Here's the truth. I was headed for a vacation this week, to give my back some more corrective rest after the great train mishap last week. But, as the week evolved, the governmental spin-doctors have been so busy with their twist on the news, that I simply could not live with myself if I stayed mute one more second. Tempting though, that might be. Certainly, it is easier to do nothing! Easier, but far more costly.
Now, I admit that on the surface, what I'm about to share might sound unrelated. That said, as a 'shrink,' I've always been more interested on what's going on beneath the surface of things. If you're familiar with icebergs, either in physical nature, or the world of the psyche, you know that what appears to be so on the surface cannot even compare to 'what's below.' This holds true with people. For example, what is often fascinating is not what's being said, but what's missing, avoided, swept under the carpet. We, in the profession, share an appreciation for a particular reoccurring tendency in a therapeutic session. More often than not, it is the very last thing the client says, as they walk out the door, that so frequently turns out to be the most important, i.e. the 'iceberg' beneath the surface issue that was discussed.
Connect the Dots Exercise. So, take a gander at these situations, to notice what they might have in common. Let's see what 'dots' you connect? Exhibit A is that story about the Lieutenant Colonel who suicided on July 15th this year, having served for a good chunk of time overseas in this 8 year war. Not only did this brave man go through multiple bombing attacks in Iraq, but he testified on the "Hill" for our legislators. A short time later, he was found in his car, dead, outside Brooke Medical Center. His message was that he chose to go "that way rather than be blown up in pieces." The governmental diagnosis of him was 'early onset Alzheimer's, a diagnostic code being used increasingly for soldiers' these days. Is it just me that finds this strange? Honestly, as an army nurse who's attended hundreds and hundreds of Viet Nam vets, the 'Alzheimer's' seems more fiction than fact. Of course, it 'goes down better' to imagine organic causation, than admit mental/spiritual trauma. I'm afraid we are still in the Dark Ages, when it comes to dealing with the fact that the human psyche is not equipped to endure the unrelenting bombing and roadside attacks that have come from eight years, in what appears to be a never-ending war.
Exhibit B: In separate cases, two soldiers have been accidentally electrocuted in their respective showers, while serving our country in Afghanistan. Apparently, the wiring was not properly grounded. It remains unfixed. It should be noted that the work was done by the top military electrical contractor, the same company, by the way, who recently received over $84,000,000 in bonuses. You and I are paying the freight, by the way, to a group of people who accept no responsibility for their workmanship, or, lack-thereof. Meanwhile, families grieve, and the rest of the world turns away.
The third, Exhibit C, involves health care reform, our seniors, and the Republican scuttle-but. Talk about 'spin.' Believe, if you want, oppositional voices like those of Betsy McCaughey, who syndicated columnist Froma Harrop has described as "the Sarah Palin of health care...who sixteen years ago, she helped sink health-care reform by circulating untruths about the Clinton plan. She now sits on the board of a medical-devices company that feasts off Medicare..." Spin-queens like McCaughey would have you believe that, should the present health care reform be accepted, then here's what we're looking at. For those of you out there my age, and older, we elders might as well pack up our blankets, wave bye-bye to the younger set, and head for Inuit country, surrendering to death right here, and now. Perhaps we could catch a nearby sheet of ice and head out to sea, were it not for the fact that our deteriorating atmosphere is causing our glaciers to melt. I guess this would pretty much put us in the same category as the polar bears. Now, to be fair, I should also add that the spin-docs are suggesting that the current reform gives us another alternative: we see our death specialist every five years, or, more, as needed, just to be reminded that we might want to find our own Dr. Kevorkian to help us 'off' ourselves, and save the younger folk the trouble of our care.
None of this, we might add, is remotely connected to the actual health care reform proposal, any more than is P.T.S.D. the same thing as 'early onset Alzheimer's,' nor is electrocuting soldiers from faulty work either excusable, or bonus-worthy.
The Good News beneath the Spin. As the spin becomes more and more outrageous, here's the good news. Perhaps more and more people will "wake up and smell the coffee," or, is it toast? These days, I'm reminded of one of my favorite stories about that parents who were very, very worried about their little boy, who, by five, was still not speaking. They took him to specialists, but, still, no result. One day, as the family was gathered 'round table for breakfast, the child blurted out the words: "The toast is burning!" Everyone was stunned, not so much about the smoke from the toaster, but more, the fact that their son had 'found his words.' Incredulous, the mother said: "You can speak! Why haven't you spoken up to now?" To which her son replied: "The toast wasn't burning."
What We Can Do. Well, my friend, 'the toast is burning,' and I've got something to say. I suspect you do, too. The question is, what will it take to validate our own sense of things? Its one thing to sing the 'ain't it awful song,' and, another, to stay electively mute, pretending we don't make a difference. Here's my challenge to each of us: say something to someone who is elected into office about how you feel. Get it off your chest in a way that can shift the present trajectory that's coming from our silent consent to the spin. Stand up. Call your senator, your congressperson, and your representatives. Let them know how you want them to vote. Let them know you'll not only be watching them,, but will let others know what you discover about the way they choose to honor/dishonor our soldiers and families, the military contractors walking all the way to the bank with their bonuses, and, yes, how they value, or don't, our right to health care for all. Refuse to be duped. It just might be that the plus side of the unspeakable spin is that the spinners will find, this time, they've gone far enough to wake us from our apathy!
Let me hear from you. Always, I send you my gratitude and wish for all good things. Let's build more than a bear. Let's build a better world. See you on the 12th! Cara