NPR commentator Laura Lorson last week read a short piece called “Welcome to the Summer of Hate.”
Lorson’s essay, with an admittedly satirical angle, compared the outraged gatherings of Boomer healthcare reform protesters with the energetic gathering of the same generation 40 years ago at Woodstock.
She writes: “Now, instead of the peace and harmony, make-love-not-war thing, they’re getting all worked up and piling into tricked-out minivans and driving out to their congressional representatives’ offices…yelling about the cost of drugs.”
Ultimately, Lorson concludes that Boomers just like to take road trips and gather, without particular concern about the cause that brings them together. I like that point, since Boomers did grow up in the decades when gatherings (whether protesting the Vietnam War or enjoying the Grateful Dead) really could mean something. And the organizations and companies that want to reach Boomers on the issue of healthcare reform need to engage them in person as well as elsewhere (in print, online, and through television ads).
But of course this essay also misses a big point, because I find it unlikely that those who really embraced the values of the Woodstock generation are now the angry mobs interrupting town hall meetings.
This is confirmed by my own informal research. A review of photographs of healthcare reform protests suggests that men dominate (in volume, size and anger). Women (and Boomer women) are taking part in them, but the contrast with photos of healthcare reform supporters (where women, and older women, dominate) is great.
Last week I wrote about how healthcare reform advocates can influence Boomer women over 50.
From what I know about these Vibrant Women, they may like gathering with their peers (as Laura Lorson described) but if they really embraced the “Summer of Love” 40 years ago, they are more likely to be interested in the facts behind healthcare reform, and getting this important and necessary decision right, than in exercising their own independence by tearing other people down. This is certainly true of conversations on VibrantNation.com about this subject.
The best comparison between Woodstock and healthcare reform fighters is that it’s a lot easier to organize mass gatherings of people who don’t like government than a gathering of those who do. Which presents a big challenge for the Vibrant Women who support healthcare reform now.
thank you so much Lisa, that helps a lot. I know he tried to blame me for so much stuff, but like I told all of his family and mine none of that added up to a divorce. I do realize it's his needs, it just hurts so bad to think how many years he's
How funny....i only very recently (within last week) read the coconut oil articles on the web. (100 uses, 80 uses etc.) so i bouht some and ordered some from amazon. (Im a stockpiler.)
Have started trying some of the uses. I tried using it a
ROFLOL – not likely – but one thing is for sure the boomers have re-learned their lesson and instead of not trusting anyone under 30 we know that we can’t trust anyone under 50.
Thanks, inkfeather, for calling out my cautious/journalistic phrasing. The NPR piece was so one-sided that I guess it made me start second-guessing myself. I’m glad to see your comments (and the others) confirm otherwise!
Always self-centered?
These people are embarrassing. I stand with the younger generation on this problem
tell that to country joe mcdonald lol
I am a babyboomer and I don’t want socialized medicine. I want to see a solution for the people that don’t have or can’t get medicine and then I want the government out of it. I think people do read. I know I read alot. I have spent hours reading about all of this. I don’t know how your households run, but if we are broke we don’t spend more money.
I’m a boomer and think it’s important to be a well rounded reader. The government is not just like our own households – it has far greater responsibility for an entire nation – we have to look at the country thru collective eyes, not the eyes only of our household. Economics aren’t always easily understandable unless you read balanced information. The vast majority of econnmists, and it appears rightly so, advised that unless the government helped stabilize the financial markets and leading areas, we could have a full blown depression. When that happens I what my elected officials to weigh all info and use their education to make judgements that may even result in more spending in the short term, if it’s better in the long run. Where were all the deficit complaints during the Bush years?? Why were people believing statements like – “the fundamentals of the economy are strong” prior to our new president taking office. I’m thankful we elected someone with the intelligence and fortitude to sort thru advice and act. I don’t want decisions based on how someone’s household runs – I want them based on what’s good for the country. And – I can’t believe people want insurance case managers involved in their care – at least if it was the government you can call your representatives office. Ins casemanagers are there to help deny your benifits – why would anyone want that to continue??
