November, 2012
What happens if you simply do not feel love for a certain person (even if it’s a spouse or mother). The feeling of “love” is just not there. Do you act as if you do or convince yourself that you do love them even though you don’t feel it until you do feel it? You can care for a person and don’t want any harm to them, but just don’t “love” them. Perhaps I have the wrong perception of what love is or can be. I love my two children to death (figure of speech); therefore, I know what feeling love is. What are your thoughts as I’m struggling with this. Blessings, Lyne
Dear Lyne…My mother has always said we love in many different ways. I don’t love my sister the same way that I love my father. I don’t love a former sweetheart the same way I love my husband. I don’t even love my favorite cat Pippin the same way I love our kitten, Beanie! This is because each and every one of us is unique.
I also think it’s entirely possible to love someone at an intellectual level, but not like them, or at least, not like their actions or their way of being in the world. Remember, we are vibratory beings. And just as in music, vibrations either resonate and or they’re dissonant. When two vibrations resonate, they flow harmoniously together, but when two vibrations are dissonant, it feels quite uncomfortable. It might help you to understand, though, that just because certain wave forms may not resonate with each other, it doesn’t make either one of them “bad.” Sometimes our vibes just don’t jibe!
I’m sorry if this isn’t the answer you want to hear about your spouse, but I learned the hard way (after a long seven-year relationship) that I couldn’t force myself to feel romantic love. I loved the guy “to death,” to use your words, thinking that I would eventually fall in love with him, but it never happened. Our bond was loyal and deep and full of love, just not that kind of love. The chemistry was just not there and I couldn’t will it to happen, no matter how much I wanted to. Perhaps other people are different, but I know I’ll never go down that road again. Thankfully, we parted in the kindest, most loving way possible. And after enough healing time, we ended up remaining the dear friends we were all along… thank God!
Now, in the case of your mother, who you are expected to spend some amount of time with throughout your life, it may indeed, behoove you to act as if you love her if you want to spare her feelings, but always “to thine own self be true.” You either feel love for her or you don’t, and it doesn’t make you a bad daughter if you don’t. Give yourself the breathing room you need in the relationship and forgive yourself for your feelings if you haven’t done so already. If you think you can be with her from time to time in a positive way, you might feel good about doing that, especially for her sake, but I would make the phone calls or visits brief enough that you stay happy throughout the encounters. It wouldn’t serve either of you if the visits are so long they begin to deteriorate.
I hope this helps, Lyne. If you need more personal assistance with this, please feel free to call on one of us CWG Life Coaches. The first session is always free. You can find out more about this opportunity by following this link here:
Conversations with God Life Coaches
(Annie Sims is the Global Director of The Conversations With God School, is a CWG Life Coach and author/instructor of the CWG Online School. To connect with Annie, please email her at Annie@TheGlobalConversation.com.
(If you would like a question considered for publication, please submit your request to: Advice@TheGlobalConversation.com where our team is waiting to hear from you.)
What is your honest, non-vitriolic, non-verbally-assaulting, simple, thoughtful, and contemplative reaction to the re-election of Barack Obama as President of the United States?
“Ours is not a better way…ours is merely another way.”
This concept is one of the basic tenets of the “Conversations with God” material and the prominent underlying message in this poignant movie I recently had the pleasure of watching called “The Music Never Stopped.”
Based on a true story, this film revolves around the relationship between an estranged father and son who use the gift of music to bridge the painful emotional and physical distance existing between them. When Gabriel’s overly strict father forbids him to attend a Grateful Dead concert in his teenage years, Gabriel runs away from his family home and becomes homeless. 20 years later, his parents learn that their son has a massive tumor growing in his brain which requires immediate surgery, and they are reunited once again to care for their son as he moves through this complicated and risky medical procedure.
The unfortunate consequence to this delicate surgery is damage to Gabriel’s short-term memory, resulting in his inability to distinguish between the time period of the 1960s and today, and communication becomes frustrating and nearly impossible due to his almost catatonic state.
