Am I Special?

many would say yes

I am an opinion writer. I comment on issues I feel are very important to me and hopefully to others. I am retired USAF, an educator, training specialist, and poet. Streams of Reluctant Consciousness to follow.

What makes me special? Am I really different from anybody else? Is there a special class of humans to which I belong, someone who deserves more or less than someone else?

Many would say that I am in a special class of entitlements, one that deserves special treatment.

One group may say, “He’s a veteran, he’s earned those benefits.”

Another might say, “He’s always been just a tad bit different.” Don’t listen to them, I’m feeling much better now.

The next might say, “He think’s he’s special because of that hat.”

You never know what people are thinking. If you did, it would make it a lot easier to finish people’s sentences.

Am I special? Am I really different from everybody else? Is it simply because I am a retired veteran of the United States military?

You see, my status on the rung of human existence entitles me to free healthcare through the VA. Now that I’m 65, I have both MediCare and Tri-Care for Life. These are outstanding benefits or “entitlements,” and you know what, the medical coverage and first rate care I receive, together, amounts to free healthcare. I’m charged a dollar or two for something prescribed outside of the VA’s list of approved medications, but TriCare for Life pays the balance.

But, without this special classification, I would be homeless. I couldn’t possibly pay for all the procedures I have undergone. I have 28 screws holding my spine together, a new hip and another needed, one stint, and another on the way. I spent nine weeks in hospital after a serious stroke and I’ve been in physical, occupational, and speech therapies for five years. I don’t owe a dime for any of it.

Before my medical retirement, I earned enough to pay my medical insurance, but I still had premiums, copays, and deductibles, that took months for me to pay back.

Depending on what kind of coverage I would need now without my “entitlements,” Advantage Plan premiums could double my MediCare premium. And anything after $10,000 a year in bills, I’d be screwed! I couldn’t pay for another hip or extended hospital stay. It is no wonder why some in my family can’t afford dental or vision insurance on top of medical insurance. It’s no mystery why the homeless have no homes. They can’t pay their medical bills or their stay in treatment facilities without insurance.

My sister for example, even with MediCare and an Advantage plan, was discharged from the hospital for double pneumonia because her coverage was used up. She had to be hospitalized three more times, and she STILL didn’t get the care she needed because she needed care NOT covered by her insurance. Today she has 10s of thousands of unpaid doctor and hospital bills. She receives less than $2000 a month in disability and most of it goes for premiums that don’t even cover all her needs for CKD, diabetes, CHF, and serious arthritic conditions. Sissy now lives with me or she would be dead thanks to “conservatives” who want to “save tax dollars” while they drive the deficit beyond imagination all the while enriching themselves sucking at the teat of the Oli’s money fountain.

Now, the benefits I receive don’t cover my dental or vision visits (which are quite expensive). I do have to pay my dental and vision premiums, but I claim all those expenses including any vision or dental out of pocket on my tax return. I consider my dental and vision expenses including mileage as a savings account that I cash in at tax time. I pay what I can until the tax return comes and I pay it off. So, the federal government virtually pays for all of my health care needs.

So again, let me ask you a question. What makes me so special?

Maybe my fundamental values snuck in under my mandatory childhood training (brainwashing), but Thomas Paine’s work was there to be learned. I believe Thomas Paine. I’m no different than any other human being.

Key Quotes and Ideas on Equality by Thomas Paine:

• “For all men being originally equals, no one by birth could have a right to set up his own family in perpetual preference to all others for ever...” (Common Sense, Shortform).

• “Every history of the creation...all agree in establishing one point, the unity of man; by which I mean that men are all of one degree, and consequently that all men are born equal, and with equal natural right...” (Goodreads).

• “I believe in the equality of man; and I believe that religious duties consist in doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow-creatures happy.” (thomaspaine.us).

• “The World is my country, all mankind are my brethren, and to do good is my religion.” (Facebook).

I’m just a human being. Sure I served in the military. I put my hand up and read the oath, and I believe it too. I also believe that humans regardless of any artificial stratum they may occupy deserve the same care this human has a right to enjoy. The Constitution wasn’t meant to be a mission statement. It is the law. The basic principles of the law are stated in the Preamble and the Declaration of Independence.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America".

The Declaration of Independence, while not a law per-say, is well…self-evident!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

We’re all equal. Duh. No one deserves to be classified and then have to meet some needless qualification to receive benefits that we all should get by right.

One more example: My neighbor, he’s not military. He’s got a good job. But, you know what, he lives in a house that’s probably half the size it could be because he has to pay for massive health insurance premiums, deductibles, and copays. And taxes? (And taxes, so many taxes. That’s a topic for another screed.)

And yet, I’m better than him because I get to have virtually free healthcare. Ain’t that wonderful? It’s f****** awesome, ... for me. But what makes me different from my neighbor? Nothing. He is a man just like me supporting a family with children. They both work and try to achieve the American Dream, a safe, secure, and healthy environment for their children to enjoy and a growing investment in the family home.

These three Articles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights stood out for me. Check all of them out sometime.

https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/universal-declaration-of-human-rights/

Article 23

Everyone has the right to work, to equal pay, to protection against unemployment and the right to form and join trade unions.

Article 24

Everyone has the right to rest and leisure.

Article 25

Everyone has the right to a decent standard of living, including food, clothing, housing, medical care and social services.

Yep. I have a very, very nice pension because of the healthcare. But healthcare is a human thing. I’m no different than anybody else that’s human. I go to doctors for human conditions. My neighbors go to doctors for human conditions where there is no difference between us. If I’m entitled to virtually universal healthcare, we are all entitled to virtually universal healthcare.

I represent millions of veterans who are eligible for the same kind of free healthcare, universal healthcare in practicality. We look at our aunt’s, uncle’s nephews, neighbors, pastors and wondered if they have the same kind of rich healthcare that we have. That’s a question that needs to be taken up seriously. Why wouldn’t they?

Enough, already. A revolution is needed in Congress. The people need equal rights in everything, especially healthcare. Members of Congress are entitled to the best insurance offered under Federal plans, and we know they are NOT special. The tax monies wasted on tax refunds to medical facilities for unpaid services could be converted to PAYING the providers. In the richest country in the world, there is no money to keep the people healthy? I’m not stupid (maybe a bit special), the cost to provide quality healthcare to the people is astronomical. But, so are wars fought for NO return on investment, only irrecoverable losses of life and treasure. We have to hire real problem solvers who can turn their mouths away from the teats of the oligarchs. The Oli’s threaten to leave the country if they have to pay their share of taxes. OK. Get the fuck out and see how much money you’ll make when you and your goods and services are forbidden in the US. Keep dreaming, right? It could happen. There are thousands of legit competitors to innovate and develop products and services to meet our needs, especially if the Oli’s lose all of the market advantages they pay for in bribes to the regime and its minions.

I don’t believe in the concept of “fair,” but I do believe that humans are worth sacrificing a few of our billions to support the very basis of the Oli’s wealth, The People.

In my opinion, and that’s all I claim to do here, I receive what everybody should have by right, virtually universal healthcare. I don’t have to worry about anything. Tri-Care for Life and my Federal Dental and Vision insurance plans (FEDVIP) save me from catastrophic health expenses.

Imagine a world where the dying poor aren’t huddled into emergency rooms because they can’t afford a doctor, let alone the insurance needed to keep one. The poor are desperate for help.

Oh, how our hearts are hardened to the misery perpetuated by the greedy mother fuckers holding us down with their fascist boots.