I used to think I'd like to live a long life.

[Skidmore]

Now I'm not so certain. I don't want to be a burden to my children or my husband and I have a health issue or two now. The more I've been thinking about the state of things in this nation, it feels like people in my age group and with health problems are being asked to shut up and just die already. I know my children and my husband would care for me--they've seen me through one bout with cancer and my chances for survival are very good. My husband has some minor chronic health problems which he has managed to keep them from becoming serious. It is still costly, nonetheless.

I'm very discouraged right now. I'm angry and frustrated, especially at how hard we worked to get these people there only to be denied basic decent care by them. Over the years we have paid out huge amounts to the insurance companies for everything from autos to home to health to life and they do their best not to meet their obligations. When my mother passed away some years ago, her approval for SS came in the mail the day after her funeral. All of that money over all of those years that could have been hers to save. Ours to save and use at our discretion.

I'm so disgusted. And I do feel helpless now. And without much hope that things can ever be better. It is especially hurtful when such disrespect comes from those who had seemed to have your interests at heart. I don't want my existence to bankrupt anyone. I really fear that we will lose everything someday, and it wouldn't take much.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

1. I was thinking cardiac arrest at about 68.

Ten years after retirement, the closer I get to 68 though the further I want to push it off.

[mdmc]

2. we all meet our end my friend

I guess it is just a matter of how we get there.

I know it is hard, but perhaps putting these thoughts off until after the holidays might be beneficial?

The holidays take their emotional toll on us all. Don't put additional pressure on yourself now.

Peace and low stress and hang in there my friend.

[FiveGoodMen]

3. Grayson was only half right

The republican health plan is Don't Get Sick And If You Do They Die Quickly

But ...

The Democratic health plan is Don't Get Sick And If You Do They Die Quickly

[Little Star]

6. Sad but true. Kinda makes me ashamed of our party. n/t

[HughMoran]

4. I hate deterioration

I think I'll die before I'm 70 - or at least I hope so.

[endless october]

5. hang in there.

don't surrender a second to the bastards who would wear you down.

things can change. hopefully both of us will live to see it.

[onethatcares]

7. damn right,

let them kiss your rosy red ass as you walk by them. You are much too important to give up, Trust me, I know.

[pitohui]

8. i'll feel like i'm being asked to shut up and not die already

i have a slightly different take on this, since several of my family members have/had dementia

i feel like we are deliberately being kept alive, a vegetable harvest if you like, so that our entire lifetime of work can go into some corporate hospital/nursing home pocket

i wouldn't object to "shut up and die already," if there was a way to arrange to be humanely put to sleep once i started to lose brain, i'd sign up tomorrow

i think we have a v. brutal society that looks at each case and tries to find a way to maximize the profit to the corporation, regardless of the suffering caused

as another poster says, we will all die one day, we need to have better options, so that those like you who still have brain/quality of life can all the help they need without question to continue having great quality of life

and those who have no quality of life, it's time to stop torturing them and just let them go to sleep

but there's too much profit under this current cruel system

[CrispyQ]

14. Damn! So much truth in this post, so much fucking tragic truth!!

:cry:

:banghead:

[CoffeeCat]

9. Awww...Skidmore...

I understand how you feel. Many people, including myself, feel many of the same fears.

We grew up believing that some things were certain--Social Security, Medicare, and that we wouldn't become
destitute if we had a health issue. It is frightening to contemplate what is going on these days and how
much power the corporations have. I wish I could be of more comfort to you. I am glad that you have
close family. We all need to just take each day as it comes.

I don't believe that this current state of corruption can last forever. Something will change. People
are all ready starting to push back and come out of denial. So many Obama supporters are outraged. This
change came on suddenly, too. You didn't see the outrage a few weeks ago.

I've said this before--the real revolution begins when Democrats realize that their politicians are in
on the fix. We could always excuse away their behavior, "Oh they're not in the majority...it's George
Bush doing all of this...our party is just being nice and compromising." We're the majority now and
we have the White House, but the corruption continues.