Determined to reconnect with his son and repair their fractured relationship, Gabriel’s father, Henry, seeks the assistance of a renowned music therapist, whose research reveals that the key to unlocking Gabriel’s mind lies within the notes and melodies of the beloved music from his youth: The Grateful Dead, Bob Dylan, Steppenwolf, and the Beatles. This new revelation invites Henry to overcome his sharp distaste for anything but classical music and venture into the world of classic rock-n-roll so that he may forge a new relationship with his son.
This film is compelling in that it demonstrates how adopting a new perspective can be transformational and healing. Life is a never-ending process of change. When we fear change and resist change, clinging tightly and begrudgingly to our thoughts and beliefs, as Henry did, we may very well find ourselves so stuck in “our way” that we miss the opportunity being presented to us in “another way.” Our relationships invite us to experience life in ways that gently, and sometimes boldly, challenge what we hold to be true by offering us an opportunity to see – or in Gabriel’s father’s case hear – things in an entirely new and different way.
I highly recommend and encourage you to consider adding this wonderfully original film to your next movie night!
“The Music Never Stopped” can be found on Netflix and is available on video from most movie rental sources.
(Lisa McCormack is the Managing Editor & Administrator of The Global Conversation. She is also a member of the Spiritual Helper team at www.ChangingChange.net, a website offering emotional and spiritual support. To connect with Lisa, please e-mail her at Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com.)
(If there is a book, movie, music CD, etc. that you would like to recommend to our worldwide audience, please submit it to our Managing Editor, Lisa McCormack, for possible publication in this space. Not all submissions can be published, due to the number of submissions and sometimes because of other content considerations, but all are encouraged. Send submissions to Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com. Please label the topic: “Review”)
Is there something sad about the following posted comment by a recent visitor here, or is it just me…?
My last entry in this space had to do with Who and What God Is…and following what I wrote, this observation was offered by a reader…
Comment by Buzz on November 1, 2012 at 11:49 am…
Subject matter like this is boring because everyone is in complete agreement.
So what I “get” from this is that unless I write something about which there is “disagreement,” what I am writing is “boring.” And the irony is that when I write something about which there is “disagreement” (such as my political stories in recent days), I get lambasted here and on Facebook (many fb followers read articles here and post their reactions there) for not sticking with my “mission” as a “spiritual teacher” and for “taking sides” on political or social issues.
What this comes down to is, “Heads you lose, tails you lose.” Of course, it is not really, in my mind, a game of “win or lose,” and I don’t hold it that way. I simply share what I feel within my authentic experience, and the “chips fall” where they may. But I do find it ironic nonetheless that whether I write things with which people are in agreement, or things with which people disagreement, I’m somehow “not doing it right.”
We’re an interesting species, are we not…?
And I personally find it a bit sad that because something I have written falls into the category of things with which people agree, it is labeled as “boring.” Which leads me to a question…
Is agreement boring?
Could this be the reason that human beings sometimes seem to actively seek disagreement and conflict? Yet isn’t “reaching agreement” supposedly the goal on important matters. Will it be “boring” if the Congress reaches agreement with President Obama on how to avoid the “fiscal cliff” that is now, with the election finally past us, the “talk of the town” on all the news shows and talk shows and in all the newspapers and news magazines this week?
I must say, I was just a bit surprised to see agreement about Who and What God Is described by an intelligent person as “boring.” How, if this is the way people think, are we ever to get excited about God, about Life, about The New Spirituality, and about a new way of being human? Only if we disagree about it? And how do we share with others that which is called “boring” and make it exciting, inspiring, and igniting?
Is Buzz’ reaction typical of the majority of humanity? What do you think? Does our species need to observe, if not produce, disagreement in order to retain interest in commentary, observations, and messages that we all might benefit from being shared?
What are your thoughts about that…?
