Congressman Peter DeFazio's Town Hall Meeting

I went to the Town Hall Meeting in Florence today organized by Congressman Peter DeFazio. The meeting was informative and Mr. DeFazio spent time with each person who asked a question. I learned a lot about issues that aren't necessarily important to me. I also heard a lot of questions concerning infrastructure concerns and health care and the status of medicare and medicaid. In response to one person's question concerning feedback on what's happening in health care now that the plan has started to be implemented, Mr. DeFazio gave a personal story from a small business owner in Eugene who was happy with insurance coverage that supported colostomies because this is now considered "preventative" health care. In light of my previous blog about Breast Feeding and Health Care, I spoke to Mr. DeFazio about this after the meeting.

I told Mr. DeFazio that I disagreed with the labeling of the colostomy as preventative; I think it is diagnostic. Mr. DeFazio then countered that the labeling of preventative came from the fact that by catching cancer early, the medical industry saved tremendous amounts of money in costly cancer treatments and the money trickled down to consumers of insurance. I don't disagree, but I pointed out to him that I thought the category of the health care plan regarding breast feeding for infants should be treated the same way. The best way to begin to take care of rising health care costs is to stop illnesses before they begin by promoting a strong immune system. It is health care that is free and doesn't put a burden on anyone except the individual, which is where I think we should begin.

I spoke about the hospitals in New York attempting to deny formula to healthy mothers in an effort to enforce breast feeding. I posed the question, "If the government can force me to purchase insurance to cover treatment I don't believe in, why can't they force healthy mothers to breast feed when there is so much evidence about the benefits to both child and mother?" Mr. DeFazio said that this law infringes upon how a person uses their body. I don't see the difference. Mr. DeFazio did indicate that he had supported an amendment to the health care plan that would have required people choosing not to have colostomies sign a waiver against any future problems, but that was defeated. I would gladly sign a waiver since I choose not to have colostomies or any other diagnostic "preventative" measures. The thought occurred to me after our conversation. Why not propose an addendum to the current health care law that would require those of us who choose alternative methods of  health care, whether it be bottle feeding, smoking, alcohol and drug abuse, gluttony or refusal of standard "preventative" medical treatments to sign a waiver freeing the insurance companies  of responsibility for payments for our treatment.? Another modest proposal that is ignored.

Where does Health Care Begin and Who's Responsible

Last week I heard a news story about the hospitals in the city of New York refusing to give formula to mothers who were able to breast feed but were choosing bottle feeding instead. All of the pundits and “experts” on civil rights started to weigh in on the topic. I found this most interesting in relation to the Supreme Court decision allowing the government to tax individuals and small business owners who choose not to purchase health insurance. This entire law is based on the assumption that health care costs are getting out of hand and the way to provide access to everyone is to make those of us who are not burdening the system pay “our fair share” so that those who choose not to be responsible for their health can have the care they need. This is not a sustainable plan and never will be.

Hospitals and doctors alike agree that the people who are most burdening the system are those who suffer health problems from a compromised immune system – our first and foremost protection against disease. How is the immune system compromised? Everyone would agree that our environment is full of toxins that we breathe in, drink or eat daily placing an inordinate burden on our first line of defense against disease. Constant exposure to these toxins eventually causes a break down of our defenses. I support government regulations that monitor our food and water supply and force producers to stop poisoning our water, air and food with chemicals and other toxins. Everyone has the right to access to clean water, fresh air and nutrient rich food that supports our immune system and helps keep it functioning to prevent disease. But everyone also has the responsibility to give every infant born in this country the best shot at developing a strong immune system in the first place – through the mother’s milk.

