Tag: Obamacare

Obamacare – well played, Mr. President indirect BRAVERY PROJECT

Posted on by lauraanneayres

I almost fell out of love with someone very important to me a few years ago. I really struggled because I gave him so much of my time and attention at the beginning. I even wore T-shirts that had his name on them, put up signs promoting him, and sang at fundraisers. I did everything in my power to make sure everyone else knew how amazing he was. I put years into it.

I’m talking about Barack. Hey, I didn’t say this guy actually knew me. Just that he was important to me. And he still is. Keep reading.

Luckily, I never came close to falling out of love with Michelle. She should be called the First Badass. She is exactly what I would want my little girl (Suzanna Christine – that name is under trademark) to be like.

Anyway, I was starting to fall out of love with her husband. A lack of affordable healthcare, to me, is as much of a human rights violation as Gitmo (also a horrific human rights violation, in my opinion). I was getting frustrated with the promises to deliver on the work earnestly started by the late Senator Kennedy and current next-President of the United States Hillary Clinton (readyforhillary.com GIVE MONEY). Hell’s bells, get it done! It’s the 21st century for pity’s sake. There is a solution for almost every problem. It is inhumane not to help sick people. Full stop.

FINALLY, Obamacare launched and I was thrilled (and back in love). I became more giddy every time I heard about a stupid ACA attack ad in a red state or a website glitch or one of Congress’ attempts to thwart the good work.

Because there is goodness at the heart of this work and I just knew it would work. Haters gotta hate and they usually have a swift kick in the butt at the end of the day, delivered by Auntie Kharma.

The long-term success of Obamacare is not clear. But, I think Obama and Uncle Joe’s press conference let us know: this is working.

Over 7 million people have health coverage. Hell, there is an entire FB page devoted to ACA success stories. That’s enough to be considered a triumph. There will be more problems and it will not be a success story for everyone. Imagine the odds of everyone not being pleased in a country whose population sports a net gain of one person every 15 seconds…I’m #shocked.

No matter what color you are (red or blue) we can all agree it is a good thing when a sick person is given medical attention. 7 million folks now have that option.

God bless the hard work of all of the people who brought this together. And god bless the United States of America.

Well played, Mr. President. This should be a part of my BRAVERY PROJECT.

BRAVERY PROJECT – Show me your brave

Posted on by lauraanneayres

Think of the Top Ten bravest people in your daily life. Why do you consider them brave? What constitutes an act of bravery?

We can all point to clear examples of bravery: Malala Yousafzai, normal people stepping in when the Boston marathon bomb went off, the teachers at Sandy Hook, the fire-fighting heroes in West, Harvey Milk, Hillary Clinton & Ted Kennedy, police officers. The list is long and their accomplishments are amazing and awe-inspiring.

Great. What about you?

I’m one of the 10 bravest people I know. It’s not arrogance – I work for that title. I would love to hide in a cubicle, hide in my beautiful flat, hide with the people I already know well. Can’t do it. It isn’t brave. I make it my mission to be on my own top ten list. Things I am not on my own top ten list of include: fashionista, fabulous singer, fabulous writer, etc. Most of my readers know that I am a deeply-flawed gal; however, I am brave.

I fight like hell to be brave. I use my voice, my education, my website, and anything else I can utilize to fight things like poverty, injustice, and ignorance. I speak up for people suffering unjustly. I do not always get heard and rarely get things done exactly the way I want. Not the point.

Here’s the real kicker about bravery: sometimes you fall flat on your face. Sometimes you say words that are hard to say and the other person laughs at you. Sometimes you fight something and you lose the battle (but maybe not the war…go Hillary & Teddy, now we have Obamacare). Here’s the reverse kicker – nothing can diminish brave. Brave is too strong to be diminished by a “no.”

So, what do you decide? Safe walk or bravely blazing a trail?

Start thinking of yourself as brave. Did you start your own company this year? Did you admit to a big mistake? Did you write to a government official? Did you commit yourself to volunteer work? Did you lose 20 pounds? Did you use your website or FB status to really make a thoughtful statement promoting tolerance or education (Mike Mayes and Tony Barrese, y’all always inspire me)? Did you lose a loved one and make it through without becoming a crack addict? All those things might seem “small.” I assure you, there is bravery within each of them.

I’ve never ever seen on-the-spot bravery announced with glitter and rainbows. Not once. Bravery doesn’t look like much to most people, it’s something you do that makes you, sorry curse word-haters, scared shitless.

I just came from my sanctuary in Luzern where I heard something amazing, “Only deep inside of you can you hear who you really are.” There is a small voice inside of all of us calling us to be…brave. So, do it. If you need inspiration, I love this song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwTr_CRw3GY What a fantastic message. “I just wanna see you be brave.” (Songwriters: BAREILLES, SARA / ANTONOFF, JACK Brave lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC)

Anyone who has a story of bravery, I don’t care if you saved a child or an opera company or 50 bucks…whatever you think “brave” is, share your story somewhere. You can be a guest blogger for me. You can post it on my FB page (Before You). Post it on your own. Be bold.

Show me…how big your brave is. Follow this project at @BeforeYouBook