Posted by Barbaracat on November 17, 2004, at 16:52:01
In reply to Re: please be civil, posted by sunny10 on November 17, 2004, at 11:54:53
Dear Sunny,
If you read through my post, you will realize I was and am not maligning anyone's use of meds, so please reconsider including me in that category. My attitude towards this president surely filters through and colors the tone of the message, but not the message.I first only mentioned that Bush was taking SSRIs just to throw in a med reference because I was on the meds thread and hoped to stay there (but Social is more appropriate). I later stated that in Bush's case it is a very good idea that he IS on meds as I hope it will reorder his thinking into a more coherent and healthy direction - for ALL of our sakes.
I also said I was grateful that someone, he or whomever, recognized his need for meds. Because what has been apparent for too long has been his erratic and frequently violent behavior, info we rarely get from the news media. Thank God he's taking meds! Jeez, if I hadn't found lithium and became President, I shudder to think... I truly hope he's getting the best treatment he can. I truly hope it's not just a rumor and that he really is getting treatment.
I have nothing against anyone using meds that are helping them think more clearly, especially someone who has they're their finger on the button. The sorry thing is the the hush-hush flavor of the whole 'oooh Bush is taking SSRIs' and shows we're still in the stone age about all that stigma nonsense.
A point I wanted to make and that I stand by is this: more than anyone in this land, the president and vice president need to have thorough physical and psychiatric tests performed every year and the results made accessible to the public. They're not. The particular brands of meds they're taking don't interest me - the fact that they're even taking meds doesn't interest me - but the conditions they're being treated for do. I don't give a rip about privacy rights when it comes awareness of the mental health of the leader of my country. The fact that he can gain access to my medical records and I can't to his disturbs me.
I believe we should be have access to health information of all public officials who are in positions of responsibility where compromised decision making could be a jeopardy. We pay them, we hire them. We are their employers. Our employers have access to their employees' medical info. We should have access to ours'. The President, for all the Commander in Chief titles, is our public servant and our employee and we forget this.
I hope Mr. Bush has great doctors, gets himself healthy in every way and does a great job for this country. But if he's showing signs of psychosis and it's jeopardizing my country, I want to know about it. I would feel the same way about anyone in this important position.
> I, for one, am shocked that you guys would malign ANYONE on meds. Haven't we been fighting to make society recognize depression as a disease which can be medicated to maintain "remission" ?
>
> And how can you assume that YOU know what you're doing/talking about if you, too, suffer from depression? Should we all discount YOUR words and actions, too?
>
> I'm not a fan of any of our current slew of politicians, but I am ashamed to hear "us" maligning OURSELVES in this way.
>
> okay, okay, off my righteous soapbox...
poster:Barbaracat
thread:416960
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20041114/msgs/417153.html