This is such a good article. I don’t believe I have ever read an article about cervices written by anyone, man or woman, running for public office willing to use this correct language. Hurrah for you Nick: those who govern need to be more forthright about issues of human sexuality. Next on your agenda should, if I may be so bold, be a discussion about the importance of comprehensive sex education in OR’s public schools. Good luck to you.
You've made a good case for what good government can do, but I'm not sure you directly answered the question. It seems we've lost control of government and the people who decide what kind of government we'll have no longer care what we want or think. They've perfected the art of playing to their base and ensuring the general election matters far less than the primaries. Even when we manage to elect someone who might look after our interests, the opposing party will ensure they can't do anything that might help them in the next election cycle. That, I believe, is what is causing Karen and many others to stop having any faith or trust in government. That's what we can't seem to figure out how to change.
Thank you for calling attention to this issue and making it a part of your campaign. Unnecessary deaths from any cause is tragic beyond measure. We see far too much such tragedy to take even one unnecessary death as acceptable. Yet at this time we are seeing thousands upon thousands of them from many causes, cervical cancer is but one of those tragic causes. Good governance cannot solve all our problems or prevent every unnecessary loss of life, but it can make a difference. When we can improve our world even a little, why would we not do so?
Thank you for getting into the fight to make that difference.
Inspiring Bill. We sure need a lot more people like you in government. It will only be as good as the people involved. Before I retired as a family doctor, I saw two tragic cases of cervical cancer. Everything you said about it is true. We’re paying fortunes for Covid vaccines right now. We can afford and need a big push to get vaccines to all the people who need them for this disease. Boys girls and unimmunized adult women. Best of luck in your election and implementing your ideas. You’ll be a breath of fresh air
Oregon has long had "a state goal to eliminate or alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty in Oregon." (ORS 409.750). No governor has seen it as a high priority and assigned staff to make sure that all agencies and actions of their administration work toward it.
Really good to read this. But why not go farther. I am not a medical professional but just had my 12 year old son vaccinated for HPV. Yes, it is a leading risk factor for cervical cancer but we were also told that it is a notable risk factor for penile cancer (60% from HPV: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/penile-cancer/risks-causes) and also for testicular cancer. That should add impetus to your campaign ?!
I've often wondered whether Republicans have disdain for POC or the poor, often an overlapping VENN diagram. The COVID catastrophe has made it clear that they despise the economically disadvantaged to the extent that they will exacerbate deaths of their own constituents to score political wins. Not all, there have been a scant handful of GOP governors taking the right steps to minimize COVID deaths, but overall, we've seen how critically important (generationally vital) good governance can be. We need great leaders in every state and local office. I hope that some of your readers run for local office. Cervical cancer, yet another preventable disease, is a very worthy platform.
Hi Nick, I have been following your work for years and admire your values. I wish, however, that you were less partisan. Each party has some good ideas, and both have been corrupted by following the old adage that winning is everything (which, in politics, I guess it is!). The progressive wing of the current Democratic Party is both self-righteous and without scruples, while supporting a wish list that would likely bankrupt the country. Bureaucrats with their comfy salaries and benefits have had no trouble mishandling the Covid crisis while landlords and small businesses took the hit. As The Oregonian has so dutifully reported, the state of Oregon has blown multiple initiatives -- regarding unemployment, family leave, etc. -- which suggests that Democrats have trouble translating their ideals into practical realities. The situation at the City of Portland is unspeakable. If you can figure out how to address THESE problems, you will be my hero.
It should be given to girls at school all over Africa too, and to the girls who don't have access to education. I know you are batting for Oregon, but access to Covid vaccines has been so uneven between first and third world. Never forget
The US has the highest maternal mortality rate in the “developed” world for two reasons:
1. For-profit healthcare;
2. Women
Women don’t matter. Women of color REALLY don’t matter. Unless you’re trying to get an abortion, then it’s still you don’t matter, but the fetus you’re carrying does, until it’s born, and manages to survive an absolutely archaic for-profit delivery system, then it doesn’t matter.
This column reminds me of the old story about the little girl picking up starfish from the hot, drying beach sand during low tide and throwing them out to sea. An observer saw her tossing them into the water one by one, pointed out the thousands and thousands of stranded starfish on the long stretch of beach, and asked her if she really thought she could make a difference. Her nonchalant reply, as she tossed another one back, was, "I made a difference for that one."
How many lives does a law have to save before people recognize it as a good thing? Ever since Reagan's shameful "Government IS the problem" pronouncement it seems there have been far too many people in government who have been determined to make that cynical viewpoint a reality. And yet as you say there has been so much good that has been done by governments all over the world, and especially here in the US. It wasn't until I began teaching in 1999 - after a quarter century in private industry - that I realized how hard I and most of my colleagues were working, and that just because our salaries were paid with tax dollars instead of sales it didn't mean we worked with less devotion or effort. I've exerted far more effort in my teaching than I ever did when I was working for corporations or small businesses.
It's this black & white thinking that gets me. For example, I agree with Bernie that Big Pharma in this country has been guilty of a grotesque degree of profiteering and greed, but at the same time I've been amazed at how quickly these same companies managed to find a vaccine for this deadly virus and get it into production and into our arms so quickly. Same with government: yes, Reagan had a point - in the '70's there was plenty that government was doing wrong - just like there was plenty that GM and Ford and GE were doing wrong. Inefficiency was running rampant in the US and around the world. But then thousands of people from every angle - government, industry, finance, higher education - began addressing these myriad issues, and many have been solved. Of course it wasn't a once-&-done matter, it's ongoing: many challenges have been met but many new issues have been created, some more urgent than others.
