General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Why Republicans Are Opposed to Supporting the Poor - An Open Secret [View all]MineralMan
(146,286 posts)a very large group of people in this country. And it's not just anonymous old people, either. In many families, grandma going into a nursing home or memory care unit is really the last time the family will bother with her. My mother-in-law, who recently died, was living in such a facility. We visited her often and tried our best to make sure she was getting the care and attention she needed, but many others in that place never saw family members at all. They were put there to get them out of sight and out of thought. Sometimes, when my wife's mother was otherwise occupied, I'd sit and talk with people in that facility. Often, they mistook me for a family member and would tell old stories to me. I never minded, but didn't have enough time to spend with people other than my wife's mother.
The Republicans who are in control of our government are much like the families of those old people in nursing homes. They don't actually care about their elders' welfare, as long as they're not bothered with it. For politicians, old people cost a great deal of money. Money that could be used to fatten their wallets and do projects that help them get re-elected.
They won't say so, but they'd just as soon those old people died. That's true of neglectful families and the government alike, I'm afraid.
We are, by and large, a very selfish and short-sighted society. We rarely consider that we will be in that situation ourselves, one day. We should consider that, but we do not.