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Yesterday I went for an eye exam to see how close the poor babies are to needing cataract surgery.
I think Michael will know exactly what I’m talking about here. I couldn’t sign in with a real person, I had to interact with a kiosk. Most of the people in the waiting room were elderly and they were all bamboozled by the kiosk and had to get help from one of the ladies behind the counter. The counter set-up looked like the bridge of the Enterprise.
I wait awhile, and by and by a lady comes and does about three minutes of tests. Then I’m sent to another waiting room for a very long time. Then another lady comes, does another three minutes of interaction with my eye balls and then back to the waiting room.
Eventually I am taken to a exam room and finally the doctor comes in. He looks exhausted and it’s only morning. I asked him how he was doing and he said “very tired.” He apologized for the long wait and I said it wasn’t his fault. He said no one ever asked him if he wanted to see SIXTY PATIENTS each day. This man is usually very cheerful but he was downcast yesterday. We chatted a little about the system, which he purely hates. It’s a mid-level corporation that runs people through like tortillas in a tortilla bakery. This doctor is young and I suspect he has to work at this place in order to pay off his student debt but he’s miserable. I said to him “This isn’t why you wanted to be an optometrist, is it?” and he said “No it is not.”
So he did about five minutes of looking into my eyes and said the cataracts were still growing but not at an alarming rate and see you in six months. Then he thanked me for our conversation.
I was there for nearly two hours and actually interacted with humans for about fifteen minutes.
So this isn’t really about me. I had all day to hang out at the optometrist and read Jacques Vallee on my phone. This is more about what the heck is happening to doctors who work for these companies in places that suck the soul right out of them? I was depressed on behalf of Dr. R for the rest of the day and I’m still thinking about him.
We have good insurance; this was not a government clinic.
Xenia,
Unfortunately, I know exactly what you’re talking about.
I’ve made a conscious attempt to not chronicle all the woes I am having in the medical system…but they are many.
All my doctors want to quit…and some have even though they still practice.
Add to that the fact that if you need medication for chronic pain you are viewed as a criminal…
This outfit has a dozen or so eye doctors. The whole place reeks of greed. Not my doctor; I wouldn’t be surprised if one day he quit and ran off to Africa and did free eye surgery for the Congolese.
They must have a zillion dollar’s worth of electronic eyeball measuring equipment. No doctor just starting out could possibly afford to set up shop.
I’m sorry, Michael and Xenia!
The bad news is everyone has cataracts whether they know it or not. The good news is that in most cases cataracts are not so malignant as to require surgical intervention in most cases and it has become extremely safe and relatively quick considering how traumatic the procedure is. But it does force you to figure out what “setting” you want and can afford when that moment comes.
There’s a lot of bad things about the present but Ecclesiastes 7:10 has been one of my life verses … and often Job 12:2. 😉
I just went to an eye doctor myself. I was there for quite a while, but this was a much needed exam. My short range eyesight gets worse by the day, I swear. But now my long range eyesight is getting worse. I need bifocals. Fortunately I got squared away and should have some new glasses in two weeks.
The eye doctor office was chaos.
Totally off the subject.
The fact that I am 50 has led me to reminisce. Gen X life… remembering the days of old. I think of everything in terms of music. Probably the one that stands out the most is 1984 by Van Halen, a close second was Pyromania by Def Leppard. The “metal” of those days is frankly unparalleled, and that’s a hill I will die on! Haha! It’s also about the time I remember acts like Rez Band, Deliverance, early Stryper. Stryper, by the way, is on its 40th anniversary tour right now, and that’s makes me feel old. I had their first album Yellow and Black Attack on record. They became so popular even as a Christian act that by the time they came out with To Hell With The Devil, they were packing arenas.
The time I spent rewinding and fast forwarding my tape collection of metal music back in those days…
My wife was in love with the pop music of those days, and she absolutely loved Michael Jackson and Prince.
What music defined your days of youth?
Music during my youth. Why not?
I’ll probably forget a few, but these come to mind in my before-college era (that’s a different list). I was all over the map. James Taylor, CSNY, Santana, Janis Joplin, George Harrison, Yes, Deep Purple, Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Robin Tower, Credence, Eagles, and a favorite we share: Pink Floyd. There were also a few bands on Maranatha! Music that I liked, such as The Way, Wing and a Prayer, Mustard Seed Faith, and The Road Home.
I also listened to a lot of Van Halen and Def Leppard, but that was a different era in my life.
Good stuff Mike! Yeah, Pink Floyd forever, but I discovered them later in life. CSNY is a long term favorite of mine as well. Hendrix forever sure, bit before my time. I do love me some James Taylor too. Fleetwood Mac.