The immune system is not developed when a child is born – it is very fragile. A strong system results from the immunities passed to the child from the mother in the form of the mother’s milk. All doctors agree that, especially during the first six weeks of life, infants need to be breast fed. Six weeks is a minimum. My pediatrician recommend at least six months of nothing but breast feeding for my child so long as the child was thriving. I had scheduled check ups during those first six months as the doctor monitored my child’s overall health and development. My girls grew into healthy, strong adults with few health problems that required medical attention outside of letting their immune system take care of the problem. I also monitored their diets so long as they were under my control and limited their intake of foods I knew to be harmful to them. My pediatrician also recommended vaccines and the schools required that I have them vaccinated in order to attend public schools. I chose to obey that law, but now I am not so sure I would want vaccinations for my children, yet I wouldn’t be allowed to refuse because the medical profession has deemed it necessary. Therefore, my right to choose something different has been taken away. If the government can step on my individual rights for the overall good or to “promote the general welfare,” with so much medical evidence about the effectiveness of breast feeding as a true preventative and effective health care measure that everyone can afford, why not start there? Forcing women who are physically able to breast feed costs no one any money and works. It just seems to me that this is where we should start if we want the best quality of life and quality health care for everyone in this country.

Thoughts Inspired by Morgan Freeman's Reference to President Obama's Race

            Talk shows and news programs were abuzz this week over Morgan Freeman’s comments about President Obama’s race. According to the press Mr. Freeman stated that President Obama was not the nation’s first African-American President, he was the first “mixed race” president because his mother was white. The ladies of The View gave their opinions about the statement and one of them had to admit Mr. Freeman was right. I don’t know what point Mr. Freeman was trying to make, whether it is that President Obama is not a representative of the African-American people or stating the obvious about the President’s racial status. In any case, I have never thought President Obama’s African-American heritage was the most important thing about his election to the Presidency.  

In 2009, upon the completion of my book “The Peacemaker” I wrote in the Epilogue:

“History was made in the election of 2008 pitting a female and African American male in a dramatic race for the Democratic Party nomination for President. Barack Obama has been elected the first African American president; however, Obama’s mother was a Caucasian.

As I have tried to point out in my book, America is a country of blending. We are not an Aryan nation. We are one people from many different ethnicities and cultures. We are one nation, and the key to our unity must be in coming together as one celebrating our different heritages and traditions that enrich us as we put aside past hurts and grievances.”

The importance of Obama’s election was not that he was of one race, but that he was from a diverse background. The President of this country represents all the people, not one race, economic group or political party. For too long, the President represented only one group of people – those originally enfranchised – the while male, over 21 who owned property. The hope of the 2008 election was not that an oppressed race finally had a voice in the White House, but that perhaps there was someone who would put aside the concept of race and represent all the people of this country and listen to all the voices. The polarization that I wrote about in 2009 still exists and seems only to have gotten worse, paralyzing the nation and crippling the government’s ability to serve the people it represents.

If we are to move forward, we must free ourselves of the concept of race and the entrenched divisions in our government based on race, political party lines and agendas. Perhaps George Washington said it best in his Farewell Address:

“The alternate dominion of one faction over another, sharpened by the spirit of revenge… is itself a frightful despotism. Without looking forward to an extremity of this kind (which nevertheless ought not be entirely out of sight) the common and continual mischiefs (sic) of the spirit of party are sufficient to make it the interest and duty of a wise people to discourage and restrain it. It (political party) serves always to distract the public councils and enfeeble the public administration. It agitates the community with ill-founded jealousies and false alarms, kindles the animosity of one part against another and foments occasionally riot and insurrection. It opens the door to foreign influence and corruptions, which finds a facilitated access to the government itself through the channels of party passions.”

The same could be said of dividing our country along the lines of race. We’ve come a long way from the 18^th Century of George Washington, but have we?

Companion Planting

When the Puritans arrived at Plymouth Rock in 1620, they found a land that had sustained a culture of people living in prosperity in villages along a 240 mile stretch known as the Mohawk Trail for over 300 years. In the midst of this great abundance the Plymouth Colony struggled to survive its first year. The survival of the Colony was due in large part to the peaceful welcome extended by the most prosperous of the Eastern Woodlands People - the Iroquois Confederacy. The leaders initially brought baskets of food from their storehouses and then taught the colonists how to produce abundant crops of their own while protecting this rich and fertile soil through the "seventh generation" using techniques such as companion planting. They also introduced the practice of "thanksgiving" at the time of the harvest celebration.

Corn, beans and squash -the three sisters- were as important to the Iroquois Confederacy as the buffalo was to the Lakota people. Each plant grew in such a way as to support and sustain the other plants so that planting them together produced the highest yield of each. This practice also insured protection of the soil from depletion of nutrients required for future planting.