Part of my early introduction into natural health came in my twenties when I found myself drawn to massage school. It was a magical time learning about natural health and healing. It was an opening to a world of alternative solutions and something I still love to practice to this very day. I mean who doesn’t love a good massage? Yet massage is often overlooked as a serious health care choice or as a necessary part of preventative health care. Far too often we wait until we have pain to seek out the care and benefits massage provides. Massage is considered a luxury by most rather than an necessary form of maintaining wellness. This week we will take a closer look at massage and the reasons beyond why this feel good technology should be a part of your regular healthcare choices.
Massage Therapy – Is touch therapy right for you?
The power of touch can have miraculous effects, benefiting the very young to the very old. Whether you do light exercise or a serious athlete, a stay-at-home mom or an over-stressed executive, massage has the power to relax, heal, and help release tension stemming from our stress-filled lives. Though there are some serious health conditions massage is not appropriate for, the health benefits of this alternative therapy are many and may be just what the doctor ordered for you. (as always, check with your doctor/healthcare professional to be sure any course of care you undertake is right for you)
Research continues to show that a rubdown is even better for you than it feels. The health benefits of touch extend beyond simply soothing aches and pains. Of course, the stressed-out have known the anxiety-reducing pleasure of this procedure forever. Who doesn’t immediately feel the ‘ahhhhhh’ associated when a pair of caring hands are applied to those tension filled shoulders which have somehow found their way up into your ears. Just 10 minutes with a pair of those ‘hands-that-know-what-they’re-doing’ can reduce inflammation, which is one of the body’s greatest enemies.
Most people these days understand that dis-ease is stress related, and perhaps nothing does more harm or ages us faster than high stress. While eliminating anxiety and pressure in our fast-paced lives may be challenging, massage can, without a doubt, help manage that stress associated with living our everyday lives.
Massage therapy not only provides relaxation and relief to muscle strain and fatigue, therapeutic massage improves overall health. There are many benefits to massage therapy, including physical, emotional, and physiological improvements the body receives as a result of being touched…it’s good for the soul too!
Massage therapy has also become a lot more affordable in recent years as benefits have become widely known and made it more popular. There are so many well trained practitioners in the world, finding one is not difficult. The way to know whether you have found a good one is to notice how you feel during and after a massage. Be sure to communicate with your practitioner during your massage as a good one will want feedback from you about your experience to learn how to best serve your needs. A well trained therapist will have you feeling no pain in short order and that is the whole point.
From treating chronic diseases, neurological disorders, and injuries of all kinds, to alleviating the tensions of our all-to-often stressful lifestyles, being touched just makes sense. The emotional balance bodywork provides can often be just as vital and valuable as the more tangible physical benefits. Massage is supportive for healing grief and helpful in releasing stuck or old feelings. I have experienced it from both sides of the table; the gift of release that comes from being touched are many. Here are just some of the benefits:
The Benefits Of Massage
Alleviate pain and improve range of motion.
Decreased anxiety.
Enhanced sleep quality.
Greater energy and improved concentration.
Increased circulation.
Reduced fatigue.
Enhance immune system & lymph flow—the body’s natural defense system.
Promotes digestion.
Decreases illness-related fatigue.
Calms aggressive behaviors.
Helps your immunity by increasing white blood cell counts.
Improves recovery after post-operative surgery.
Alleviates age-related disorders, sleep disorders, and many more emotional and physical problems.
Exercise and stretch weak, tight, or atrophied muscles.
Help athletes of any level prepare for, and recover from, strenuous workouts.
Improve the condition of the body’s largest organ—the skin.
Increase joint flexibility.
Lessen depression and anxiety.
Promote tissue regeneration, reducing scar tissue and stretch marks.
Pumps oxygen and nutrients into tissues and vital organs, improving circulation.
Reduce spasms and cramping.
Release endorphins—amino acids the body’s natural painkiller.
Relieve migraine pain.
Assist with shorter, easier labor for expectant mothers and reduce maternity hospital stays.