I was into Queen, KISS, Journey, and Fleetwood Mac back in the 70s and early 80s as a kid.
Moving later into the 80s I listened to Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Journey, Chicago, early Stryper (still have their ORIGINAL “Yellow and Black Attack” 6-song LP here at home), early Barren Cross, Wendy and Mary (look them up), early Metallica and Megadeth.
Later 80s and onward I got into classic rock like Thin Lizzy and British band Blue Murder, and kept my Journey and Whitesnake interests alive.
In the late 80s, Chrisian Rock and Metal, as well as Christian Rap exploded, and I indulged in Whitecross, Barren Cross, Blooodgood, Sacred Warrior, Vengeance (Rising), P.I.D., D-Boy, Michael Peace, Freedom of Soul, Dynamic Twins, Apocalypse, etc.
“Now, the doctor came in, stinking of gin
Only to find Gideon’s Bible…”
— From Rocky Racoon —-
Dan,
I have to fess up. The Christian rap days were totally lost on me. I grew up listening to Public Enemy, Wu Tang, NWA, Ice Cube, Dre, etc. Having the real deal, Christian rap never met my expectations. There was a group named Gospel Gangsters that sorta did it for me, but like I said…
I understand Reuben. Even though I was a new Christian back in the late 80s, I secretly still would have Megadeth or Public Enemy on the radio if they came on. I pretended to not like that stuff to put up a good front for my Christian friends. I liked the Gospel Gangsters also.
Also secretly liked Digital Underground, Anthrax, and a few others I can’t remember anymore.
My hiding days are behind me.
Every Christian and father should be mad as hell that our young women are being put through this:
http://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/volleyball-player-nearly-forced-to-face-transgender-opponent-cries-alleges-school-pressured-team
Jean,
The article no longer exists, but here is what I know and feel on the issue. Like I said in the other thread, a serious Trans issue happens here that I can’t deal with. You can’t start putting Trans biological males into sports. With regard to Volleyball, (guessing based on the text in the link) a number of teams forfeit the games because of this Trans player, and rightfully so. I believe this protest will work.
When it flies in the face of scientific reality, I start to run into problems. A biological male has a physical advantage over a biological female. It’s that simple. I don’t believe there is a valid argument against that.
Thank you Reuben. I’m sorry that the link did not work.
In a different article I learned that one of the girls on San Jose State who joined the Title IX lawsuit against her own university for allowing the male play on her girls volleyball team has received threats of physical violence against her, and the university has had to increase security at games to protect her.
But all the girls on all the teams that have forfeited games in the sport they love, who have worked for the majority of their lifetime to earn scholarships and play Division I volleyball, are now suffering for taking a moral stand (and safety stand) by not playing games against San Jose State University.
The University sides with, and prioritizes, this insane ideology, for 1 disturbed male, who wants to dress up and play as a girl, instead of showing care and respect for all the young women who just want to compete in a women’s sport.
For any Democratic leaning voters here, I think this one issue, which is a pillar of the far left, will be a bridge too fare for many voters on all sides of the political spectrum outside the far left.
I am what you would/might call an ultra leftist. Way past what Democrats are. To the degree that I will not vote for Democrats, because I don’t vote for capitalists, which is a far greater issue in my realm. I don’t agree at all with the Trans in sports issue, but I also don’t see it being an issue that is pushed. At least I have not seen it. I could be wrong, as I am not paying much attention to Kamala Harris.
I don’t think that issue is on the ballot. Seems like the sports commissions / leagues / governing bodies would be in charge of dealing with that. I’m not minimizing the hardship this has caused women athletes in the handful of cases where this has occurred, but in the grand scheme of things, it is a smaller issue. In light of all that was coming out of MSG this weekend, yes, I’m voting against those guys, and will deal with the trans-athlete issue at a later date.
I may stand corrected. It seems this is a pretty hard pushed idea. I did a bit of article surfing and there is a concerted effort to make this a thing.
Again, I don’t agree with this at all. There is a biological advantage for Trans women. There is, in my mind, no way around this.
I was unaware that Harris had made this an issue. It seems she has. Regardless, I don’t vote for Capitalism in any form. I wish people could see this is a greater issue. We are broke, we can’t afford healthcare. There needs to be an entire dismantling of the healthcare industry, and an outright end to the health insurance industry. I believe Capitalism to be the greatest evil of this nation. Secondary issues in my mind are irrelevant. Popular opinion will sort it out.
I have said it before, I will say it again, the cancel culture (and all that comes with it) is a loud minority that is quickly canceling itself out. The vast majority of people could care less about LGBTQ issues. Including all the LGBTQ I know. They just want to live out life doing their own thing. I have respect for that.
