Health Care freshmen

Back when I taught Freshmen toward the end of my career, I used to give them a little blackboard (the use of that word alone tells you how antiquated I am) quiz at the beginning of the term. I would write ten words on the board - simple words like "Denver," "Politics," "Friendship," etc. My students simply had to copy the ten words correctly with no mistakes to earn an A. In my final two years of teaching Freshman, I never had a student earn an A on that quiz! I am not exaggerating. After seeing the results of my little test, I adjusted my lesson plans and goals accordingly and pushed on.


I share this anecdote because I fear that our entire country is being taken over by my ninth graders. No one listens. No one reads. No one can concentrate on any one thing for longer than an eye blink.


How else do you explain the growing anger over health care and bank bailouts and Obama's citizenship and his alleged affilliation with communism, socialism and fascism all at the same time. (News flash: those three terms are mutually exclusive. Didn't anyone pay attention during social studies classes?) I was reading a piece in Sunday's New York Times about populist rage in New Hampshire. They obviously hadn't heard or read a word that was uttered by the administration about the reforms. They were still worried about Death Panels. They still wanted government to keep its hands off Medicare!!!!! They wanted to be able to keep the insurance they already had. They were furious that their taxes would go up by as much as 75%.


In other words, they were reacting to the proposed reforms the same way my freshmen used to react to any new explanation. They simply ignored it and continued to believe whatever they wanted to believe, or to believe whatever the most popular person in class (read: Sarah Palin) told them to believe. I got the impression that I could take any of these New Hamshirites by the collar, force them to listen to me read the FACTS about reform, make them repeat the reforms I just read, give them a test about the reforms, and the next day all would be forgotten and they would back on the streets yelling about Death Panels.


I guess that is why I kind of envy right-wing conservatives. They get to believe anything they want.


I have to admit that I'm getting a little worried about myself. At the height of the presidential campaign I started hating all of those people who were believing the claptrap generated by Fox News and talk radio ranters. I was so relieved when Obama won because I thought I could go back to normal and stop hating right-wingers and other stupid people. But no! The talk has become even more poisonous and delusional and I find myself hating people again and saying things that are mean spirited.


For example, I was sitting in the hot tub at the Y with a bunch of naked republicans after the Massachusetts debacle. They were giving me a hard time about what they considered the certain death of the democratic party. Normally, I would just laugh it off and join in the repartee. Instead I made the following comment: "I've decided to start thinking like a conservative. You know, I've got great health insurance, a steady income, and if the defeat of Obama's health reform means that some poor slobs get coverage denied, or that 40 million individuals are without health care, well fuck'em. I mean that's how you guys think isn't it?"


The group's reaction to my liberal outburst was a collective gasp, partly because I spoke the truth and partly because people aren't supposed to say words like fuck in the YMCA (Remember our motto at the Y: Clean mind, clean body. Take your pick.)


I'm going to try a prolonged fast from the news. I figure it is the only way I can be nice to folks again.