The list could go on and on…
There’s no denying the power of bodywork. Regardless of the reasons you seek it out, therapeutic massage can be a powerful ally in your wellness cause. Getting a massage on a regular basis can do you a world of good; it’s self-care that can play a vital part in how healthy you’ll be. So what are you waiting for? Find a good massage therapist, teach them how to best serve your needs and enjoy the many benefits of massage regularly. Heck, I think I’ll take my own pleasurable advice and therein lies the rub! – JR
(J.R. Westen, D.D. is a Holistic Health & Spiritual Counselor who has worked and presented side-by-side with Neale Donald Walsch for over a decade. He is passionate about helping individuals move beyond their emotional and spiritual challenges, transforming breakdowns into breakthroughs. His coaching provides practical wisdom and guidance that can be immediately incorporated to shift one’s experience of life. As is true for most impactful teachers, J.R.’s own struggles and triumphs inspired him to find powerful ways of helping others. Sober since June 1, 1986, J.R.’s passion for helping individuals move through intense life challenges drove him to also specialize in Addiction and Grief Recovery. J.R. currently shares his gift of counseling & coaching with individuals from around the world through the Wellness Center, Simply Vibrant, located on Long Island N.Y. In addition, he works with Escondido Sobering Services and serves on the Board of Directors for the Conversations with God Foundation. He can be contacted at JR@theglobalconversation.com, or to book an appointment, write support@simplyvibrant.com.)
The headline on the front page of USAToday two days after U.S. President Barack Obama was returned to the White House for four more years said it all:
“POST-ELECTION DIVIDE SURFACES/Partisan pledges sour conciliatory remarks.”
Could we have expected anything else? Certainly not from the mainstream media, which only considers that which reflects conflict and struggle to be “news.” And probably not from people themselves, who have been raised having been told that “fear” is the most desirable primal power, not love.
Instead of celebrating the American political system that produced yet one more decision without violence about who shall be in power, the mood of the country, stoked by opinion-makers and the media, exudes not celebration but consternation, not joy but judgment, not happiness but hatefulness — as if, in a world full of economic downturns, conflict, and killing, the United States was not, in fact, still one of the best places on Earth in which to live.
Did the USAToday article point out that last Tuesday’s election gave President Obama, House Republicans, and Senate Democrats a “new chance to resolve issues that they could not give in on before, because of the upcoming election”? No. It said that the election gave all parties “a new lease on strife.”
Why point out the grandest possibility when you can help create the worst?
Ours is a civilization craving negativity. If there is a positive story in the news that the media just has to report, you can count on it being on page 37. Yet why does humanity have such an appetite for that which it fears? The New Spirituality says it is because we have been told that God wants us to fear Him. Indeed, in many circles the highest compliment you can give a person is to say that he or she is “God-fearing.”
And so, as it has been explained in Conversations with God, we have equated “fear” with that which is good. We’ve even confused “fear” with “love,” imagining that the second must be based firmly in the first.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
There is another way to be human. In this new way, we do not fear God, we do not fear life, and we do not fear each other. We live without fear. Or at least, without fear driving the engine of our entire experience; without fear running rampant over us; without fear ruling our every choice and decision.
There is another way to be human, but it takes great courage. The new way is to imagine a God that has no reason to judge or condemn us. The new way is to understand and embrace fully who we really are. That is, our True Identity as aspects and individuations of the Divine. In the moment we accept our True Identity, we easily and joyfully let go of fear. And then, our differences no longer have to divide us. Contrast no longer has to produce conflict.
The people of the United States face a great opportunity right now. They can demonstrate to the world that while they differ in their opinions, they do not differ in their determination to find and create answers to their society’s biggest problems from a place of mutual respect and of willingness to compromise and to forge collaborative solutions.
I’m finding it really hard to maintain my inner peace and balance around negative people and circumstances, and it’s particularly hard right now with the whole political divide thing – people are downright mean right now! My question is, how do I stop being so affected by the negative energy of those around me?
