A means to an end is a tool, device, or strategy used to achieve a certain goal. We often hear the phrase "the end justifies the means" for example. But what if the means to the end are just plain mean?
Take for example the Republican Tea Party's efforts to stop healthcare reform. Here we have a group of people proclaiming to adhere to "Christian values," who continuously display hatred, disrespect, and general downright meanness to those less fortunate -- over and over again.
What is it about the Republican Tea Party members that they can't remain true to their Christian beliefs? Take a look at this video of Republican Tea Partiers at a recent rally in Ohio taunting and humiliating a man with Parkinson's disease who's sitting on the ground holding a pro-healthcare sign. The man is suffering from a tragic disease, one that robs a person of his ability to walk, talk, and take care of basic human functions such as eating, urinating and moving one's bowels. The poor man is probably on the ground because his legs can no longer support him. That's one of the symptoms of the disease, and as you'll see in the video the healthy Republican Tea Party protesters have no care or consideration for this man's condition. Instead, they point their fingers at him and tell him nothing comes for free.
No one offers a word of support. No one asks the man about his condition, about what his healthcare needs might be, or whether he even has insurance. No one asks if he is a Veteran. No one extends a hand to offer comfort. No one asks if he's hungry or would like a glass of water. No one asks if there's anything they can do to help a poor man sitting on the street stricken with a tragic and deadly disease.
Not a single Christian value was displayed by the Republican Tea Party members at that rally. And these are the people that expect us to start over on the healthcare bill and adopt their party's policies. What will their policies be? Taunting and humiliation of the sick and uninsured?
My father died from Advanced Parkinson's disease, so I am intimately familiar with what that man at the rally and his family will eventually have to face. Sadly, some of those same protesters will likely face a similar tragedy one day because either they or someone they love will contract the disease. For their sake, I hope they never have to suffer what that man on the street suffers. I hope they don't have to endure the humiliation of people throwing five-dollar bills in their faces.
The common belief about Parkinson's disease is that it makes you shake and have tremors. But there is another set of symptoms that lead to a stiffening of the body and a loss of cognitive abilities. A person with Parkinson's disease will eventually be unable to swallow solids or liquids because the trachea becomes paralyzed, and when he attempts to eat or drink, the substance winds up going into his lungs instead of his stomach. This causes him to aspirate and choke and get pneumonia from the fluids entering his lungs. So they place a tube directly into his stomach to make sure he gets the nutrients to keep him hydrated, fed, and nourished. The indignity is unbearable.
The disease paralyzes the body and mind. It has no cure and ends in a slow and painful death. Family members are left with the difficult decision of whether to continue their loved one's tragic existence, or to remove the tube and watch him slowly fade away and die. This is not how you want to see your father's life end. But that is the reality of Parkinson's disease.
Fortunately for my father, he had his loving wife and children around him to help make this decision. And for fifteen days he was surrounded with good care and words of love, until he finally succumbed to the disease. Unfortunately for the man in the street at the rally, he has Republican Tea Party members surrounding him, with their version of Christian "love," "compassion," and "sympathy."
"On this side of town you don't get anything for free," screams one man, pointing a finger. "You have to work for it!" Another tea-partier throws a five-dollar bill at the man's face and yells derisively, "I'll pay for this guy. Start a pot!" Then, as if that isn't enough indignity, he throws another bill. He steps back and stands tall, puffs out his chest; proud of the humiliation he inflicted on the man with Parkinson's sitting silently at his feet.
Meanness is not a human value. Meanness is not a Christian value. But meanness is evidently a Republican Tea Party value, and evidently meanness is their means to an end. The end that justifies the taunting and humiliation of a man with Parkinson's sitting on the street.
They want to lead our nation.
Here is an update to this article regarding the Republican Tea Party members humiliating a man with Parkinson's disease. Apparently the money thrower in the video had a change of heart and now feels terrible about his actions. Read the article here: Columbus Dispatch
It is not possible to know what is in this man's heart. Is he apologetic because he got caught? Or, is he genuinely sorry for his terrible behavior? I don't know, but I am pleased to see he has been found and exposed. Now we need to find the other prominent man in the video and make him explain his behavior. If he can.
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