It's becoming apparent that both parties are having their own party with the corporations--and "We The People"
aren't invited. It's not going to take long, before the uprising begins.

Hang in there. Keep yourself healthy...eat good things and exercise. Keep yourself strong. :hug:

[izquierdista]

10. OK, it's time to go

But don't make it the cemetery. Go to the south of France. They have health care there.

[T Wolf]

11. I am experiencing this right now with my wife's condition. She is talking about not wanting

to keep up the fight, partly because of the physical and emotional stress but also because she knows that we will have to sacrifice a great deal to "keep her around."

And frankly, I feel the same way about my future.

[CrispyQ]

12. What is this hole & why do I keep falling?

Back in the bush administration I considered buying a gun. I thought of it as the 'new world order' gun. But I really don't want a gun in my house, so I resisted the (irrational?) fear that society would break down during those years & never bought one. Here I am, once again, considering buying a gun. Only this time I think of it as the 'way out' gun - a way out should my health become so bad that I become a burden on my family. Surprisingly, I had more confidence that I'd survive the bush administration than I do that I'll survive the American health 'care' industry. x(

And we still have members in our society who beat their chests, chanting, "We're number one." :grr: :grr: :grr:

[roguevalley]

16. I fear for my young ones. I am determined to outlive my dogs because

my family would shoot them. :) My gut tells me that I will be the last one. I dread that, being last. I also dread living too long. I think you can. Skidmore, I hug you.

[Jim__]

13. I don't think giving up helps anyone.

Corporations are seizing fresh water, rights to food, seeds, even our genes. We are falling into a system worse than feudalism. We all have to work to turn this around. If this isn't stopped your children will live in a world worse than you can imagine.

[elocs]

15. I've got to admit, that at age 57 I'd be more than satisfied to live just another 30 years,

but no more, although I'm sure I'd feel differently at age 87 if I was still in good shape. I am seeing the decline of America, but I don't really want to watch it crumble. I don't think I really care to live through seeing the results of how we screwed over the earth.

So many other countries of the world have coveted our lifestyle and what we have for decades only to learn that the pie is not big enough for them and we have already plundered and polluted the earth. And as a baby-boomer we were supposed to be the generation of promise that we would have more than our parents, many of whom enjoyed the benefits of life in America after WWII. Well surprise! surprise! surprise! We might not even have decent social security on which to retire after we have paid all of our working lives for our parents' retirement.

Even just a year ago I would have felt far more hope than I do now. I thought I might have glimpsed the limits of how much I could feel disappointed and betrayed, but I guess not.

Nope, give me another 30 years of good health and at least enough money on which to live and I will be content to die in my sleep.

[laughingliberal]

17. I'm really right there with you, probably a step ahead

Few years ago, I feared I wouldn't live long enough. We were on track, maybe would have to work a few years longer than we would have liked but we would have been able to retire at some point. I was socking away in a 401k (finally, we had enough to save a little), we'd both have our SS and we were buying a house in a really expensive part of the country. Enough years equity and we could take our little savings, sell the house at a decent profit, and move to a less expensive part of the country. Then the world turned upside down and we scrape for grocery and gas money now. I can't afford to live very long and, if something happens to my husband, I can''t afford to live at all. This is not a kind country.

[Maru Kitteh]

18. You're a cancer survivor?

How many cancer victims would have given anything to enjoy the living breathing days you now wish away? How hard did they fight? What is the weight of their tears? What about their families?

You are granted an incomparable gift, find a way to know that.

[Raine]

19. I have those same feelings

sometimes when I try to sleep at night I wake up with a panic attack. I keep telling myself "calm down, calm down" but it's hard to do and within the last couple of weeks more difficult. :yoiks:

[EmeraldCityGrl]

20. This thread is a greater reflection of what

is wrong with this country than about anything else I have read here.
That saying that a true measure of a a society is how well it cares for
poor, it's older generation is answered with all your comments.

We all need to try harder to take care of each other until we can turn
some of this around. Whether it be through revolution or building a
a new party something dire must happen.

I just want you all to know you are valued. We need your wisdom and experience
so please, try to take good care of yourselves and each other.