Sarah, Wisconsin
Hi Sarah,
The answer to your question lies in your own alignment and connection with yourself, as well as where you are focusing your attention. In short, when our attention is placed within, nothing “without” or outside of us can harm us. This isn’t just spiritual fluff, talk to any person who consciously practices and makes going within a priority, they’ll tell you they are a lot less influenced by the thoughts, words and actions of others. And when you allow yourself to spend more time paying attention to the negativity around you, reading about it, listening to people who complain a lot or are negative, etc. more than you are focusing on going within yourself, yes, inner peace and balance does indeed become jeopardized. There are many approaches to this, as you can imagine, but I’m going to offer you the most direct and effective one that I am aware of, and that is to: a) engage in daily practices and surround yourself with people and resources that support and are in alignment with who you really are, and b) be very aware (and honest) about where you’re allowing your attention to be placed.
The daily practices part is huge – if you are not giving yourself this gift already, I urge you to do so immediately. Miraculous things come from this alone. Meditating, journaling, practicing daily gratitude, yoga, etc. are all wonderful ways to “go within” and connect with who you really are. But the real magic of this lies not in what you are doing but in the commitment, consistency and discipline of engaging in these practices each and every single day. I wake up before my husband and daughter each day, and trust me I am not a morning person, just so I can make sure I get my practices in. I do this because I see how it impacts the flow of the rest of my day, as well as how I show up in it and how I interact with others. And when I don’t do it, or skip a day or two, I feel it. In other words, I notice I am more easily influenced by others and find it more difficult to maintain a sense of peace and balance.
Also, get into the habit of asking yourself if where you are currently placing your attention is serving you. And if it’s not, consciously choose to shift your focus. I know there has been a lot of disagreement and negativity on facebook, for example, so much so that people are even “un-friending” those who hold different political viewpoints. If you’re reading these posts and are noticing that it doesn’t feel good to read them, it’s in fact messing with your bliss, then simply stop reading them. It really can be that simple.
Try these two things, Sarah, and I bet you will begin to see a difference immediately. Good luck and enjoy!
Nova
(Nova Wightman is a CWG Life Coach, as well as the owner and operator of Go Within Life Coaching, www.gowithincoaching.com, specializing in helping individuals blend their spirituality with their humanity in a way that makes life more enjoyable, easy, and fulfilling. She can be reached at Nova@theglobalconversation.com. )
(If you would like a question considered for publication, please submit your request to: Advice@TheGlobalConversation.com, where our team is waiting to hear from you.)
Part Four: Is the Grass Really Greener?
Throughout the course of the Being Beyond Bullying Series, we have discussed how to handle bullying from the highest thought possible. We learned to love ourselves, live fully in the moment, and to share our message with the world. In short, we have concentrated on the experience of the bullied, but there is more to bullying than just one perspective. In the last part of the Being Beyond Bullying Series, we’ll finally take a look at the bully itself, and how the process, not the person, is what drives the unthinkable actions that we see in high schools and beyond today.
To understand the functioning of the bully, we must understand their perception. Very few of us can claim that we haven’t taken up the role as the bully throughout high school, middle school, or even elementary school. At some point in our lives, we all have taken advantage of another person’s dilemma to make it our personal pleasure. We sniffed out the weakest, saw that they had nothing, and even took that away from them. With an easy target, we believed we found a quick way to elevate ourselves at the mere cost of another’s sense of self. And we continued to do it again, and again, and again. But was it worth it? Did it really make us feel better? Were we really experiencing a sense of higher self? Not likely.
The question that does remain regards the way to change the behavior of the bully. Many school boards and state officials have attempted to answer with placing strict rules regarding the consequences of bullying. However, these new strategies have created some interesting results. According to an article from the Christian Science Monitor, dated September 19, 2012, many schools that have implemented ‘zero-tolerance’ policies towards bullying have not experienced a decline in its rate, but rather a dramatic increase. The reason cited for this trend is that the policies focus too much on consequences, and not enough on compassion. So it seems as though too much time is wasted on prosecuting reactionary behaviors, than on the creative transformation of the beliefs of the bully themself. Though the power of the bullying policy has been altered, nothing will truly change until the mindset of the bullies transform. And there we have it: a change in belief, not a change in power, will create the long-lasting impact in the teen experience. Sound familiar to anyone?
