A note from a loser. Or is it moocher?

Oh goody, it’s “redetermination” time again! Those who rely, for any reason, on government assistance programs know what that portends. Essentially, it means the annual ceding of your dignity and relevance as a human being, necessarily delivering it into the hands of some anonymous entity whose designated purpose is limited to dotting the i and crossing the t. In their pursuit of their laughably misidentified “fiscal” responsibility Republicans have been relentless in their efforts to strip any vestiges of dignity from the disabled and anyone else suffering the kinds of hardship that compel requests for assistance; to that end, Republicans have labeled us “losers and moochers”, in direct opposition to the scriptural references they gleefully misinterpret as justification for their demeaning actions against the unfortunate.

There is no corner of your life to which you can deny their eyes. If they knock, you have to let them in. Accompanying the pages of forms that must be filled out is one entitled “Notice of Privacy Practices”, which is actually a full-page small font listing of all the persons and agencies with whom they are free to share your most personal details; at the bottom of that page is this gem: “We may share your health information to authorized federal officials for activities related to national security and special investigations.” And regardless of the hardship that drives your circumstances, you MUST sign that permission. This is where congressional Republicans’ “compassionate conservatism” has brought us.

Here’s a thought: Instead of the insulting “Make America Great Again”, how about we all work together to “Let America Care Again”. It would be more in keeping with who we say we are.



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