Why I Need Obama to Win

I talk a lot about nature on here.  And family.  And friends.  And birds.  I don't really get personal.  After all this blog originated only as a way to keep the aforementioned family and friends abreast of my nomadic adventures.  Personal stuff belongs in conversations, not on the internet.  So I debated with myself long and hard before clicking on the 'Publish' button. 

As you probably guessed, this post will have a slightly political tone to it, but I want to make it perfectly clear to everyone that I am not an expert, not an analyst, and have taken exactly two political science classes in my lifetime.  I have a tendency to only study up on policies and proposals that affect me and my loved ones because that's all my overburdened brain can handle on any given day.  I'm not out to change anyone's minds on the upcoming election, I'm just after a bit of understanding and compassion from the Far Right who seem to think the worst of people like me on the Far Left. 

So to begin, I have to creak open the door and let a few personal facts slip through:

I'm a hard worker.  I come from a family of hard workers.  My parents raised me to be independent to a fault, and to see the work through, no matter what that work might be.  Not bragging, just saying.

I double majored in undergrad and maintained a GPA well above 3.5.  I had a 4.0 through graduate school where I earned a Master's and a Graduate Certificate.  Under my belt are four seasons of working and volunteering for Departments of Natural Resources and the National Park Service, usually at the same time.  (Before you go all Hatch Act on me, my season has already ended, so I no longer have the burden of having an opinion while in the government's employ).

I've never gone on unemployment or any form of government welfare, even though there were times I qualified and was even encouraged to sign up for both.  I never wanted handouts unless I absolutely had no other choice.  Even now, with my future once again uncertain, I know I won't sign up because I still have options and Plan Bs, Cs, and Ds.

My idea of splurging is buying locally raised bison meat or fleece-lined winter hiking pants.

I'm a healthnut.  I exercise every day.  My weight today is a mere two pounds more than when I was in high school, which is smack dab in the middle of the 'healthy weight range' for my height.

My vices include red wine, horoscopes, and Grey's Anatomy reruns. 

I am the girl who eat salads, and likes them.  The girl who rarely goes out to eat, and prefers to cook at home.

I am the girl who runs, walks, hikes hills, and occasionally putters around with yoga, pilates, and kettlebells.

I am the girl who has Type 1 diabetes.

I am the girl who can only afford the crappy insurance, because I followed my heart when it came to choosing a career.

I am the girl who will benefit from the Affordable Care Act (ACA), what many of you know as "ObamaCare." 

I am the girl that needs the government to step in and stand up to health insurance companies who deny me coverage because of my 'pre-existing condition.'

Type 1 is an autoimmune disease, which means that somewhere along the lines, my own body starting attacking the insulin-producing beta cells in my pancreas.  Insulin levels drop, leaving glucose to float around in my blood stream and cause all sorts of mischief.  Silently buried in my DNA until the genes for it were triggered.  No one can tell me by what, the vague answer is always "environmental."  But it was there all along, pre-existing where no one could find it.

I don't bear a grudge against my body, it did what it thought it was supposed to do, and I can't blame it for that.  I try to help it as much as I can, maintaining a fairly tight control over what I eat and when, and taking those long walks and hikes even when I just want to curl up and watch Grey's Anatomy (and read horoscopes, and eye that bottle of cheap merlot).  But this isn't a cold, this isn't a diet I can cheat on, this is my life.  Between diagnostic tests, endocrinologist consults, blood tests, lipid panels, c-peptide checks, and other lab work, costs add up quickly.

Gov. Romney's position on health care reform is, for lack of a better word, tricky.  As governor of Massachusetts he signed a health reform bill that was quite similar to the ACA.  However, he believes that health insurance should be privatized and left in the hands of individual states (and would grant waivers to all 50 states, giving them the choice on whether or not to adopt the ACA regulations).  A true politician, he has essentially said (of his own bill), that it's a good idea, but it should be up to the states to decide whether or not to implement it (source). 

To me, and those of us who have been at the mercy of coverage denials and skyrocketing premiums, this is the equivalent of allowing a felon to choose their own punishment. We'd all like to believe the thieves and killers would choose to impose justice and hellish conditions upon themselves, just as we'd all like to believe that every state will adopt regulations that will immeasurably help their citizens' health, but we all know what will actually happen.  I'm a pretty optimistic person, but even I don't have that much faith in humanity.

There's also the argument that real savings in health care will only come from privatization, and that many elements of the ACA are already found in the marketplace.  To this, I can only quote NPR:

"The problem is, no one knows which would work better because neither has really been tried. So the choice is to let the new law continue to play out, or repeal it and see whether Congress can pass something else. That is, if it doesn't take Congress another generation to reach another compromise."

So with Romney's position, it's a toss-up as to what will happen, but as I'm still a resident of the very red, yet still beautiful, state of Kansas, I can go ahead and assume my worries are far from over.  I'm not saying the ACA is the perfect plan, but as my father says, it would "take the edge off." 

With Obama, at least I know that by 2014, I can't be denied coverage or charged more because of a condition I did everything to prevent.  I won't have to hoard test strips or slip into malnutrition because I'm trying to make insulin last as long as I can.  I'll be able to afford the eye exams and treatment that will detect early signs of blood vessel damage, the precursor to blindness.  I'll be able to pay for the blood tests that tell my doctors how my kidneys are functioning, the tests that will alert us if they begin to fail.

Please believe me when I say that I want to be able to pay my fair share of medical expenses.  There is both pride and humbleness to being able to pull your own weight in the country you love so much.  I want to be a part of something bigger, something that makes life easier for others like me, to know I can help and be helped.

But right now, I can't.

And I need the help that the ACA promises. 

I understand the arguments against "ObamaCare."  I understand that government involvement freaks people out.  I understand that my idea of freedom - to live without a financial burden I did not ask for, to pursue happiness without waiting for the other shoe to drop - stands in contrast to others' freedom to not have to buy insurance if they don't want to, to pursue their own happiness in profits and savings, and I get it.  I know by supporting the new health reform laws, people will see it as me making someone else pay for my test strips. 

I suppose, when it really comes down to it, I really don't need Obama to win.  But I do need a candidate to win who is willing to move forward, who will look at the citizens like me, who are quite enamored and proud of being American, but struggling, and choose to help us.  I need someone who will stand up to insurance companies and tell them it is not okay to treat me only as a pre-existing condition and refuse coverage.  I need someone who will provide me, and the other 26 million people with diabetes, with the same health care coverage they would want for their own children.  I need someone who will look around and see that we are all still created equal, and that as a woman I am entitled to the rights to my own body.  I need someone who will look to the rising costs of higher education and realize that if we don't make it more affordable, then we might as well resign as a world power right now and save ourselves the embarrassment later.  I need someone to give our teachers and veterans the respect and resources they have earned through decades of sacrifice.  I need someone to look at the market and see that even though we believe in fair trade, we teeter on the edge of corporate oligarchy. 

I'm not asking for perfect answers, for pefect policies.  In a country such as ours it is impossible to make everyone happy.  It took a long time for bad policies and decisions to get us into the economic mess we found ourselves in, and it's going to take at least that much time to get us out.  I believe we are facing the right direction, and I am asking you to try this with me, I'm asking you to believe one more time.  Let's see if it works, and if it doesn't, then let's try something else. 

Don't give up.  Let's keep moving forward.