For teens across the nation and across the globe, we need to bring that NEW level of compassion not only into our own lives, but also into the lives of everyone we encounter. We, as a generation, must decide to recognize the humanity in all, no matter how different or foreign they may seem. Instead of making zero-tolerance policies, we should be creating 100% tolerance policies. By seeing ourselves in another, by recognizing our own dreams, heart, and life in the person sitting next to us, we begin to realize that our differences aren’t so stark after all. When we see the weakest among us, those are the people that we should be extending our hands towards; those are the ones who we should share our love, laughter, and experiences with. By being that source of compassion, people can heal and grow in truly incredible ways. Whatever sense of ego-inflation we felt when we engaged in the process of bullying is NOTHING compared to the heightened sense of self we feel when we engage in the process of kindness. Experience it, just once, and feel the difference. You’ll never go back to bullying again.
(Lauren is a Feature Editor of The Global Conversation. She lives in Wood Dale, IL, and can be reached at Lauren@TheGlobalConversation.com)
Todd Akin lost. Joe Walsh lost. Richard Murdouck lost. Tom Smith lost. That’s four for four of the Republican men who made absurd comments about rape in the past several months and paid the price for their absurdity.
Elizabeth Warren won. Claire McCaskill won. Tammy Baldwin won. Tammy Duckworth won. That’s four for four of the Democratic women who took strong stands against the Republican establishment and walked away victorious.
Eight of the nine so-called Battleground States — must win “swing states” that everyone on both sides knew would decide the election — went to President Barack Obama, despite the spending of nearly $150 million more by the Republicans, their surrogate super PACs, and a bevy of Super Rich individuals who poured millions into the campaign of Mitt Romney.
On social issues, contemporary 21st Century Thought prevailed over Let’s Go Backward Mentality in several striking cases. The electorate of two states — Maine and Maryland — voted to legalize same sex marriage, and citizens in the states of Washington and Colorado voted to legalize recreational use of marijuana. Opponents of same sex marriage have long claimed that, if put to an actual vote, citizens in most states would reject the idea of legalizing it. They were wrong. Likewise, opponents of legalized marijuana predicted that ballot measures supporting it would fail. Washington and Colorado proved otherwise.
Perhaps most impressively, voters across the United States fought back, and won, against Big Money, defeating candidate after candidate whose campaigns benefited from huge amounts spent by super Pacs (political action committees) and Karl Rove’s direction of phenomenal spending to try to capture seats with the sheer power of money, and the advertising dominance that it can buy.
In short, People Power defeated Money Power in this election, time and time again — and that is good news for America.
Huge amounts, for instance — almost unfathomable amounts — where given by big money moguls across the nation to Mr. Romney’s campaign. It just couldn’t “buy” the election. Neither could it win a GOP majority in the U.S. Senate. According to a news story in The Wall Street Journal by reporter Brody Mullins, “In campaigns for the Senate, Republican candidates were backed by millions of dollars in spending by well-coordinated pro-Republican super PACs and interest groups that hammered Democratic candidates in televised advertisements starting last winter.”
The same story noted that “in the presidential race, pro-Republican super PACs spend far more money than those favoring Mr. Obama.” Two of those groups along—Crossroads GPS (created and controlled by Mr. Rove) and Restore Our Future—spent $250 million supporting Mr. Romney, The Wall Street Journal report said. The biggest group supporting Mr. Obama, Priorities USA Action, by contrast, spent just $65 million on behalf of the President, the newspaper report added.
It did Big Money no good. Try as it might to bend the voters’ views with dollars, it simply could not buy this election.
An example is what happened in Virginia, where millions were dumped into the state by outside groups to help GOP candidate George Allen defeat Democrat Tim Kaine in the race for the U.S. Senate seat. Mr. Allen lost.
In Ohio, more than $10 million was spent by outside groups — including another controlled by Karl Rove (who seemed deeply determined to affect this year’s elections) and the U. S. Chamber of Commerce — in an effort to unseat liberal Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown. Mr. Brown won.
