The other day I was talking to a friend about whether or not people have a right to food, clothing, shelter
and medical care. My argument was that government exists primarily to
defend me from hostile international forces threatening my life and/or
liberty. Driving home Sunday evening I listened to a professor of sociology
explain his theory that American citizens in the 'have' category are against
nationalizing health care because they fear losing medical benefits
they currently have. My father currently falls into the 'have not'
category; his unemployment claim was rejected because his supervisor
asked for a letter of resignation when my dad told him he could no
longer perform his job related duties. Thursday night I asked my dad
if he would get his laundry together and pick up copies of his medical
records that I had ordered.
Friday morning I drove out to
see my dad. My plan had been to go to the park with the girls but rain
kept us indoors for most of the day.
Circumstances beyond my control had me running late Friday morning,
when I asked my dad about the medical records he told me he had
forgotten to get them. Saturday morning I went back over to my
dad's. I spent the rest of the weekend helping my brother and two of my
sisters establish order out of the chaos my father
feels comfortable living with. After going through my dad's retirement account I've determined
that he has less money than I'll earn this year to last him the rest of
his life. If we start withdrawing from his retirement plan early my dad
will incur a penalty. What happens after that money is gone is
something I would rather not be discussing with my dad since he doesn't
seem to understand how money works. Another thing I'm really not
looking forward to is taking away my dad's credit cards which he's been
using to finance purchases.
Strangely helping my dad has brought
me closer to my sisters. In the past familial support hasn't been
there for us. Now we're forming our own network of support and
I'm starting to see that my family does love and care about me even if
they don't know how to express that affection in a way that makes sense
to me. Earlier I argued against the government providing for people's
basic needs yet I am grateful for whatever social programs our family
can utilize. My dad has worked hard his entire life, he would still be
working if he had the strength of mind and body to do so. Right now
things are the way they are. Ranting won't change them and neither will
yelling. Action changes things which is the message I want to share
today. Act as an agent of change. Stay positive, keep motivated, force your conversations to be strategic and
move forward. It's better than
the alternatives.
***
Currently I have no idea what's
going to happen to my dad when he runs out of money or how we're going
to pay the bills he has. My dad doesn't understand how dire his situation is partially because my sister Susan
has offered to help offset some of his expenses which are not her
responsibility. None of this is our obligation, we have people around
us telling us to let our dad be but that's not the way any of us were
raised. Thankfully my sister Beth has access to people familiar with goverment systems. I'm glad I have financial experience
and I'm glad my dad is being as cooperative as he is. That may not
sound like much but through this I've noticed that maintaining a
good attitude is vital. No matter how bad things are a bad attitude
makes everything worse. I can't do anything about most of this but I
can support others by not complaining about what I've been asked to do
regardless of how much it
sucks.