Still Shouting; Still Random

On Mandatory Coverage…

So apparently the Obama administration is considering rolling back the rule on mandatory coverage of contraceptives for hospitals and clinics with religious affiliations. Generally speaking, this harkens back to the Fordham students that were absolutely stupified that their Catholic university would not offer them birth control.

When you attend a private university, it’s implied that the student has a good deal of  choice as to whether or not to enroll. The problem with a hospital or clinic is that choice is often easily removed. Not every person has multiple hospitals or clinics in their area, and oftentimes the only option is religiously affiliated. In the event of an emergency, a patient is often taken to the closest ER available-not to the hospital that shares their viewpoints.

The administration has compromised once on this angle. To extend a compromise that effectively removes the individual’s choice in favor of the institution is no longer a compromise-it is religious favoritism.

POOR

You know what sucks about being poor and unemployed? Having to call in all of your bills and explain how you won’t be paying them on-time, or how you can’t pay them at all. I remember being young and, during our tougher times, listening to my father make the same calls. I never thought I would have to do so in adulthood, and the feeling of shame is immense.

On the upside, when you’re dirt poor you figure out what you really need. After spending an asinine amount of money on clothing, shoes, and food, I now know that even if I was Bill Freaking Gates I wouldn’t need those things. And that perspective is nice.

I shop on Black Friday

Yes, I do.

I usually go to a Macy’s or Nordstrom so I can buy some nice sweaters/ robes/ etc for the parents at ridiculously low prices (for those places, anyway). I don’t camp out in front of Wal-Mart with the intention to kill everyone that gets between me and my 60 inch LED. I don’t run like mad through Best Buy looking for Blu-Ray players, although I am totally guilty of buying cheap DVDs. And to be honest, I would argue that a lot of people don’t do those things, although there are plenty that do.

Yes, our consumerist culture is bullshit. I hate that we are told that we “need” things like iPhones in order to survive. I hate that a giant television, diamond ring, or car is meant to “show how much” one cares-what we SHOULD be doing is showing people how much we care every damn day. I have a problem that the stores open earlier every year, and wonder if Christmas in July will no longer be a thing because the real Christmas decorations will be erected immediately after the Fourth.

However, I admit that Black Friday holds a significance for me in the sense that it kicks off my favorite time of year-a time filled with family, food, and friends. I love Christmas carols and decorations and smells. I KNOW that family matters most, but I’d be damned if I didn’t sit around beaming when my parents open their gifts. My father will walk around in tattered boots to buy his daughter new ones, and to give him something he would never buy for himself makes me happy, and I know it makes him happy as well.

Unfotunately, I am dirt poor this year, and I can’t afford much. Instead of tickets to a play, this year I am buying the rents and myself a portrait session-we haven’t had family photos taken in 12 years.

I will also be buying some sweaters on Black Friday.