In Connecticut, Republican Linda McMahon spent $40 million of her own money to defeat Democrat Chris Murphy for the U.S. Senate. She lost. Ms. McMahon spent $50 million of her own money in a 2010 election bid, which she also lost, proving that putting $90 million into two successive campaigns guarantees nothing. Peoples’ votes are apparently not as “buy-able” as some people might have thought.
Likewise, tens of millions in outside spending money was shipped off to Wisconsin by rich Republican individuals and money-powered groups to bring former Badger State Governor Tommy Thompson to the U.S. Senate — but his Democratic opponent, Tammy Baldwin, batted away the huge dollar advantage of her GOP opponent’s campaign and walked away with the Senate seat. She will become the first openly gay U.S. Senator.
The U.S. electorate made wonderfully intelligent decisions in many races, defeating GOP candidates who made utterly irrational statements about rape. Mr. Akin, a sitting GOP Congressman looking to move up to the Senate, famously said in August that the female body automatically makes it impossible for pregnancy to occur in cases of “legitimate rape.” Until that remark, he was expected to defeat sitting Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill.
Embarrassed to high heaven by Mr. Akin’s remark, the Republican Party pulled its endorsement and its funding from Mr. Akin, and begged him to get out of the race so that it could run another candidate against McCaskill. Akin said he was in the race to stay, with or without his party’s support. He lost.
Mr. Walsh, Mr. Murdouck, and Mr. Smith made equally offensive and/or ridiculous statements on the subject of abortion in the case of rape, and they also lost their races. Mr. Murdouck famously declared that if a pregnancy resulted from a rape, “it is something that God intended to happen.” Mr. Walsh, a sitting GOP Congressmen, was asked a question at a debate about abortion and announced that he was “pro-life without exception.” Then he added, “The life of the woman is not an exception.” Asked by the press immediately after the debate if he had misspoken, or was serious, Mr. Walsh said he meant every word, and justified his stance by saying that modern medical advances have made abortion unnecessary to save the life of a mother. He lost the election in that moment.
Mr. Smith, the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, was asked by the media in August what his position was regarding abortion. He said he was opposed to abortion without exception. Not even in cases of rape or incest? he was asked. No, he said. Then he was asked by Mark Scolforo of the Associated Press: “How would you tell a daughter or a granddaughter who, God forbid, would be the victim of a rape, to keep the child against her own will? Do you have a way to explain that?”
Mr. Smith then made the extraordinary comparison of rape with a woman having a baby out of wedlock. In the second instance, he said, he had a member of his own family who chose to have the child. But, the AP reporter, incredulous, asked: “That’s similar to rape?” Mr. Smith replied, “No, no, no…but…put yourself in a father’s situation…yes, it is similar. But, back to the original, I’m pro-life, period.” That was the end of Mr. Smith’s campaign.
America has re-claimed its intelligence and re-claimed its power. Big Money and Ignorance have lost theirs — and with it, a stranglehold on the U.S. electorate.
There is hope after all. People can and will think for themselves. People can and will overcome the onslaught of media buys by individuals and groups with millions to throw around. Sometimes when you “follow the money trail,” it leads, alas, to a dead end.
It is as Mr. Murphy said when he won Connecticut’s Senate seat. “We proved that what matters most in life is the measure of your ideas…not the measure of your wallet.”
Indeed.
I was 11 years old when I contracted HIV, I was diagnosed with AIDS at 16. The news was a relief, actually, after a couple of years of waiting around to find out and adjusting to adolescence while nursing bleeding ulcers, when my doctors had already known for a year and were just getting their legal ducks in a row before springing the big news. My high school years consisted of nasty infections, a nagging fear that my terrible, shameful secret would be revealed, and a drug regimen toxic enough to bring down an elephant, not to mention my own personal regimen of vodka, acid, and whatever else I could get my hands on to ease the monotony while I waited around to die.