Health care reform is NOT socialized medicine! Get the facts then make an informed choice. Some medication cost and services are prohibitive. How many jobs do you think the elderly population should hold down in order to pay for health care? What could possibly be more important to humanity than health care AND education? Another bridge to nowhere in Alaska?
Thank you, Melinda, for your honesty and common sense to this discussion!
People forget that the government is us.
The freaks need to give up their public roads, libraries, etc. if they are going to walk the bs talk.
Too many people are not researching the topic but rather listening to the extreme sides who are fervently against it or fervently for it. That’s not forming an opinion, that’s aligning yourself with someone else’s opinion. More the 5% of the population is without healthcare. If they really want to reform healthcare form a true bipartisan … commmittee made up of healthcare professionals, not politicians, lobbyists, or insurance fat cats and form a workable plan that is available to everyone through competetive bidding. And, please, people, stop the namecalling, screeching, and grandstanding on the issue. WORK TOGETHER to solve a problem.
I certainly appreciate everyone’s opinion. We are allowed to voice our opinions because we are free American’s. I do not like name calling. I believe it is unrealistic to say I have not done my homework and read all the materials on this matter because my opinion is different from yours. We need to look at the
health care provided for the … individuals who protect our freedom, the military. Having been in the military system for many years as a spouse, I can tell you , we had terrible medical coverage. I could give you several stories as to why it was terrible but space prohibits that.
As for libraries, public roads, etc., I believe most of that is done by the state government. At least , in the state I live in, Georgia, it is.
i believe that the military has basic healthcare. imagine those that do not have any healthcare at all? Mine is $5000.00 which is for catastrophic purposes only. Affordable healthcare is a right. All other nations similar to us have it. Even in Latin America, healthcare is free or very affordable. Xcrips are also affordable. We have to cross the border to get our own xcripts made in the USA but here we cannot buy it at Walgreens. i tried getting the generic for the purple pill and it costs $50.00. My girlfriend is getting hers thru her husband that works for the government for just $15. We need to get this passed and this needs to be discussed in a constructive way rather than be fighting each other - dems & republicans. This is not a party issue, this is a citizens’ issue and that is what our legislators went to Washington to do. They just forgot and someone needs to remind them and i think that is us. Write your congressman, your senator, your President, anybody that would listen, but write.
I agree that name calling does not facilitate good discussion. Also, I appreciate the right to have differing opinions. I can’t say the craziness I have seen surrounding this issue, that open minded people are willing to have a discussion.
I have no personal experience with the health care given to the military. I can say that I have had “… very good” medical insurance provided by an employer all of my adult life. If anyone believes that private insurance means quality health care I beg to differ. The system is currently broken, and the government did not get us there. The govenment is not responsible for all of the ills of our society. Right or wrong the government is the only collective voice we have. We cannot leave it to the private sector to do “the right thing”. If we do not believe or have hope in our society, how do we move forward? I am also a sceptic. With all of its flaws, there are many things we as American’s can be proud of about our government.
Thanks, Melina and others, for these great comments. Altogether, they confirm my point about how women want to resolve these important issues, even when they disagree. And it makes me wish that more advocates were speaking to the citizens who believe we CAN work together to find an answer that fixes a broken system.
The government is not our friend. They have bankrupted medicare and medicaid. Why would we turn over the entire healthcare system to the government? Why are we talking about changing the entire system for 5% of the population who does not have healthcare? It just doesn’t make any sense.
Our health care costs are rapidly approaching our mortgage costs. Today my husband came back from an eye exam, to find out his “specialist” visit cost even more than the normal co-pay. We’re going to have to switch to a plan that has a very high deductible, then pray that nothing major happens to either one of us.
And this is the best the private … health insurance market has to offer? Give me break. Every other peer nation of ours has some form of “socialized” medicine. Their health outcomes are better than ours. And, it’s killing small business. I can say that, because I AM a small business.