L' Shana Tova

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Walter Reed and Tea Party Wackos

According to Wikipedia:
Major Walter Reed, M.D., (September 13, 1851 – November 22, 1902) was a U.S. Army physician who in 1900 led the team that postulated and confirmed the theory that yellow fever is transmitted by a particular mosquito species, rather than by direct contact. This insight gave impetus to the new fields of epidemiology and biomedicine, and most immediately allowed the resumption and completion of work on the Panama Canal (1904–1914) by the United States. Reed followed work started by Carlos Finlay and directed by George Miller Sternberg ("first U.S. bacteriologist").

We closed the hospital that carries this man's name because the same hospital was allowed to deteriorate to the point where it could not be salvaged. I just heard on my local Fox News channel that its services will be incorporated into another hospital and the Dr. Reed's name added but still, is this what it comes down to in America? Are we so alien from our past that we fail to honor our real heroes in favor of remembering the name of all the "Real Housewives of New York"?

Walter Reed championed not only public health but the health of the warriors who kept this country and the world safe. His innovations and fights forced the government to provide proper care for our vets as well as the general public through things we take for granted, like street cleaning and water sanitization. Yet when his hospital namesake was allowed to grow mold and now to be sidelined, we say nothing. Another example of how our failure to appreciate history harms us all.
*****************
I am bracing myself to stay in a job I hate to be the only family member with a check. Because the Congress cannot agree with the President, my dad and my husband may not get the social security pay they are due. Many of you don't believe it is going to be this bad, that the threat is REALLY that serious. HELLO TEA PARTY FOLK - You know what? The crystal ball I have to predict the outcome of my therapy clients doesn't work and I would bet yours doesn't either. Even so, I don't want to take a chance on your psychic powers or your legend growing in your own mind. My people need their checks. If they don't come, will you cover our bills and the increased cost on my credit cards?

No comments:

Chad Kroeger's "Hero"

Jewish w/a British Accent - How Cool is That?

From Another Jewish Mother