Brown Cross/ Black Shield: Why minorities should scream louder in the healthcare debate.

As I walked down the street of a neighborhood in Hartford, CT, I saw a familiar face. It was that of a good friend of mine and he had a very troubled look on his face as I approached. After we exchanged pleasantries, he asked me; “Isn’t your sister a doctor”? I proudly said “Yes she is”. “You think she can give me a check-up”, he said, “I have not been to the doctor in 10 years, I can’t afford it”.

The healthcare debate has seen ugly ups and downs in this past year. From violent town hall meetings to free goodwill healthcare clinics across the country, it is clear that we are on the edge of a major shift in the way we do healthcare. The streets of Washington D.C. were filled with Tea Party members, protesting big government and angry over the debt that “President Obama has put us in” (It should be noted that Obama just passed his first budget and he did not even propose the TARP). Here some had angry picket signs, some of which had severe racial overtones expressing their anger over spending and claiming that the new healthcare will bring so called “death panels”. But where are all the minorities in all of this?

It can be argued that minorities stand the most to gain and lose in the healthcare debate. Pay attention to the following statistics:

· More than one in three Hispanics and Native Americans – and just under one in five African Americans – are uninsured. While only about one in eight Whites lacks health insurance.

· Generally, people who do not have access to a usual source of primary preventive health care are more likely to end up in the emergency department or in the hospital. African Americans use the emergency department at rate that is twice that of Whites.

· Twenty percent of low-income Hispanic youth have gone a year without a health care visit – a rate three times higher than that for high-income Whites.

· Asian Americans, African Americans, and Hispanics all reported having poor communications with their doctor more often than Whites. For Asians Americans, the gap has increased over time.

All of these areas can and will be improved by the suggested legislation. So you may ask why minorities are not marching on Washington arm in arm? You may ask why minorities are not at voting drives trying to get people out to vote? There are no answers to these questions. Instead there is fighting on both sides over other issues which have manifested itself into this fight.

First what is needed is reform. As the law currently stands you can pay your insurance premiums every month and get sick and be dropped by you insurance company. A broken arm as a child could lead to being rejected from an insurance policy as an adult. As the law is now all of the statistics will remain the same or may even get worse. Under the current law there is not an emphasis on fitness and wellness. There is nothing. Second, we need to build upon the proposed new law once it is adopted. Let this healthcare reform be among the first steps to creating a healthier America.

In the end healthy people make better decisions. Increased health leads to lower insurance premiums. Reform will lower employer healthcare expenses (Most people don’t realize that over the last 10 years the employer portion of your health insurance may have increased four times). We can have the opportunity to lower incidences of disease. To helping more kids survive. Regulate the companies which have been denying us when we need them. You may ask yourself why this debate or legislation is only now starting. We needed decades ago.

Do you think minorities deserve good healthcare?

Do you have a problem with insurance?

How much of the issue do you think is because of race?

Patriotism: Dixie Chicks to Rush

This last month has brought a whirlwind of political activity. Bipartisanship as concept has taken a beating. But once again the news of the day has caused us to redefine what we call “Patriotism”. Let’s first go back a few years. In 2003, one of the hottest music groups on the planet regardless of genre the Dixie Chicks, made the following statement while traveling abroad, “Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas”. The result was magnificent. They were black listed, ridiculed, called un-American, and label “un-patriotic”. Many pointed to freedom of speech, while others said such comments were wrong. How do the recent events compare to these words?

It was January 25, 2009 and the newly minted President Obama began a serious of daily meetings with the American people and press. Though President Obama inherited one of the worst economic periods in world history, he has made swift and decisive moves since coming into office. In light of these efforts, what was the response by Rush Limbaugh, conservative talk show host? “I hope he fails”, said Limbaugh. I hope he fails? Is not expressing that you hope the new president fails the same as hoping your country fails? In order for a president to fail so must the well being of the country in which he or she presides over. Whether this failing be economic, socially, or morally it is a failing that would have a negative impact on the masses. Where are those who criticized the Dixie Chicks? Where are those who burned albums, canceled shows, and refused to play their music on the radio? I smell hypocrisy.

