Reflections Post Impeachment
I've been thinking above Mitt Romney since he decided to vote Trump guilty under one article of impeachment this past week... Being the one opposing voice in his party.
I voted for Romney back in 2012 as sort of a rebellion against partisanship. I voted a moderate Republican for president and Democrats for all other offices.
I recognized that he actually cared about Healthcare and was campaigning to the majority of his party to separate himself from the creation of the Affordable Care Act. I thought in reality, he had a good heart and made choices through his empathy for others. I was also dealing with conflicts in my faith and issues such as abortion, etc... Sometimes, faith and politics don't always congeal on every single issue many people may feel conflicted. (I'm a Pope Francis person... I would like to think of myself as leading first with compassion.)
At the time, I had been in graduate school and getting free tuition for being a graduate assistant and was able to get fairly reasonably priced healthcare. I was working also nights part-time at a treatment facility for youths. Things changed...
I had to quit being a graduate assistant to do my practicum and internship for school counseling. I then had to come up with paying for healthcare through the open market. I had a plan that was $600 a month... Me, a person getting paid $10 per hour part-time. It was discouraging! There was a major hole in our newly adopted system. If it weren't for my dad helping with a few hundred bucks a month...and having a roommate, I wouldn't have made it. It was humbling!
I was able to land a full-time position at work the next semester which also offered more affordable healthcare. I was spending all day at school...then going to my next job working with juvenile offenders from 4-11 pm... It was a hard time, but I still think easier than being a mother...that's 24/7.
Anyway, the state of Missouri (led by Republicans) refused to expand the Affordable Care Act which would have made good healthcare available to children of parents with low income and people like me who were scraping by. Montana has had the expansion under a Democratic governor which has allowed so many children to receive Healthy Montana Kids Insurance... An expansion of Medicaid. It's great insurance that has and is helping kids and parents state-wide.
I just wanted to put a spotlight on this. I gladly support such expansion... I feel Healthcare is a right, especially, in the rich society we live in. People shouldn't have to have Go Fund Me pages for necessary medical expenses. We have a moral obligation to help our neighbors. I could say so much more!
Love your neighbors. Many people work hard and will only ever scrape by in life. Yes, America is a nation that has made it possible for people who come from nothing to create something for themselves...but that is getting harder all the time with obstacles like low wages and high cost of living. Not all people are the one in a million adversity dodgers who become millionaires.
I realize I live a life of previlege compared to most. My mom was a teacher and came from a middle class farming family and had a mother who did administrative work. (My grandfather was a "functioning" alcoholic who loved his family and geography and singing when he milked.) They were able to send their kids to college. My dad had to build himself from nothing... He didn't inherit what he had... He grew up in an old house with no insulation, a double outhouse, a mother who worked hard and saved every penny she ever made but had hopes and dreams. His dad hobby farmed for a living and had little faith in a brighter future after living through the Great Depression. Dad used to send money back home to his parents when he served in the army. I learned this after reading a stack of letters years ago that were in an old cedar chest in my parents' basement. Dad never told me those details himself.
Somewhere, I think I lost my train of thought. So, I am just contemplating what it means to live a life that focuses not only on your self-interest but the interest of those around you. I still think it's important to be willing to speak up and do the right thing even if it doesn't leave you ending up on top. I feel like I witness the greatest kind of strength when I see someone use his/her voice to tell truth and confront misinformation.
I voted for Romney back in 2012 as sort of a rebellion against partisanship. I voted a moderate Republican for president and Democrats for all other offices.
I recognized that he actually cared about Healthcare and was campaigning to the majority of his party to separate himself from the creation of the Affordable Care Act. I thought in reality, he had a good heart and made choices through his empathy for others. I was also dealing with conflicts in my faith and issues such as abortion, etc... Sometimes, faith and politics don't always congeal on every single issue many people may feel conflicted. (I'm a Pope Francis person... I would like to think of myself as leading first with compassion.)
At the time, I had been in graduate school and getting free tuition for being a graduate assistant and was able to get fairly reasonably priced healthcare. I was working also nights part-time at a treatment facility for youths. Things changed...
I had to quit being a graduate assistant to do my practicum and internship for school counseling. I then had to come up with paying for healthcare through the open market. I had a plan that was $600 a month... Me, a person getting paid $10 per hour part-time. It was discouraging! There was a major hole in our newly adopted system. If it weren't for my dad helping with a few hundred bucks a month...and having a roommate, I wouldn't have made it. It was humbling!
I was able to land a full-time position at work the next semester which also offered more affordable healthcare. I was spending all day at school...then going to my next job working with juvenile offenders from 4-11 pm... It was a hard time, but I still think easier than being a mother...that's 24/7.
Anyway, the state of Missouri (led by Republicans) refused to expand the Affordable Care Act which would have made good healthcare available to children of parents with low income and people like me who were scraping by. Montana has had the expansion under a Democratic governor which has allowed so many children to receive Healthy Montana Kids Insurance... An expansion of Medicaid. It's great insurance that has and is helping kids and parents state-wide.
I just wanted to put a spotlight on this. I gladly support such expansion... I feel Healthcare is a right, especially, in the rich society we live in. People shouldn't have to have Go Fund Me pages for necessary medical expenses. We have a moral obligation to help our neighbors. I could say so much more!
Love your neighbors. Many people work hard and will only ever scrape by in life. Yes, America is a nation that has made it possible for people who come from nothing to create something for themselves...but that is getting harder all the time with obstacles like low wages and high cost of living. Not all people are the one in a million adversity dodgers who become millionaires.
I realize I live a life of previlege compared to most. My mom was a teacher and came from a middle class farming family and had a mother who did administrative work. (My grandfather was a "functioning" alcoholic who loved his family and geography and singing when he milked.) They were able to send their kids to college. My dad had to build himself from nothing... He didn't inherit what he had... He grew up in an old house with no insulation, a double outhouse, a mother who worked hard and saved every penny she ever made but had hopes and dreams. His dad hobby farmed for a living and had little faith in a brighter future after living through the Great Depression. Dad used to send money back home to his parents when he served in the army. I learned this after reading a stack of letters years ago that were in an old cedar chest in my parents' basement. Dad never told me those details himself.
Somewhere, I think I lost my train of thought. So, I am just contemplating what it means to live a life that focuses not only on your self-interest but the interest of those around you. I still think it's important to be willing to speak up and do the right thing even if it doesn't leave you ending up on top. I feel like I witness the greatest kind of strength when I see someone use his/her voice to tell truth and confront misinformation.
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