A brilliant fellow teacher posted this on her Facebook page, and with her permission, I am posting it here. She posted it on Ron Paul's Facebook page, and it was immediately taken down.......no surprise there...
Dear Ron Paul,
You seem like a nice and sincere man. If I could have a minute, I have a couple of minor concerns on a couple of issues, not a big deal, really, just the health of our planet and our citizens.
I like the EPA. I like that rivers do not catch on fire anymore.
I am glad some areas are superfund sites. I think we should clean up our messes. My parents taught me that.
I like the clean air act, too. People who did not live in the sixties and seventies do not remember how bad the air was in large cities. And they do not remember the people who worried about it. And they do not remember the people who worked to change it.
People who make up a huge part of your support are young people who were born into a country cleaner than it would have been without the EPA. But if they went back in time, they would see it.
But you are old enough to remember, Ron.
I am told to trust you on health care, as you are a medical doctor.
I like things like the metal knee my dad now has. And his pacemaker. I like the cancer drugs he is on, as they seem to be working, at least in fits and starts. They are very expensive.
You would not BELIEVE how much they cost! Oh, wait. You're an MD. Maybe you would.
You tell me that churches can pay for things like that- that we do not need Medicare. Well, I am a regular person with no medical or economics degree, but I can understand the cost of my dad’s medical care, and I am dimly aware of the fact that he is not the only American who has benefited from these, and other, expensive treatments. Or will someday need to.
People who have not undergone serious treatment for challenging medical conditions may be less likely to know how much they cost. They may not give a flying fruitfly about those who do know.
They may think they will never get ill. I see a lot of this kind of “it will never happen to me” thinking (I sub at a middle and a high school). People who make up a huge part of the healthy and “invincible” are young people.
I am seeing a pattern here. But I digress.
If these young people go forward in time, they will get old, and they may need expensive treatment.
But you are old enough to know how much medicine and machines and technology cost, Ron.
I suppose if people die off because their churches cannot pay for a pacemaker, or asthma and cancer deaths increase when our air quality deteriorates again, that can save the United States a lot of money. I get it now.
Thank you for reading this.
I remain,
Sincerely yours,
Sarah
post script: May I recommend a story to read during your campaign flights? It is called “A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift. It is now in the contemporary literature section after all these years!