Comfort The Afflicted & Afflict The Comfortable

Not that I would mind paying John McCain’s plan for an estate tax that kicks in with estates valued at $5 million dollars, I will settle for the Obama plan that kicks in at $3.5 million dollars. Imagine that, being taxed on inheritances for that portion of hte inheritance that is over $3.5 million.

Right now I can only dream of having or inheriting that much money, but dang, if I had that much, I think the Patriotic thing to do would be to support Barack Obama’s Estate Tax, after all, I have been so blessed by living in the US and the taxes I pay go to things like the Veterans Administration which provides medical care for our veterans, and the National Archives where the Constitution is stored, and the Firefighters who protect all of us.

Yes, I would love to be in a position whereby I am afflicted with the “Death Tax” so that part of my legacy is providing comfort to others!

And how I practice. When my patients are too comfortable, I try to help them find discomfort in continuing the status quo. When they’re suffering, I try to help them find solace.

Oh how in this age of legalism we tend to forget that just because something is the law does not make it right.

On this day of rememberance, we must remember the lessons that too many of us have forgotten.

Church Cancels Memorial for Gay Navy Vet

By ANGELA K. BROWN
The Associated Press
Saturday, August 11, 2007; 5:45 AM

ARLINGTON, Texas—A megachurch canceled a memorial service for a Navy veteran 24 hours before it was to start because the deceased was gay.

Officials at the nondenominational High Point Church knew that Cecil Howard Sinclair was gay when they offered to host his service, said his sister, Kathleen Wright. But after his obituary listed his life partner as one of his survivors, she said, it was called off.

I’m from Maryland, I’ve been down to New Orleans three times since Katrina, and I’m moving down to New Orleans in August. Every time I come home I feel like a broken record. Many people around here don’t seem to understand how much work remains to be done even 18 months later. You have to see it to believe it. If you can’t get down there, watch When the Levees Broke. Brace yourself. It’s not easy to watch, but it’s important that you realize that just because it’s not on the news all time anymore doesn’t mean we can forget about it.

It’s also important to know that good things are happening. Mardi Gras, music that seems to spontaneously break out in the Quarter, outrageously delicious food, and, most importantly, rebuilding.

But what am I talking for? It’s not my story to tell, and you have to experience it for yourself.

If you want to comfort the afflicted, come and volunteer in New Orleans and be willing to listen to the survivor stories. Prepare and serve hot meals and eat them with the residents. Gut houses. Build houses. Unload what feels like a metric ton of orange juice off a truck in the Lower 9th Ward. Do what needs to be done.

If you want to afflict the comforted, tell as many people as you can back home about what the Gulf Coast still looks like. The good and the bad. Better yet, by telling your stories get someone to come with you the next time.

Nothing like looking a patient in the eye and telling that person that you just reviewed their chart and said to yourself that this is a hopeless case and you wonder why your wasting your time on it.

(I’m not cruel – I was following a deep instinct and an insistent inner voice – and being brutally honest, something I don’t usually have the courage to do)

Comforting the Afflicted

This got the patient’s attention. I then proceeded to explain that this was the good news. The patient was now looking quite confused.

I read the first line of the forward to the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous: “We of Alcoholics Anonymous are more than one hundred men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.”

We then went on to have quite a conversation – mostly with me telling stories about my own struggles with addiction. For that hour we connected.

I found this a while back. I guess this goes with the “afflict the comfortable” part of this goal.

It’s refreshing to see that someone is starting to get Congress to wake up and stop enjoying some of their silly perks. I especially like her idea of ‘leading by example.’

Pelosi, D-California, announced Wednesday that effective immediately, House members would no longer be able to light up in the ornate Speaker’s Lobby off the House floor where lawmakers mingle during votes.

“The days of smoke-filled rooms in the United States Capitol are over,” Pelosi said. “Medical science has unquestionably established the dangerous effects of secondhand smoke, including an increased risk of cancer and respiratory diseases. I am a firm believer that Congress should lead by example.”

I just saw an article that referred to this new Congress in the US as the “Consumers Congress” as opposed to the ‘corporate congress’ of the past several years.

Perhaps Nancy and friends have adopted this goal without our even knowing.