The Daily Grasshopper

To me, one of the most depressing things about American culture is the way it encourages us to treat our elderly. If we notice them at all in this youth-obsessed society, it’s to deride them for being out of touch – as if most of us won’t be their age eventually. Nowhere in the world is there such contempt for senior citizens as you’ll find here in America. In what we would call “primitive” cultures, the elders enjoy the highest respect and authority, commensurate with their experience and wisdom. Here in the U.S.A., technologically advanced and backward in so many other ways, youth rules.

I got to thinking about this after reading a column in yesterday’s Boston Globe, written by Donald Murray. The column is called “Now and Then,” and it deals with issues that affect senior citizens. It’s buried in the Living/Arts section, but if you read anything today, read his column, “Imagining a patriotism that cares more for people.” It’s the sort of wisdom we’re not hearing these days from the more youthful “leaders” of our country:

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/007/living/Imagining_a_patriotism_that_cares_more_for_people+.shtml

Murray wasn’t the only Globe columnist worried about the rising cost of health care yesterday. There was also a column in the Business section by Charles Stein, “A recurring fiscal malady,” that concluded by saying “health costs have a way of pushing ever higher, despite the best laid plans of mice and men.” Thanks for the tip, Charles. You have a keen grasp of the obvious, as my father liked to say. The article is here, and is informative, despite the boneheaded conclusion:

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/007/business/A_recurring_fiscal_malady+.shtml

Because Stein writes for the Business section, he of course can’t mention the fact that in virtually every other industrialized country in the world there is a system of single-payer, universal health care. EVERYONE is covered. Because the insurance companies and Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) in this country lavish millions of dollars on our elected officials, we have been unable to move toward a more humane and efficient and less expensive delivery of medical care. Recent studies in Massachusetts (where a referendum to adopt a single-payer system was narrowly defeated after corporations outspent the proponents 30 to 1) indicate that as much as 30 percent of health care expense gets wasted on administrative red tape. Health care – its cost, its delivery, and who gets it – will continue to dominate our political lives in the years to come. Take a minute to read up on single-payer, universal health care at:

http://www.masscare.org/what.htm

If you’ve been reading these e-mails closely, you’ll know that I reserve my greatest contempt not for our elected officials – I know they’re useless, in most cases. It’s the media, whose job in a democratic society is to keep the citizenry informed, who are most responsible for the dire straits we find ourselves in today. Unfortunately, about 8 mega-corporations own just about every newspaper, magazine, and TV and cable station in the U.S., meaning that most of our news is anything but.

If Americans had a better sense of what was going on, we’d probably be more inclined to stop some of it. Instead, we get fat on a steady diet of reality TV, Sportscenter, and “The Bachelor.” But if you're one of the people who care about the health of our democracy, you should be concerned with the latest ruling by Michael Powell’s Federal Communications Commission, written about in an op-ed in yesterday’s New York Times. I’ll just give you the first sentence, and you can decide from there if you want to read it: “Without much notice, the federal government is moving toward the most sweeping change ever in the rules that govern ownership of the American news media.” Curious?

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/01/07/opinion/07KOVA.html

What’s really interesting, though it isn’t mentioned in the article, is that FCC Chairman Michael Powell is part of a political dynasty. He’s the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell. For a good article on Powell’s (the younger) work as chair of the FCC, and why it might pose a small conflict of interest, see our old friends at FAIR:

http://www.fair.org/extra/0109/powell.html

OK, that’s all for today. Hope you’re finding this interesting and informative. I know I am! Thanks for the positive feedback so far, and feel free to forward these messages.