The anti-Obamacare sign and other adventures in health care reform

[CBHagman]

This morning I was on my way to Mass when I realized a truck plastered with incendiary signs and images was parked right in front of the cathedral.

What sort of signs and images?

An often-seen photograph of Terri Schiavo as she was in her last years...

The image of a fetus cradled in adult hands...

A photograph of an elderly woman in a coffin...

I didn't take notes on the written messages, but there was a rant against "Obamacare," a passage from the Bible, and general suggestions that the country is going to hell in a handcart.

Instead of walking up the steps and into the cathedral, I walked up to the truck, my jaw dropping as I went. Another parishioner, a woman who identified herself as a nurse, also stopped to look at the truck.

What followed was a conversation about health insurance, death panels (Yes, the nurse took those seriously!), and a lot more. Appparently she'd not heard that Medicare reimbursement for consultations with doctors about advance directives/end of life care were the issue, not "death panels." She gave the distinct impression that she thought the government would have unaccustomed access to our health records and also to make decisions on our lives.

I pointed out that a lot of very private information is readily available to people, and not via the government, either, and gave my own examples of how local merchants and the AARP and even online directories track my age, shopping preferences, etc. She seemed to be rethinking some of her positions, but the mere fact that she had taken the death panels rumor seriously left me reeling.

My particular parish has, from what I can tell, a fair amount of diversity in political points of view and lifestyles -- everything from the guy who goes up for communion in a "Firefighters for Kerry" t-shirt to the folks who mount protests outside the Planned Parenthood offices.

What have your experiences been so far? Have there been any experiences? Do tell...

[47of74]

1. At least my parish

The area right in front of the church (which BTW is the Cathedral parish) is a no parking zone. And I don't think the pastor or staff would be all that tolerant of someone parking a vehicle with incendiary signs all over it in the church parking lot either.

[demosincebirth]

2. My parish used to have a peace vigil every week at a downtown corner...

during the Iraqi war.