Side note, my governor in Colorado is Jared Polis, an openly gay man who most people do not judged here based on that, but rather his record which the state largely is happy with. He is a decent human being. I disagree with his policy on a lot of issues, but as a person, he has been a stellar at looking out for the best interest of his constituents. People have talked about him running for President some day. I would not vote for him, but hopefully he would not be judged on his sexual preference.
Josh, the outright racist crap I saw flying around this weekend made my blood boil.
How you doing man?
I live in a state where presidential elections have been decided by a 20k margin. At that level of parity, even marginal issues make a difference.
Hi Reuben,
I am totally ignorant on the topic of economics so I could use a little help in understanding your POV on capitalism.
Using my eye-doctor story above, you would be against corporations that make huge profits on places like my eye-doctor’s at the patients’ expense. Would you also be against, back in the olden times, an herbalist/ physician who prescribes some ointment and gets paid for his services, maybe with a chicken and a loaf of bread? I don’t think you would be adverse to someone making a living selling the shoes they make. It is the corporation aspect you disapprove of, the investing, the stocks and bonds, etc? And a pox on insurance companies. We have a little situation brewing over here that I won’t bore you with…
I myself have a romantic notion of the middle ages where a man and his family work at a trade, be it farming or baking, etc. This, as I say, is a romantic notion because all was not well in the middle ages, especially the feudalism aspect. If I am right in suspecting you might approve of a farmer earning some money selling his surplus crops but hate Agribiz, (I am speculating here), when does the line get crossed?
Anyway, this is not a hostile question. I might even agree with you if I understood what you mean.
All the best,
Xenia
Hey Xenia,
I am less strident than I used to be after the death of my wife. Priorities change when a major event like that has happened. I still have strong convictions, but they seem to mean less, if that makes sense. It focused my perception of the value of a human life though.
I believe that the healthcare industry profits off the suffering of humanity. We pay more and more for insurance that covers less and less, while the cost of that healthcare skyrockets, as well as the prescriptions we have to have to live with some sense of normality. This is an atrocity in my mind. Healthcare is a human right, damnit. I will not be convinced otherwise. This would be the greatest upheaval in America to dismantle that entire system. We pay taxes that do not go towards this. Those taxes should go towards this. Universal healthcare is my dream. Insurance companies should be outright outlawed.
I believe the working class of our nation is the single most important class there is, or ever will be. I believe the allocation of resources should be focused on them. Across the board. I believe in utter equality. No matter race, religion, orientation, “illegal alien” or not, it does not matter to me as long as you are a contributing factor in this society.
I believe that we are a terrorist state. We are aiding in a genocide as we speak, and I say that as an actual Israeli. This nation should be involved in precisely zero foreign conflicts. Two thirds of the spending on our military could be cut right now if we were done being the world police. Those resources belong to us. They can pay for a reorganized healthcare system.
Bailing out the richest people and corporations ends now. Nobody bails out the little man, and it should be the other way around. The engine blows and we can’t get to work, that is what should be bailed out. A people focused nation is my utopia.
I like your dream world. I’m not adverse to the doctor being paid. Enough to buy a Porsche and a 2 million dollar home? No. And people get mad at me for that, saying they went to school and worked hard to get there… but I believe education is a right as well. I get hate for this, but nobody needs to make millions of dollars. Everyone should be taxed the same for the benefit of everyone. I can get flamed for this one, but I believe the church should be taxed as well.
My political beliefs align mostly with Marxism. I have some differences.
I hope that helps. I know my views are not popular.
Reuben,
I agree with much of what you have written. Marxism seems to involve totalitarian governments which I don’t favor. And I have a different idea about “rights” although I understand (probably) what you are saying. But the general gist, your respect for the ordinary human, I appreciate.
I try to resist the Machine as best I can. In one very small trivial protest, I will not wear clothing that has the company’s logo plastered across the front. If they want me to advertise their sweatshirts they can pay me. I am not a walking advertisement.
I also, as best as I can, try to shop and the little Asian and Mexican grocery stores in town. I get my tortillas from a shop that makes them on the premises but even that is illusory because the masa they use comes from corn fields involved in agribiz. But at least I am helping the shop owners and not Safeway. So all my little protests don’t amount to anything other than making me feel virtuous.
So we have a plumbing problem at our house. We have plumbing insurance, featuring 24/7 emergency service. We call them and we write to them and even have an e-chat but it’s been 3 days and not a peep out of them. My husband needs a root canal but the insurance Co. and the 2 dentist offices involves are just passing electronic paperwork back and forth for months and act like they have no idea what my husband is talking about.
We all have stories like this, and there’s nothing more boring than listening to people complain about insurance problems. I completely agree with you, Reuben, about the evils of the insurance racket. How to dismantle it at this late stage is seems impossible.