The highest yield of beans results from planting them on tall poles, and the corn's tall stalks are perfect for climbing vines. Therefore, the beans were planted next to the corn.The bean roots capture nitrogen from the air and enrich the soil. This provides the nitrogen rich soil needed by the corn to produce a large crop. Unlike the tall vines of the beans, squash sends out long, winding vines that like to stay close to the ground. Squash leaves are extremely large, so when squash is planted in between the rows of corn and beans, the leaves provide an edible ground cover to keep the weeds away. The leaves also provide shade for the corn's yellow roots, keeping the ground moist during the intense heat of the summer sun. This helps the corn grow higher making longer bean vines and yields and the abundant cycle continues.

This farming practice was only one of many sustainable practices lost as the collapse of the Iroquois Confederacy gave way to the rise of the United States of America. After over 250 years of violating these sustainable principles involving food production and land stewardship, 21st Century Americans realize that we must rethink the way we have used our limited earth's resources in the past and return to more sustainable practices in the way we produce our food and protect limited natural resources. Companion farming is one practice that just makes sense. Read about other sustainable methods of government and economy practiced by the Iroquois Confederacy in "The Peacemaker" available at http://kentuckywoman.net.

Inspiration at Wounded Knee

I stood in front of the monument to those massacred at Wounded Knee in 1898 and tried to read the faded names on the square obelisk inside a chain link fence. The first name was Big Foot; I could read it only because I remember the chief’s name from years ago when I read “Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.” A few years later I read the newspaper reports of the stand off at Wounded Knee that marked the beginning of the American Indian Movement. I was alone with my thoughts as I turned from the monument to walk among the graves.

The graveyard reflected the paradox of the Native American experience. Buried beside ancestors massacred by American soldiers were the bodies of those who served in World War II. These graves were filled with bouquets of cut flowers and small American flags hardly moving in the quiet, still air. The carefully carved tombstones commemorated heroes who served to “protect our freedom.” Other graves were decorated with weeds and   broken down wooden markers bearing no names. In the distance I heard a female voice.

I turned and saw a dark skinned woman with sleek raven hair shining brightly against the sunlight. She was with a blonde woman and tall man. The couple was from Norway and the Native woman was showing them her ancestors’ graves. “The graves are maintained by the three families of descendants from the massacre at Wounded Knee,” she said. “You can see some of the graves are kept better than others. I can’t believe someone from so far away would come to visit me and be interested in what I have to say. We are poor and have little but our traditions. We do the best we can to honor those people who fought to make our way of life possible. We maintain this site to honor our ancestors – not for profit.”

She then showed the couple three grave sites. One was the grave of an ancestor killed at Wounded Knee. The other two were killed in World War I and World War II. “Three generations of ancestors whom I honor for fighting to make it possible for our culture to continue,” she said. “I will say a prayer and then sing my death song,” she said.

She began the prayer in Sioux. The only word I understood that was repeated several times was Wakantanka – the Lakota word for buffalo and also for Great Spirit. Having taught American history, I knew the buffalo was highly revered by the Lakota and was the basis for the whole economy providing food, clothing and shelter. The massive killing of the buffalo by American bounty hunters had led to the extermination of the Lakota culture. As she continued to pray, she began to mix Lakota with English. Her prayer became more of a description of the sad state of the Native American youth – especially the males.

“Our boys are lost to violent gangs,” she said. “We wonder why young boys have to be molested. No young boys should have to suffer this.” She then returned to the Sioux language and started to sing – or chant – a mournful song. The three of us with her started to cry even though we didn’t know the words. When the song ended, no one had anything to say. The lady from Norway stroked the lady’s arm and tried to comfort her. I thanked her for letting me listen and walked silently away my mind numb. I got into my car and began the drive through the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. What could be done to help? I wondered. I remembered a sign I had seen on the visitor’s center information board when I first entered South Dakota. The sign encouraged visitors to support the local economy as we traveled through the state. I remembered watching an NBC special about the Pine Ridge Reservation and seeing something about the sale of buffalo jerky and other buffalo products. I had a sudden inspiration.

