Friday, July 22, 2011

My Soap Box

Yesterday I had to run a few errands, one of which included visiting a Government office.  Now I am not trying to start a political debate on who should blame who, but I became a little frustrated with the lack of what I would call common sense.  I sat down at a desk, across from a worker who has a very close relationship with her computer.  I was asked a series of questions, with barely any eye contact.  Then I was told that "the computer isn't registering some of your answers."  At one point she told me, "the computer doesn't like that response."  Huh?  This went on far longer than I had hoped for or planned.  I got to a point where I wanted to yell across her desk, "Please look at Me.  Talk to Me.  Shut your computer down and use your common sense!"  Instead, I settled back into my chair and studied her personal pictures on the wall, making her life story up in my head.

When my uncle was dying, Medicare pulled their funding from him in his final days because he refused OT and PT.  Really?  Was it that important that he put a shirt on each day?  Is there something wrong with just wanting to be comfortable in your pajama shirt?  Was it necessary that he do his arm workout?  I don't even begin to pretend to understand some of these programs.  I'm sure there is a reason for why they have the rules they do,  but does anyone else feel like the humanity of these programs have been replaced with guidelines of The System?  It feels like these programs have been so far removed from their original intent of simply wanting to help those in need.  How many hoops does a person need to jump through before they actually receive help?  I know this is probably a great area of debate, but to me it isn't about political association.  It has more to do with seeing the dignity -and honoring it - within people.  Sitting across from the government worker yesterday, she wasn't seeing me, she was just seeing a number.  How truly sad.  I guess when we remove the humanity - the dignity - it leaves little wonder as to why our society is in the state it is.

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