Sicko

Michael Moore is obviously a master of piecing random videos together to prove his point. I'm a liberal, and this movie was obviously biased even to me. I wasn't nodding along at his assumptions and finger-pointing, I was instead wondering at what point he would provide any real research and hard facts in his "documentary." Driving a bunch of sick 9/11 workers up to Guantanamo Bay and calling over a loudspeaker for health care does not prove anything but his famewhoring ways.

The entire movie tirades against the American healthcare industry, which is obviously as broken as our judicial system. I agree up to that point, and I also agree that the insurance companies see every health procedure as cash out of their money clips. I don't however think France, England, and Canada have these perfect Utopian societies where everyone loves each other and everything is free. (cue "We Are the World")

Yes, France has a national healthcare system and mandated paid vacation time, they also have a 45% payroll tax and a personal income tax rate up to 50% depending on your tax bracket. It's amazing what information Google can provide, I'm sure Michael Moore knows these numbers, but being that they didn't fit his agenda he didn't deign to include those facts. He spends a chunk of the movie asking random Canadians about their healthcare, and of course those random, mostly healthy people, have received adequate care in a timely matter. If he had stopped to ask someone with a chronic condition, such as NF2, he would find that Canada lacks much of the advanced technology we have here in America. Many Canadians have private insurance secondary to the national insurance which they attempt to use here in the States to receive more modern treatments.

I knew before sitting down to this movie that our healthcare system was broken, my own Mother was denied for necessary procedures multiple times by her HMO. I also knew that sometimes, the system works. Last month my neurologist suggested radiation therapy, and I chose to see another neurologist for a second opinion and then treatment at one of the leading medical universities in the country. I did not pay anything out of pocket, and have America to thank for that. Sometimes, our system isn't so bad, and when it works, we get the most advanced technology there is. On the other hand I have a friend Holly, who's medi-caid wont cover an Auditory Brainstem Implant or a promising chemo drug, even though she is already blind and facing complete deafness. (She has been forced to begin saving money for her own treatment, and has written a book which you can purchase in support here.)

So while I will continue to support the idea of Universal Healthcare for all Americans, I am just unsure of how Michael Moore having Cuban firefighters hug crying 9/11 workers has anything to do with that reality.

Revolutionary Road *spoilers*

Health, a roof over your head, food on the table, a solid job... what more could anyone ask for? Apparently for much of the middle class that is just not enough. They are "unhappy" and depressed, they want to escape, waste, and spend their way to happiness. People close to me know I have no tolerance for those who create their own drama. As we say in my house, even to my 3 year old, suck it up! Last night I was so excited to watch Revolutionary Road. Kate and Leo, reunited in a 50's period piece exploring the ups and downs of a classic pre-feminism marriage? I was sold at the first preview, as Leo threw her against a wall and passionately kissed her. Unfortunately, the previews were the best part of the film. Well, the previews and the acting. Kate and Leo play affluent, upper middle class parents of 2 beautiful young girls, and spend the entire movie whining about not being happy and wanting to escape to Paris. Apparently, as Kate says, they used to have a secret, that they were better than everybody, but then they found out they were just like everyone else.... oh boo hoo, cry me a f*cking river. The entire film was a cynical look at marriage which strived to prove that life is not real if you are married in the suburbs. Tell that to the other 90% of the world who do not exist in our bubble, and you'll get a lot more than a stone thrown at you. This movie represented to me everything wrong with our society. People making over 100 grand a year, still in debt. People getting divorced because its "just not working." Antidepressants with martini chasers. Separate vacations, and spending the family savings on "finding yourself." You want to find yourself, try looking in a mirror. Like a 5 year old who's parents never said no, spoiled middle aged adults tantrum their way through life with a shrink who encourages them to cry while simultaneously collecting from the insurance company. The movie ended with a suicide and a tear, and the only emotion I could muster was disgust for a silly little woman with a perfectly healthy body throwing it away on self-inflicted drama. Tonight when I do my nightly prayers, and again effusively thank God for my blessed life and beautiful family, I am also going to give thanks for the perspective that NF2 has given me. I would rather be sick and grateful, then healthy and deluded.

A potluck of thoughts...

I am achy like an old lady today. Yesterday I ran this run and was incredibly tired all day. When I start off on a long run I feel so motivated... Around the first mile my body is not in a rythm yet, and I keep thinking OMG I have another 8 miles to go!! Around mile 3 I hit a stride, and think yeah I am almost halfway! I can do this! At halfway the feelings are mixed, now I can think well I'm over halfway, but then again I am thinking I have to do all that again??? Then about 3/4 of the way I start to feel like well maybe this was a mistake! Abandoned shopping carts start call to me, like I could just coast the rest of the way and nobody would know! I start self doubting... until I catch a glimpse of the end of the run! Then my pace quickens and I run all out, my heart bursting, legs pumping, until I burst to my own finish line with a dizzying last step. Walking a quarter mile home as a cool down is the best feeling, the muscles in my legs and abs feel so tight, and I know I don't have to do that again for another week!

When I run I am always a bit paranoid. As a deaf runner I have to be extremely careful. I don't hear people calling out to me, or cars coming up behind me. I always try to run against traffic so if the sidewalk stops and I am forced to run in the street I can see exactly what is coming. I don't even understand why there are so many areas without sidewalk! What about people who are in wheelchairs? How are they supposed to get around? Whatever happened to accessibility for all?

Speaking of accessibility (yes this is a potluck post, I am bringing a little bit of everything!) why are all movies in the theatre not subtitled? I don't care if the subtitles would "bother" some hearing people, try not being able to understand the movies at all! The only option now is rear view captioning, which is a great advance, but incredibly difficult to work with. I always have a headache after trying to read the wobbly words on a tiny reflector while keeping up with the projection at the same time. I have to wait weeks for the movie I want to see to possibly play twice and at random times. As a progressive society a place as mainstream as the movie theatre should be held to a higher standard of accessibility. I am going to research this a bit and see what I can do to try to change it. I refuse to just complain without making my voice heard!

Now I am off to a playdate with the Fabulous Moms of RC, today I am off training and really looking forward to my ASL group tonight! Anyone in the Inland Empire is welcome to join us! We meet the 2nd Monday of every month at 6:30, in the courtyard between the foodcourt and Starbucks at the Victoria Gardens mall in Rancho Cucamonga! People of all signing levels are welcome, even those who just have an interest!