I
truly hope this rant finds you
safe and well as autumn begins. I know most of you are aware that
the United States is a nation is in serious peril. “The Great Free
Market”, as we know it, has finally come home to roost and our
economy is collapsing. The idea that we can live as a consumer based
economy has been exposed for the illusion it has always been.
In reality, once upon a time, we
were led to believe we could base the greatness of our country on
how much money we could borrow, and then, spend. Well, guess what?
The time has come for us to wake up from that dream. Those days are
over.
The recent 840 billion dollar
bailout is only the beginning of many more bailouts. So fasten your
seat belts, we’re in for a bumpy ride! In the last two weeks, the
United States government has loaned 1.2 trillion of American tax
dollars to our banks, insurance companies, and mortgage lenders
which unfortunately means that you and I will be unable to borrow
money for any real emergency, for quite some time to come. Please, I
implore you: get out of debt as quickly as you can. The national
debt, we now have, will be passed on to our children, our
grandchildren and our great-grandchildren. We are right in the
middle of an unholy mess!
Moving along…I believe one of the most important issues we must
face, in light of our overwhelming economic challenges, is to take
an honest and moral look at where we are and what it means to be an
American.
The most shameful part of
all this is how we have allowed ourselves to live over the last 42
years. Having gone from a savings based economy to a consumer based
economy we have literally lost our way. However, it’s not just
financially that we’ve failed – we have also failed in our spiritual
responsibility to our country, ourselves, our parents, our children,
and by default, to all humanity.
As you may know, I spend a great deal of my time dealing with the
intricacies of end-of-life care issues. So, with this in mind, I’d
like to share with you a few statistics: The Department of Health
and Human Services studied nursing homes from 2005 to 2007. The
findings of the study concluded that for-profit nursing homes had a
93.5% deficiency rating in healthcare services. The government
managed nursing homes had a 95% deficiency rating. The non-profit
nursing homes earned an 88.4% deficiency rating. What this means is
that the quality of continuity of care for our parents and
grandparents in nursing homes is grossly substandard – often to the
point their very lives are at risk.
Friends, it is an understatement for me to say we have been remiss.
We’ve looked the other way while those who fought for our freedom,
built our country into the greatest nation ever known while taking
care of us, from diapers to adulthood, are now being beaten and
neglected in facilities supposedly erected to protect them. If we
allow this to continue, we not only setting ourselves up for a
mighty fall, we absolutely deserve to have it happen!
Our country can only be as strong, as durable, as the moral fiber of
its citizens. What we have here is a shameful and devastating moral
dilemma of unprecedented proportion.
Please care enough to contact
your local nursing homes to find out their deficiency rating.
Volunteer any time you have available at a nearby nursing home in
order to observe and improve the quality of care being afforded our
moms and dads, neighbors and veterans. Their lives were spent
contributing greatness to this nation. Therefore, as they leave this
world, their greatness deserves to be honored with dignity and
tender loving care. Oh, and don’t forget – we’re next in line!
You know, I have been dead so many times that I tend to view life from a slightly different perspective than most people. Some things that outwardly appear to be serious are not, in my opinion. While other things that do not appear serious, really are to me. The saying
"That ain't nothin'" became one of my catch phrases after a man pulled a knife on a friend and me one night, years ago. The knife terrified my friend. But after all I have been through in my life, a little pocket knife wasn't worrying me. I looked at the guy, looked at the knife, and started to laugh. As I disarmed the situation, I said to my friend, "Ah, that ain't nothin'!" The story stuck and the legend grew. So, this monthly column will be all about my unique viewpoint of current events, world affairs, spirituality, politics, science, medicine and life in general. Of course, it will all depend on what kind of mood I happen to be in!
Dannion's Latest Available in bookstores or on-line December 1,
2008
Secrets
of the Light:
Lessons from Heaven
(Hardcover)
by Dannion Brinkley and Kathryn Brinkley
Secrets of the Light: Lessons From Heaven shares the lessons
learned in the afterlife so we can fulfill our true purpose in
life.
Send someone you love a "Jewel For The Soul"
from Dannion and Kathryn today!
That Ain't
Nothin'
