep on fighting, even if it takes a few years. Keep your eyes on the prize and work for it. And don't give up hope.