The Plight of the Sick

I have been sick for the past couple of days. It's been quite unpleasant really.

On Monday, when I started getting sick, I thought it was just my reproductive system trying to kill me as it does once a month. Normally I get really bad cramps and really bad migraines, but Monday I felt really really bad.

Tuesday I had about eight appointments that I didn't want to cancel. I was all dressed and heading out the door when I realized that was a bad idea. I didn't have a thermometer at that time to tell me how high my fever was, but later that day medicine brought it down to 100 which is still really high for me. Normally I'm about 97 degrees. So, into bed I went. I only came out of bed to go buy medicine and stop by Blockbuster for movies.

Wednesday, that's today, I called in sick again. I had fewer appointments but felt worse about canceling them because I wasn't sure how technically sick I was. I think I did legitimately still have a fever most of the day. I took me temperature a couple of times and it was above 99, which again, still pretty high for me.

Today I wasn't feeling as bad though, so I called the U of M School of Social Work and talked to their field placement lady who was very nice. I also got back on the compute which I hadn't done Monday or Tuesday, perhaps a record for me.

I had time to read Marianne Williamson's blog, which I always do. I tend to like what she has to say. We seem to be of similar minds. This week, in honor of Martin Luther King day, she had a quote from him. It was about how religion does have an obligation to push for social change. It's interesting that I have no problem when Dr. King invokes religion in the civil rights movement, and I have no problem when Gandhi did it in India. I guess I only have a problem with people who I disagree with invoking religion.

I think the difference is, Dr. King, and Gandhi and scores of others have used religion as an argument to treat people better. It upsets me when I see people use religion as an excuse to treat people worse. Religion is not an excuse to ostracize gays and lesbians, it's not an excuse to enslave women, and it's not an excuse to bomb abortion clinics.

One of the biggest things I remember from traveling around the world was the number of men in the market places of some countries. Women had to stay home all day. Sometimes they even had to cover their faces and stay home all day. There was no freedom of movement. No freedom to go out and buy bread. That's wild.

The bombing abortion clinics, that just goes right along with the death penalty. Killing people doesn't help, it doesn't heal the pain, it doesn't restore the victim. Killing people is an expression of hatred and anger. Sometimes, it's scarier to forgive. It's scarier to let ourselves be that weak, and feel that much pain. It's a much more permanent thing, and feels much better in the long run. Once someone has been put to death, say in the electric chair, they're dead. The victim is still gone. The family is still in pain. Forgiving someone must be the scariest thing anyone has ever done. It's no wonder why so few people actually get around to it. It's hard to see the value in an process with so much pain and sadness. But value there is.

And now we come to my favorite, why God hates gay people, or not. What an awful thing. It's the only form of discrimination that is still legalized in this country. Probably not the only form, but I think it will be the next to go. After that will probably be the stigma around released convicts, but that's a whole other thing. It's interesting that while some states are pushing to recognize some for of gay union, other states are pushing equally hard to outlaw it with amendments. Knee jerk reaction, I think.

It must be hard to be so close minded, not to see the value in having a diverse population in your state. There's value in making sure everyone is welcome, there's value in making sure everyone is equal and there's value in loving everyone.

These are the things I have had time to contemplate during my two sick days.