What if the boys who were into gang activity could be recruited into “gangs” of traditional buffalo hunters? They could learn to ride and shoot the bow and arrow again and slaughter the buffalo used in the production of jerky and other products. Not only would this provide jobs and monetary resources, this seems to be one way to restore the cultural ties of the Lakota to their way of life that was destroyed in the 19^th Century. The traditions and stories need to be revived if the Lakota are to become strong once more. When the roots of a culture are destroyed, the culture withers away. I hope the Lakota people will stand tall and proud once more and reconnect with the Great Spirit that will lead them to a sustainable and joyful way of life.  

  

"The Beauty of a Second"

"The Beauty of a Second" 

This is what "living in the present" really means.

Women- Remember Our Common Heritage - We Can do Nothing if We are Polarized

My family history is filled with men who served this country in the name of freedom, beginning with an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War and was scalped. I don't remember him but I do remember my grandfather and uncle. My grandfather fought for freedom in the trenches of Europe during the Great War. My uncle returned to Europe to fight to free Europe from the control of Adolph Hitler and his ungodly extermination camps. I honor my ancestors who have served in the name of freedom. In school, I learned how important their service was because of the safeguard to my freedom. I learned about George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and the Sons of Liberty. As an adult, however, when I think about my personal freedoms that I enjoy each day, I think about the women who fought peacefully until those freedoms that were written about in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution became a reality for me.
I loved my grandfather and uncle and remember the personal stories of how they suffered in the two Great Wars. Sometimes, however, freedoms can be attained without resorting to war when a person lives in a democracy. I would like to mention a few of the women who fought peacefully from 1776 until 1920 to insure that the precious freedoms so important to the Founding Fathers become a reality for the Founding Mothers also. These are: freedom to own property, receive a first class education, work in my chosen profession and receive equal pay for equal work, protect my children from child labor and domestic violence, make decisions about sending our sons to war and to have no taxation without representation. I have all these freedoms because a group of women were willing to be harassed, jailed and tortured, ridiculed and put on a Red List and even risk their own personal safety without retaliation to secure freedom from enslavement and the right to vote.

Therefore, I would like to honor a few of the women listed in the Timeline of Women's Suffrage at http://dpsinfo.com.
Elizabeth Cady Stanton-worked in the Underground Railroad and cofounded the Women's Suffrage Organization.
Susan B. Anthony- Co-founder of Women's Suffrage Movement. She was arrested for voting in the 1872 election and had bail of $1000. Despite an eloquent plea she was denied a trial by jury and convicted of the crime of voting. She was fined $100.
Harriet Tubman- Also known as Moses of her people. Risked her life and was severely beaten many times for leading her fellow slaves into the Promised Land. After slavery ended, she lived in New York and continued to work for civil rights and women's suffrage.
Jane Addams- Founder of Hull House, Peace Activist and served as Vice President of the Women's Suffrage Organization. She was put on the Red List in the 1920's because of her efforts to alleviate starvation in Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Soviet Union. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1933.
Alice Paul and Lucy Burns were suffragettes who were arrested for protesting in front of the White House on the Night of Terror in November, 1917. They were jailed and tortured for two weeks until a journalist wrote about their plight and they were released.
Margaret Sanger was a sex education author and female advocate for birth control. She opened the 1st women's birth-control clinic in Brooklyn, NY in Oct. 1916. The clinic was shut down ten days later, but Ms. Sanger kept the case in front of the courts until a federal court decision in her favor allowed her to open the second clinic in New York City in 1917.
These women were left out of the history books I studied when I went to school in the 1960's. I always took my freedoms to vote, own property, receive an education, work in the career of my choice for granted. Like many others I was taught that these freedoms were earned by the bravery of those men who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution as well as the hundreds of thousands of others who died on the battlefields in all of the wars fought since 1776. I am grateful to all these men for protecting the democratic government that we do have in this country, but I am grateful there were those who really understood the meaning of democracy which is rule by the people and were willing to risk "their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor" in peaceful protest to insure all the people have a part in that government.

Brenda Duffey Author and Peace Activist

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