Losing track of the individual

Mother and children
My oldest daughter, Megan, and her boys

Everyone and their brother has voiced an opinion about the appalling case of Dallasite Kate Cox, pregnant with a badly deformed fetus that will probably not survive the pregnancy and could conceivably cause severe illness, infertility, and possible death for the mother. I have tried in my nightly blog to stay away from hot-button political issues and to ruminate on other aspects of life, without sinking to boring accounts of my day. But tonight, I feel compelled to speak out about this case.

I have yet to hear an opinion that supports Ken Paxton’s cruel challenge of the lower court order. It’s apparent that he, newly having scraped by an impeachment hearing, is glorying in his newly affirmed power, appealing to what he thinks is his base (he may have misjudged that one), and perhaps inadvertently displaying contempt for women. Today’s Supreme Court decision denying permission for an abortion was a surprise to me, as I’m sure to many, and perhaps it’s too soon to hear national reaction. I am relieved to hear that Mrs. Cox will seek treatment outside Texas, and I am hoping against hope that Paxton, relishing his iron sword, does not go after her or whoever drove her to the airport. That would add unthinkable cruelty to a situation that is already outrageous.

I did a bit of searching, spurred on by my indignation. To my surprise, three of the nine justices on the Texas Supreme Court are women. Perhaps it is old-fashioned thinking on my part, but I would have thought women would  have more sympathy for Mrs. Cox as an individual, would understand the heartache of a pregnancy gone bad, the fear of losing your fertility—and possibly your life, with two young children at home. But alas, the women either did not have the compassion I expected or were not able to prevail over six white men. (I say white, because I think that is part of the Texas problem—and maybe the U.S.—we are ruled by mostly old white men). Significantly I found no way for us to contact these exalted beings to express our concern, so they are isolated in their ivory tower, free to interpret the law however. They are all Republicans.

It seems to me Kate Cox is lost in this whole mess, although she has been a vocal and sympathetic presence. Still in their rush to—what? Judgment? Discipline? Punishment? —neither Ken Paxton nor apparently the justices considered Kate Cox as a living breathing human being, an individual who loves and hopes and grieves, who has two children at home undoubtedly affected by this trauma. Nope. They forged ahead following a bizarre set of laws that most of us resent.

My question is what happens when the letter of the law clashes with the wellbeing of an individual? We all know that if you hear of a thousand deaths in a bombing, it’s hard to wrap your mind around the horror. But give us a close-up story of one individual, and it suddenly all becomes real. To me, Kate Cox made this whole abortion mess seem up close and personal. I instantly decided I do not want any of my three granddaughters to settle in Texas, much as I would love to have them all next door to me.

In a way I see Kate Cox as part of a bigger and most unfortunate trend in America. We have lost the individual in a maze of laws and rules and restrictions. I had occasion today to call my bank with a problem where I thought if they looked at the record, they would see that maybe they could bend their rules. I have been a customer/client at this bank at least since the early eighties. I may not have a lot of money, but I have been steady, never bounced checks, kept a good balance in checking and savings. When we remodeled the house and renovated the cottage, a personal banker saw me through the process. But today when I called to ask for reasonable reconsideration of a banking decision, I was met with first a run-around, from one person to another, and ultimately someone who gave me a lot of corporate-speak. I understand that banks have rigid rules, that they depend on credit ratings, etc., but I thought they could take background and record into consideration. Not so.

And that’s what I see as a problem in our society—rules dominate over individuals. I’m not asking for the day when a handshake was good for a deal, but I am saying not all cases or situations fit into one rigid mold. Somewhere there has to be room for compassion, empathy, concern for the individual.

That’s what is missing from the Kate Cox case. I wish her Godspeed. May she have a successful abortion, come home (I wouldn’t be surprised if her family leaves Texas), and have as many more healthy babies as she wants. Texas has done itself no favors in this case, but it has given us all something to think about.

Booster, prayers, and a wry laugh

 

Finally got my new Covid booster today. I mentioned the other day I’d gotten the run-around trying to book an appointment for the Moderna booster at the only local place I could find that has it. We were early for the appointment, as requested. Walgreen’s was late, though when the woman finally gave me the shot, she was most pleasant and also skilled—a painless shot, and tonight my arm is tender but not really sore. But back to the wait at the pharmacy—we were there at least forty-five minutes. When we got to the pharmacy—why are they always in the far back corner of a humongous store?—I was ready to sit down, so Jordan checked me in. I can’t tell you what all occurred, but she was at the counter a long time. When she finally came to sit by me, she said, “They make it so difficult—no wonder a lot of people just won’t bother.”

Jordan herself has had difficulty. You can only make an appointment online or by telephone—and when you try by telephone, you get the dreaded automatic voice on the other end of the phone. Jordan tried online the other day and was told she is not eligible. I thought that was wrong, because this booster has been highly touted for everyone twelve and up. A neighbor said no, you must be over sixty-five or immune compromised. That didn’t sound right to me, so Jordan asked today. She is eligible, but they couldn’t make an appointment with a living, breathing person in front of them. I suppose the earlier verdict of ineligibility was a computer glitch, and if she tries again, it will go through. But she’s not inclined to try again right away, says it’s a busy week, and I should not bug her, so I am keeping quiet (do you have any idea how hard that is for me?).

At any rate, I think it’s bureaucracy gone amuck, and she’s right. The process needs to be streamlined. I know that’s easy for those of us on the consumer end to say, but I’d like to get the word to someone with clout. President Biden counts controlling the pandemic as one of his victories, as well he should, but he needs to have someone look into the delivery process. It’s sad to think people won’t inconvenience themselves, because the number of daily deaths is still high. We had a local case this week of a forty-year-old dad who died. I have no idea of his vaccination status.

The weather around the world seems to have gone amuck—mudslides, floods, typhoons in all corners of the world. Tonight, comes word that power is out to the entire island of Cuba, and Ian is expected to make landfall in Florida as a Category Three or Four hurricane on Wednesday afternoon. Two and a half million people in Florida—think of the enormity of that number! —have been asked to evacuate. Ferocious storms like Ian—and some notable earlier ones like Katrina, Harvey, and Maria—cause damage that is beyond comprehension for those of us who sit inland in safety and pray that maybe we’ll get some rain out of the storm. I remember driving in the Houston area with my daughter-in-law Lisa showing me the high-water marks on buildings. Astounding.

Please join with me in praying for the safety of all those in the path of Ian.

Nice to end the day with a laugh, although I’m sorry to say my laugh makes me sound political and biased once again, but Republicans are having a hard time these days. Dr. Oz said John Fetterman’s habit of wearing shorts and hoodies made it seem that he was attacking authority in the balls—and thereby gave Fetterman a wonderful slogan in a state where people would line up for blocks to attack authority. In Texas, the pretty obviously corrupt Attorney General Ken Paxton, who keeps sticking his nose into other states’ business, ran from his home to avoid a subpoena—literally almost ran. He was in a truck driven by his wife who is a state senator. Paxton has been under indictment for seven long years with no court date, because he keeps gaming the system. And now to think his wife is a state senator. No wonder Texas is a political mess.

But the saddest funny story of all is that trump and DeSantis are now calling each other names. The former guy calls DeSantis “fat, phony, and whiny” (terms that could apply to himself as well) while DeSantis calls his former sponsor “a moron who has no right running for the presidency” (that too could be a two-way street).  And these two adolescent bullies want a chance to run our country? I don’t think so.

So there you have it: a day to inspire prayers and laughter. Do get our booster. It’s worth the trouble.