Questions:

1. Is Rush Limbaugh Patriotic?

2. Why do you think Bi-partisanship is not working?

3. What do you think about the Dixie Chicks now?

Rick Warren, LGBT, and Obama: A walk in the middle

This blog has taken me weeks to write. The reason why is that this topic treads on deep and divisive waters. This topic is one where I depart from my spiritual upbringing and defer to my constitutional upbringing. Being that as it may I must say that my spiritual teachings have taught me not support gay marriages. However, constitutionally I believe civil unions are just and should be defined and regulated by the individual states. Accepting people for what they are instead of what they do is a lesson that many should learn. Either way most of us believe that “all have fallen short” however, the bible is clear in its views on homosexuality. The bible is also clear about other sins that we typically overlook. Either way this is not a biblical blog.

The center of concern at hand is that the LGBT community is outraged by the selection of Rick Warren to give the prayer of invocation at the Presidential Inauguration. The groups feel betrayed by Obama, because Obama‘s pledged support for many of their causes. Warren has always been very critical of the LGBT communities. But is that not his job as a minister of the gospel? I think the problem I have is that some point to the fact that if someone was this outspoken against African-Americans, that African-Americans would be have been up in arms protesting their selection to pray at the inauguration. Is it a sin to be black? Let me answer that. For centuries there was a widely misunderstood text in Genesis that purported that Noah cursed his son Ham. Ham is known as the father of those of African decent. But a closer look at the bible shows that Noah actually cursed Canaan (Genesis 9:25) and as we know the Canaanites were wiped out. So using this text to justify black servitude was wrong, misquoted, misguided and sinister to say the least. There is no mistaking the bible's feelings toward the lifestyles presented in the LGBT communities. The argument that they do have constitutionally granted rights is correct and I encourage them to continue argue with their local states for those rights and recognition. We as americans should assist them in that arguement. I do believe that everyone in this country regardless of sexual orientation should be afforded the same civil rights. I also support a separation of church and state. A better argument would be that there should be no invocation prayer rather than an argument on the philosophies of the deliverer of the prayer.

The selection of Rick Warren is Obama’s attempt to walk in the middle and to bring both sides of the aisle in. It is brilliant. During the dual interview with McCain and Obama it was clear that the crowd was pro McCain and anti Obama. Let’s put this in perspective it is the equivalent of McCain winning the election and asking Al Sharpton to offer the prayer of invocation. That would never happen. So people should look at the gesture for what it is an effort to bring both sides together, unify the country and show both sides that there is some common ground.

What do you think?

What can “Brown” do for you?

Lost in the shuffle of all of the political news of the past weeks has been the immigration debate. I assume the immigration debate will disappear every election year. The issue is that we as Americans have been systematically programmed to believe that all immigration issues involve those persons of Hispanic or Latino decent. The Hispanic/Latino vote was the deciding factor in the most recent elections. Now that the Hispanic or Latino population has been declared one voice regardless of their geographic origin (which is ignorant I must add), a political issue for both Democrats and Republicans going forward will be how to court their vote.

Interestingly enough Latinos, specifically Mexicans have gained a great deal of economic clout in recent years. 20 years ago there were no Mexicans in the list of the 100 richest people in the world. Now there are many very wealthy Mexicans. The bottom line is Hispanics or Latinos have become the scapegoats for immigration reform, rather than the powers that be dealing with the flaws in the immigration system which effect people of all nationalities. The immigration system is inefficient, complicated, and expensive. We are falling away from the organized and cogent regulation in which our country was founded upon.

However, Mexico is marketed by both extremes as a country that can’t wait to cross the border to the “City on the Hill”. We Americans should not be so egotistical. America should focus its energies in helping Mexico become economically stronger. This does not involve sending American jobs to Mexico or opening up the borders it involves us Americans swallowing our pride and creating other cities on other hills. Hispanics and Latinos are not the only people in this country who at times may be here illegally. Mexicans are not the problem they just have the ability to walk over the border. How many issue do we report of Canadians running over the border. None. After all aren’t we a country of immigrants (See the Mayflower)?