But when I look back on this specific time in my life, some thirty odd years later, I feel nothing but gratitude. I am healthy, stronger than I have ever been, in body, mind, and spirit. Facing the idea of death early on woke me up, showed me the necessity of being fully awake in every moment, to truly be thankful for every breath of life. I am wiser, and more acutely aware of the ugly vices of greed, exploitation and corruption that some in positions of power seem to be able to engage in while not losing even a single night of sleep. I have learned more than I ever wanted to know about human nature, as I hope to explain as I detail the bizarre events that fell into place and allowed for over 10,000 people to be murdered by pharmaceutical companies during the height of the AIDS epidemic.
I was born with hemophilia, a hereditary blood disorder that inhibits the blood’s ability to clot. The current treatment is a product made from thousands of donors which replaces the specific clotting factor that my blood is missing.
In the late 1970s through 1985, four pharmaceutical companies knowingly exposed 20,000 Americans with hemophilia to tainted blood clotting products, rather than warn, recall, or quarantine the clotting factor that they knew was contaminated. For at least fifteen years this darkest corner of the pharmaceutical-industrial-complex pumped a myriad of viruses into the veins of anyone who needed a blood transfusion while they amassed vast fortunes that would far outweigh the cost of future lawsuits.
The CDC began to warn the National Hemophilia Foundation, a highly trusted and, in fact, beloved advocacy group for hemophiliacs, of the risks from infected blood products in the early ’80s, but since it receives most of its money from drug companies, the NHF continued to recommend that hemophiliacs remain on the highly concentrated clotting factor regimens, even though much less risky options were available. My doctor, as well as most across the country, echoed their sentiments. Similar conflicts of interest seemed to apply, most of them were paid consultants for the drug industry at the time.
When the U.S. Government finally put a stop to these shenanigans, after years of screaming by the hemophilia community as well as the CDC, these companies shipped the contaminated product to China and various Latin American countries rather than throw billions in profit down the drain with a mass recall.
Drug companies have basically been allowed to regulate themselves in the United States, with a staggering amount of influence in the workings of government through the system of bribery known as lobbying and campaign contributions. The pharmaceutical industry is the thing that tells the 800-pound gorilla where to sleep.
In the late ‘90s the lawsuits finally came, no thanks to the NHF, but to the hard work and due diligence of the patients themselves, working with their attorneys, pouring over internal corporate memos until the whole truth had been pieced together. Most hemophiliacs had aged beyond the statute of limitations requirements for a direct lawsuit, so the whole ugly incident was resolved with a $640 million settlement paid by Bayer AG, Baxter Healthacre Corp., Armour Pharmaceutical, and Alpha Therapeutics Corp. This amounted to $100,000 per person and I was one of the lucky recipients of this fabulous cash prize. I had more money than I’d ever seen in my life and these revered and trusted companies, these “angels of mercy,” were required to admit no guilt or criminal wrongdoing whatsoever. Everyone was a winner.
Sure, most of my friends who had embarked with me on this grueling legal crusade were dead or dying, not to mention the wives and children they unknowingly infected, but surely we got something out of it. The blood supply is a little safer, although the CDC is warning of parvovirus and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease contamination, emerging pathogens, the scrappy up-and-comers to watch out for this season. An outbreak of fungal meningitis has been linked to steroid shots for back pain and has killed hundreds all over the country. Throughout every city and town, fretful Americans are standing in lines for flu shots containing God knows what because their doctors pressure them like a seasoned pusher, hoping for a sweet cash bonus for high patient compliance paid by the altruistic manufacturer of the drug.
Rather than view these few examples as gross negligence, ominous pandemics, or even sinister conspiracies, just try to see it from the drug company’s point of view, imagine the treatment opportunities! And we all know, in a culture of greed, exploitation and corruption, “treatment” is just another word for “profit.”
(Mike Gibson is an artist, musician and writer, whose work has appeared in a wide variety of print and online publications. He currently resides in Palm Springs, California.)
(If you have a Guest Column that you would like to submit, send it to Lisa@TheGlobalConversation.com. Not all material submitted is accepted for publication, but we appreciate each submission.)
