Why do I let it bother me?

It is early Sunday evening, March 21, 2010.  Healthcare reform is about to be voted in.  I have been popping in at www.huffingtonpost.com every once in a while to see the daily news.  Of course the majority of it is about the healthcare bill.  I will be so happy to see this done and over with.  While I would have prefered a public option or even better, a single payer system, this is better than nothing.  At the very least, my son with a chronic illness will have some options if we are to ever afford health insurance for the family before the subsidies kick in, or he ages out of the system.  That, as a parent of a child already dealing with numerous health issues, is a huge weight off my shoulders.  I worry for my son.  He will already have so much to deal with, I can't imagine having the worries of how he will sustain his own life.

But this goes beyond my son with a chronic illness.  I would like insurance too.  I am in my mid 30s and I feel the pressure to have insurance.  Maybe we would qualify for medicaid based on our current income, I don't know.  But see, just because I am poor, it doesn't mean I go looking for all the assistance I can find.  I look for what I need, what my children need.  Yet I see so many of my friends and family making assumptions about "the poor" in such broud sweeping strokes.  If I speak up I hear the "your the exception to the rule".  But am I?  I think I am just like a lot of struggling families out there.  Because you "know me" then I am the exception?  Are you really that short sighted?  Can you not put yourself in anyone else's shoes and feel their struggle?

I really don't know why this bothers me so deeply.  Yet, I am proud to say that it bothers me.  I have a heart.  I care about others, not just myself.  I have seen bad things happen to good people.  I know that those bad things can happen to me and I know they can happen to you.  Part of me just wants to scream and tell the world of my own personal troubles, to shine the light on the truth and say, "Hey, you are talking about ME!" when you make those statements.

So while I can enjoy friendships with people with different beliefs from my own, I can't tolerate ignorance and self superiority.  I enjoy friendships with people from so many walks of life and representing many races and religions.  I benefit from them and I hope they benefit from me.  But when your words are words of ignorance and hate then I have to question your character.  When character comes into question, for me, it is a deal breaker.