A Day in the Life of Joe Middle-Class Republican
by Donna L. Lavins and Sheldon Cotler
Joe gets up at 6:00 AM to prepare his morning coffee. He fills his pot with good, clean drinking water because some liberal fought for minimum water quality standards. He takes his daily medication with his first swallow of coffee. His medications are safe to take because some liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised.
All but $10.00 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan. Because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance, now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast -- bacon and eggs this day. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry.
Joe takes his morning shower, reaching for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with every ingredient and the amount that is contains because some liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and the breakdown of its contents. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some tree-hugging liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work; it saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees. You see, some liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.
Joe begins his work day; he has a good job with excellent pay, medicals benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer meets these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed he'll get worker's compensation or an unemployment check because some liberal didn't think he should loose his home to temporary misfortune.
It's noon time. Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the depression.
Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae underwritten mortgage and his below market federal student loan because some stupid liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.
Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive to dads; his car is among the safest in the world because some liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. He was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electric until some big government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification (those rural Republican's would still be sitting in the dark).
Joe is happy to see his dad, who is now retired. Joe's dad lives on Social Security and his union pension because some liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. After his visit with dad, Joe gets back in his car for the ride home. He turns on a radio talk show. The host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't tell Joe that his beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees, "We don't need those big government liberals ruining our lives. After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."
In the years to come, Joe's life will change dramatically. The U.S. dollar will be devalued as a result of our huge deficit, our living standards demolished, our standing with the world diminished and our social security gone...all because some conservative republican made sure he could take care of himself and his buddies.
Aghast, i remain...
I should be getting ready for my next rotation. Is that what i am doing? No.
Got my tux fitted today, picked out a suit for interviewing. looked for a camcorder, registered Jamie in NRMP, shopped for indian food online, made curry chicken, played with my dogs, set up Freq flyer accounts, planned our honeymoon, and walked around looking lost. Oh ya, spending a little time with mom.
Full day no?
I am home. thank god. i need to get home. I just need to be in my own space. not that the space I was in was not nice, it just was not mine. The trip was what would be for most people a major victory, because I can probably go the the best hospital in the world now, but to me it just made me tired. Now ER, which is shift work and should be nice. I will find out my schedule monday.
I am back in the real world! (as apposed to the world of harvard..)
It is very interesting to see how people persive what is said. This is not an original idea, but despite the fact that languge is suppose to be a universal proxy for things so we as human beings may interact, it is like most other things that have a manifistation in the world, relative. What a shame, if only there was a way to haddle and or find absolutes.....
I miss both philosophy and debate.
Just a thought.
It is very strange to awake in your own bed after weeks of not sleeping in it. This life feel forgin and familiar to me at the same time. Even though I have been gone but two weeks, they where long days due to the hours I worked. This streatches out time. To me it feels like months.
I Have I ever told you I hate Vets? I have to say I hate dentists too. This must be the way most people feel about Doctors. For me it hard to find a good one, who is cheap and also nice.
Blue went to the vet today. She was very hard to get into the car and to get into the vets, but we did it. The had me pick her up to weigh her, even though she was in pain, and who gave a fuck out her weight anyway. The Doctor came in, and I try not to go to this vets during the week for a couple of reasons. One, the vet who covers on the weekend is better, two instead of the old school DVM he calls himself a VMD, and lastly he is a gaint ass. I was plesently surprised when a covering vet came in and took a look at blue. He thought it was a tumor that had shattered and some bleeding. He told us that she was not a surgical canidate (which I already knew) and gave us some pain meds to make her feel better. She seems to do ok as long as she is lying down, and she ate, so we will see how this goes. But I have to go back to Boston on Sunday. I don't want her to die while I am gone......
My dog, my best friend of 15 years is dying. I have been dreading this. I knew it was coming but, I did not want it to. This must be how my patients familys feel as a loved one slowly dies. I have come back to philly to say goodbye. It does not make it easier that I have been gone for two weeks and she has gotten worse.
I was not able to post due to space on the computer. This is a test.
I am having a great time in Boston. Still at work at this hour but still fun. I think I am doing quit well, at least that is what they tell me. I like ID . off to save lives. More later, if this works.
I am here and working hard. I don't have regular I-net accsess so that makes things hard as well. Things are going good. I have done a good job of impressing my attending so far. I am glad I picked ID, it is a good fit for me. As for boston, I love it. It is a great city, just really expensive. I could deffinatly live her. Harvard is great, much better then the Temple system (no surprise) but people still make bad mistakes.
This has been a good learning experiance so far......
Leaving for Boston in a few min. wish me luck.