Again, the Democrats here in NH are all squawking about the budget that is about to become law, based on veto-proof margins by the Legislature and Gov. "Can’t do Nuttin’" Lynch deciding to, once again, doing nothing.
While Terrie Norelli decided to make an ill-fated whiff of a quote, now we have NH State Senator Lou D’Allesandro making another "let’s change the language" statement in the same article (P. 11):
Besides criticizing Republicans for giving smokers a break while forcing college tuition hikes that could make higher education unaffordable for some, Democrats also pointed to other cuts with far-reaching impacts. For example, they pointed to a $1.5 million cut to help about 240 elderly people with housing services such as meals and light housekeeping to keep them independent and out of nursing homes. “Without these services many of these people will be relegated to nursing facilities at a cost greater than the appropriation,” said Democratic Sen. Lou D’Allesandro of Manchester.
Zero in on the word "independence". Once again, only in that rarefied atmosphere (think: lack of oxygen?) of the hallowed halls of the Legislature, can this kind of redefinition of a word be taken with straight faces of the denizens of those marble lined halls while the rest of us go "huh?". As in the case during most budget seasons where a department asks for X amount above their current budget and then wails that their budget has gotten "cut" when they don’t get all that they wanted (but more than they did last year), we see another instance of a redefinition of yet another word.
Independence commonly means being able to function without input or assistance from others. In this above instance, if these seniors have to rely on government to keep them in their homes, is that truly "independence"? Instead of absconding the rightful use of the word, why can’t D’Allesandro (and all those that continue this misdirected meme) just say "to keep them dependent on Govt welfare to keep them in their homes"? This is not independence, but dependence – not on family and friends but on the faceless visage of Government. Sure,…
…the person coming to the door may be cheery and helpful, but is that EVER the same as a loving son or daughter at the door? Once again, we see the line from handout to charity to assistance to entitlement, all without honesty from politicians (of both sides of the aisle) to name it what it really is.
Sure, there are those, for one reason or another, where seniors have outlived their loved ones; I have no problem in society caring for them. But I do have a question: where are the families of these seniors? When did it become oh so casual to outsource our responsibilities to strangers to care for our loved ones? Why have we, as a society, become so callous towards our parents and elderly relatives to personally turn our backs? Why is it right to expect all others to pay for what We should be doing for our own?
Jus’ asking….and wondering if once again, the emphasis of the ’60s on ME, ME, ME has changed society for the worse ("hey, I’m too busy…..)