Anyway, thank you for taking the time to answer my question.
-Xenia
Reuben,
I’m going to jump into your conversation and say that I think Marxism has some good and admirable ideals. I also think that Capitalism has some pitfalls, and I, too, despise in many ways health insurance companies and the industry as a whole.
However, I also have an honest question that is not meant to be a “gotchya”, but a truly curious one. Marxism has been implemented (or tried to be implemented) to different degrees in many different countries across the world. Yet to my knowledge, there has not been a case where Marxism was significantly implemented and the overall result was less suffering, more thriving, and more freedom of the people across the country. Am I missing any cases where we can say that Marxism is actually working well?
Xenia,
I have no delusions that my utopia will exist in America. I believe it will be dismantled by force. Economic collapse. We are in what I call End Stage Capitalism. This nation will collapse because it will not be able to pay for groceries, let alone medicine. When people can’t afford to pay for fuel to get the $70,000 truck they have to get to work, things will rapidly change. We are on the cusp of that now. It’s our own stupidity that will cause this.
Hey Kevin
We agree that it has never been successfully executed.
Kevin, Reuben can answer much better than I can but I think the usual answer is that Marxism was implemented in countries that weren’t ready for it yet. Marx thought capitalism had to go through some stages before it was ready for Communism and the USSR, Cuba, etc. never worked through the stages.
Reuben,
So I imagine where we disagree is that you likely think Marxism could still be successfully executed and the ideal would be to keep trying it until we get it right, while I think that Capitalism, with all its pitfalls, has shown to be the best system humans have ever come up with to cause the most overall sustained flourishing.
Both systems, or any governmental or economic system for that matter, are prone to fall short of their ideals due to human nature. I believe Marxism is even more prone than Capitalism. But I certainly hear you on the frustrations and indignancies of the headaches and injustices that Capitalism allows, if not even causes.
Xenia, that’s generally correct.
I think it’s also fair to point out that dictatorship does not exist in the manifesto. Admittedly, dictatorship is where failed attempts usually end. Moving on from that dictatorship usually fails too.
Kevin,
We agree that Capitalism causes injustice. Haha! That’s about it!
I believe Marxism happens through failure after failure to make a system based on greed to work. The backbone of a society, the working class has to be fed up till the point that it willingly and forcefully overthrows the system.
Not gonna happen in the US, as long as that $70,000 truck is the priority. That’s the problem with the working class here.
I’m 50 as well. I love mid to late 80s pop still and hair bands always. I still listen to them but in my old age I’ve taken to more folky kind of music with thoughtful lyrics (Josh Ritter, Drew Holcomb, Avett Bros and the like).
On the topic of economy, the problem with all the systems is that people are selfish and sinful. Capitalism could work but we are greedy and will take advantage of each other. Marxism could work but we are greedy and can’t be selfless enough to execute it, and our leaders are too corruptible for the government to oversee it. So here we are….
Chris,
I still dig the hair bands too.
Very succinct description of why systems don’t work.
Slight interjection as I have a serious question about something…went to Target today and was approached by someone looking for money for food…they were walking thru the parking lot. When I walked out the door of the store, there was a guy right there with a sign asking for money for milk. I usually assumed I was a caring person, but I acted like I always do and waved them off. I felt bad afterwards and thought that maybe I could have bought them some milk and food.
Any input? What do you all do, if you care to answer. I hope someone does answer. No flaming me.
I think my aversion to Marxism was influenced at a very early age by the reading assignment in elementary school of Animal Farm.
I also wonder if original sin has rendered as impossible any sort of pure Marxist economic model. Would it be off the mark to say that the earliest church sort of played with a form of Marxism, which was quickly shown to be impossible by the example of Ananias and Sapphira?
I have recently been broke and homeless. Random people helping me without my even asking was the hand of God. Period. It changed my perspective on a lot of things.
Granted, it was my own fault that I was broke and homeless, but the help came from seemingly nowhere nonetheless.
In all the cases, people shared that they were either drawn to help me, or they had been in my shoes and wanted to help.
I think I told this story once here. At least I told Michael. A random person walked up to me and offered me a cigarette, and I was really craving a cigarette. Just random acts like that showed me that God cared despite myself. It changed my entire view of everything.
Dan,
It’s always a tough call.
I don’t usually have any cash on me, but when I do, I try to do something…if enough people do something the need is met.
I don’t really care what they spend it on…if I was in that situation a little wine and a smoke would be helpful.
I don’t even care much if it’s scam…I care about my heart in front of the Lord.
Thanks Reuben and Michael. I really do appreciate the input. I had some thinking to do after the encounters, not just feeling bad, but also seeing where I was at economically and that I need to be thankful for what I have.
Happy National Cat Day Michael!