Questions
1. Which immigration reforms do you feel the Obama administration should make?
2. Should America first rebuilt its own infrastructure then turn these skills into our main industry and service offering to the world (i.e. disaster recovery).
3. What role do you think Latinos or Hispanics will hold in the future of American politics?

Did Racism End November 4th?

This week’s topic deals with the discussion that has taken place since the election of the 44th President. As I watched CNN on election night I must admit that some of the commentaries actually shocked me. I actually heard a Caucasian man say that now there are no excuses for young black people. He then went on to say that for years he has heard whispers of “the deck being stacked” against black people, and now that Barack Obama has been elected it proves that those days are over.

What?

Last week, aol.com had a column which had the ten most racist Obama moments. This column had everything from nooses to school children chanting racist demonstrative messages. There are still constant physical threats to Obama from various groups because of his race. We also witnessed November 5, 2008 becoming one of the highest days for gun sales in recorded history.

This week’s blog is not about public reaction to the election. The issue is about getting everyone back into reality. Let’s look at the facts again. The Obama-Biden ticket was clearly the stronger of the two major tickets. I must admit that some people did vote for historical reasons; however the bottom line is that the state of the economy and the last eight years signaled doomsday for the ruling party. Obama did not get elected because there is no racism in America. Obama was elected because he presented a perfect storm for the Democratic Party. President – Elect Obama ran a campaign which mirrored Obama himself in its intelligence, organization and discipline. These pillars will become a case study in how to run an effective campaign. But I am not convinced that race is still not a major issue in this country.

The question most people need to ask themselves is if Obama was white would the election have been so close? I think the answer says a lot about race. People compare Obama to Jackie Robinson. I think the comparison is fair even though one deals with athletic abilities and the other intellect. But for comparison sake it is fair given that public opinion then was that blacks were not intelligent enough to play baseball. But comparatively Robinson was as extraordinary in athletics as Obama is extraordinary in politics. Combined with extraordinary oratory and extreme intellectual ability Obama is a head and shoulders above many of his peers. These abilities propelled him into the presidency, not the end of racism.

Why do black people have to be extraordinary to break barriers?

Race issues are difficult to deal with. More importantly dealing with these issues requires more than declaring racism to be over. Some of our race issues as a country may dwindle away as people see that Obama outperforms public expectation, just as Robinson once did. However, this does not mean that black people will no longer be victims of backroom hiring deals, racial profiling, and court sentencing disparities. In fact, we as a nation will need to do some painful soul searching as a country, in order to see the real areas where some races are victimized while others are not if we truly want to ever be united.

In short, I don’t think most black people are riddled with excuses, some do have valid reasons. For every Barack Obama there are hundreds of kids who had similar drive, passion, and maybe intelligence that were missing one key component, opportunity. So as we optimistically enter the next four years (hopefully eight years) lets be joyful for the progress that we have made as a country, but realize that in the grand scheme of race relations we have a long, long way to go.

What are your thoughts?

Obama Wins Historic Election

My first Post is dedicated to the electrifying events of this past week. For all of you who have been a sleep this week President-elect Barack Obama won the election and won quite handily. This election ushered in a new day in America, as many African-Americans have long felt disenfranchised due to the way they have been treated by the majority. I have the privilege of dedicating this blog to Mr. Obama and his campaign staff for running a masterful campaign.

I sat on my couch and refused to leave the front of the television that night. I was entranced by the fulfillment of a mission that I felt that I was intrinsically a part of. I watched as the world rejoiced in the selection of the Obama-Biden ticket. I watched celebrations in Germany being as wild as celebrations in Kenya. I then said to myself, “Why would someone not want this to happen”. Are we so stuck in world partisan choices that people can’t do what is best for their country? Well I assume many will argue that McCain was a better pick and that his experience would have been what was needed. But do you think that experience can conquer love? I think we will always have enemies but we need to be loved. The love and adoration of the U.S. by the world has been a staple in our rise to power.

I pose the next few questions to my readers:
1. Whether or not you are a minority and regardless of your party affiliation, how did you feel election night?
2. How do you grade the Obama campaign?
3. Do you think the media was unfair to Sarah Palin?
4. What do you think of John McCain?