Too many eager to pick sides

I applaud columnist John Crisp’s honest description of our nation’s pathological obsession with firearms (oped, June 20). I would argue that there is another, equally disturbing factor contributing to the current wave of mass shootings — the ease with which we demonize and dehumanize those we see as “others.”

We do not listen to one another, we assume ill intent, we deceive ourselves with hyper-partisan narratives, and we let fear consume us. We begin to view the life of the “other” as worthless, or at the very least, worth less than our own lives. We see everything in terms of “us” versus “them,” and we forget the essential truth that every person is worthy of equal human dignity.

It is easy to fall into this kind of thinking, but it is also possible to say “no.” Each one of us, through our words and our actions, can choose to promote dignity and trust rather than fear and violence. Let’s help each other make the better choice, and our communities will benefit.

The Rev. Maggie Leidheiser-Stoddard St. John’s Episcopal Church Worthington of Obamacare instead of repeal and replace? Because repealing and replacing would take time and actual work to do correctly, something our Congress has no interest in wasting time on. It is easier to slash coverage for citizens to enable tax cuts for the wealthy.

Once done, they can get back to the important job of raising re-election funds.

Looking at the bill, it seems most of the time was spent looking at money issues rather than human issues. The emphasis was on price rather than quality of care. When attention was given to human issues, it seemed to be for political cover.

The exemption from a cap on federal matching contributions for specialneeds children is good, but what happens when that child becomes an adult? The needs do not disappear; they even increase.

Quality of health care is of utmost importance. If the care is not there, the price is irrelevant. Thanks to everyone, my adult disabled daughter is covered by Medicare since her father’s death when she was a child. Because of Medicare, she has been living with cancer and its treatments for 15 years. Thanks to everyone at OSU and the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital, she is enjoying every day that she is blessed with.

If Congress wants to fulfill the president’s promise to give everyone the chance my daughter has had, it will give us single-payer, universal health care.

Donna Bartram Columbus