Color me clueless, but ...

Are you as astonished as I am that a small percentage of people kept their kids out of school today rather than let them hear the President speak? I mean: what could they possibly have feared he would say that it was so vital their children be “protected” from on the first day of classes?

Likewise with the whole health care reform flap. Is it my imagination, or are the most vocal and demonstrative protesters the very people the reforms would assist most? For the life of me, I can’t understand why people are so resistant to a reform that would change their lives for the better.

Yes, I understand the counterarguments, especially the concern that it might be a hassle to get certain forms of highly specialized treatments under socialized medicine. But how is it that the nay-sayers don’t see that those treatments are beyond their means NOW?

It’s scary to me that a certain swath of Americans apparently accepts outright mendacity uncritically – like the death panel business, most conspicuously. Our legislators have tried endlessly to point out that no such provisions exist in the reform proposals, but it doesn’t seem to matter; some people have decided they trust certain sources more than the actual content those sources deliver. Astonishing.

The whole business has made me realize, as never before, how important media literacy is. And I’m very encouraged that Oregon Children’s Theatre is creating and then touring a stage piece that will encourage young people to bring a critical intelligence to input from all media sources, including TV, Facebook, etc. This is thanks to major financial and moral support from Kaiser Foundation. Props to them both.

Meanwhile … I suppose anything I place on this blog is preaching to the converted, but just in case anyone’s still wondering why health care reform is even necessary, here’s a pithy recap of the issues. Megan Kahrs, thanks for sharing this!