Those were the words I heard when I answered my cell phone this afternoon. My mom had called to give me an update on her uncle. Unfortunately, his health went downhill very quickly. After fighting with Aetna, further treatment of his condition was denied. His doctor's even lobbied and wrote letters to Aetna, but someone who has never met my great-uncle decided that the treatment was too costly. The treatment would cost quite a bit of money, and Aetna determined that it was not "cost efficient to administer further treatment at this time." What a lovely way to tell some they are going to die.
I want to tell you a little bit about him and his radical transformation in political ideology. My great-uncle was like many white men in the south back in the 60's. He was racist. He never joined the KKK or anything like that, but from stories I am told he didn't hesitate to drop the "N" word or think of himself as better than the "colored folks". (These are his words when he tells his story.)
His political philosophy changed sometime in the 1970's. He can't pinpoint a single event to change his beliefs, but it just happened a bit over time. My uncle was an educated man and ran his own small business. He realized that because he was white, he was going further than a black competitor that had a better product. My uncle, being the business-man he was, went to this man and offered to buy his company and hire him.
My great-uncle began to realize that he wasn't all that different from this man. Sure, his skin color may not have been the same, but what really mattered, who he really was as a person, was exactly the same. My great-uncle realized at that point that he had been a fool for many years. He thought of himself as better because he was white. No more.
In the 1980's my uncle started a charity with his business partner to benefit the African American community in their rural eastern North Carolina town. My uncle was called some horrible names by many of the men in town. In fact, someone spray painted the side of his house with the words "Nword-lover". My great-uncle got fed up with the constant abuse and moved his business to the Raleigh area. His business partner moved with him.
In late 2007, my great-uncle called me. For the first time in many years he was excited about a candidate. His name was Barack Obama. I remembered hearing about him before and seeing him during the Democratic convention in 2004. I was impressed, but never thought he'd be running for President so quickly. My great-uncle was excited about this candidate. I paid attention.
I was with my great-uncle when he was filling out his absentee ballot for the 2008 election. He was getting older and needed help filling out his ballot. As he filled in the ballot he began to cry. I asked him what was wrong and he told me that nothing was wrong. He just never thought in his life that he'd see an African American running for president, much less be able to vote for one himself. He said he could never right the wrongs of his past, but that very moment he said that America had changed and it was changing for the better.
My uncle was a strong proponent of "Obamacare". He had dealt with health insurance companies for years as a small business owner. He realized how expensive health care could be. He strongly favored a public option. He felt that no matter what, people deserved to be treated humanely when they are sick.
Unfortunately, a stingy health insurance company will ensure his death is anything but humane. The hospital that had been treating him decided to send him home saying without the recommended treatment there was nothing they could do for him but keep him comfortable.
My great-uncle was sent home with a bag of pills and the name of a local hospice contact. He is weak, and probably won't last many more days. Today I talked to him on the phone. He was upbeat for someone on his death bed. I asked him if there was anything I can do for him and he said, "Make sure Obama gets re-elected."