It's this either/or thinking that prevents us from working together toward solutions. It's easy to declare all politicians liars and cheats; it's easy to attack all billionaires as selfish jerks; it's easy to point to government dysfunction and extrapolate that to all of our challenges - but that doesn't solve any problems. The tough work is digging in and learning about what succeeds and what fails, and then finding ways to bolster the successes and fix the failures.
In fact, that process involves a LOT of hard work and it's not all that gratifying on a daily basis. I know that from teaching math to high school students. But I can tell you emphatically that it's more than worth it - when you see a student's eyes light up when they understand something, and when you see test scores go from barely passing to A's and B's, that's when the gratification comes in. Same with government - and with citizenship. It takes a great deal of sustained effort to be a good public servant, but it takes similar effort to be a good citizen.
I'm glad to see you using the term "governance". Your opponents are largely local political hacks and timeservers who have very little if any record of productive governance and whose main and seemingly only issue with you is lack of "management" experience.
This is such a good article. I don’t believe I have ever read an article about cervices written by anyone, man or woman, running for public office willing to use this correct language. Hurrah for you Nick: those who govern need to be more forthright about issues of human sexuality. Next on your agenda should, if I may be so bold, be a discussion about the importance of comprehensive sex education in OR’s public schools. Good luck to you.
You've made a good case for what good government can do, but I'm not sure you directly answered the question. It seems we've lost control of government and the people who decide what kind of government we'll have no longer care what we want or think. They've perfected the art of playing to their base and ensuring the general election matters far less than the primaries. Even when we manage to elect someone who might look after our interests, the opposing party will ensure they can't do anything that might help them in the next election cycle. That, I believe, is what is causing Karen and many others to stop having any faith or trust in government. That's what we can't seem to figure out how to change.
Thank you for calling attention to this issue and making it a part of your campaign. Unnecessary deaths from any cause is tragic beyond measure. We see far too much such tragedy to take even one unnecessary death as acceptable. Yet at this time we are seeing thousands upon thousands of them from many causes, cervical cancer is but one of those tragic causes. Good governance cannot solve all our problems or prevent every unnecessary loss of life, but it can make a difference. When we can improve our world even a little, why would we not do so?
Thank you for getting into the fight to make that difference.
I also had cervical cancer and survived - 35+ years ago. It was caught early. And I can't say it enough how important regular checkups are.
Inspiring Bill. We sure need a lot more people like you in government. It will only be as good as the people involved. Before I retired as a family doctor, I saw two tragic cases of cervical cancer. Everything you said about it is true. We’re paying fortunes for Covid vaccines right now. We can afford and need a big push to get vaccines to all the people who need them for this disease. Boys girls and unimmunized adult women. Best of luck in your election and implementing your ideas. You’ll be a breath of fresh air
Oregon has long had "a state goal to eliminate or alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty in Oregon." (ORS 409.750). No governor has seen it as a high priority and assigned staff to make sure that all agencies and actions of their administration work toward it.
Really good to read this. But why not go farther. I am not a medical professional but just had my 12 year old son vaccinated for HPV. Yes, it is a leading risk factor for cervical cancer but we were also told that it is a notable risk factor for penile cancer (60% from HPV: https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/penile-cancer/risks-causes) and also for testicular cancer. That should add impetus to your campaign ?!
I've often wondered whether Republicans have disdain for POC or the poor, often an overlapping VENN diagram. The COVID catastrophe has made it clear that they despise the economically disadvantaged to the extent that they will exacerbate deaths of their own constituents to score political wins. Not all, there have been a scant handful of GOP governors taking the right steps to minimize COVID deaths, but overall, we've seen how critically important (generationally vital) good governance can be. We need great leaders in every state and local office. I hope that some of your readers run for local office. Cervical cancer, yet another preventable disease, is a very worthy platform.
Hi Nick, I have been following your work for years and admire your values. I wish, however, that you were less partisan. Each party has some good ideas, and both have been corrupted by following the old adage that winning is everything (which, in politics, I guess it is!). The progressive wing of the current Democratic Party is both self-righteous and without scruples, while supporting a wish list that would likely bankrupt the country. Bureaucrats with their comfy salaries and benefits have had no trouble mishandling the Covid crisis while landlords and small businesses took the hit. As The Oregonian has so dutifully reported, the state of Oregon has blown multiple initiatives -- regarding unemployment, family leave, etc. -- which suggests that Democrats have trouble translating their ideals into practical realities. The situation at the City of Portland is unspeakable. If you can figure out how to address THESE problems, you will be my hero.
It should be given to girls at school all over Africa too, and to the girls who don't have access to education. I know you are batting for Oregon, but access to Covid vaccines has been so uneven between first and third world. Never forget
The US has the highest maternal mortality rate in the “developed” world for two reasons:
1. For-profit healthcare;
2. Women
Women don’t matter. Women of color REALLY don’t matter. Unless you’re trying to get an abortion, then it’s still you don’t matter, but the fetus you’re carrying does, until it’s born, and manages to survive an absolutely archaic for-profit delivery system, then it doesn’t matter.
https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/issue-briefs/2020/nov/maternal-mortality-maternity-care-us-compared-10-countries
This column reminds me of the old story about the little girl picking up starfish from the hot, drying beach sand during low tide and throwing them out to sea. An observer saw her tossing them into the water one by one, pointed out the thousands and thousands of stranded starfish on the long stretch of beach, and asked her if she really thought she could make a difference. Her nonchalant reply, as she tossed another one back, was, "I made a difference for that one."
How many lives does a law have to save before people recognize it as a good thing? Ever since Reagan's shameful "Government IS the problem" pronouncement it seems there have been far too many people in government who have been determined to make that cynical viewpoint a reality. And yet as you say there has been so much good that has been done by governments all over the world, and especially here in the US. It wasn't until I began teaching in 1999 - after a quarter century in private industry - that I realized how hard I and most of my colleagues were working, and that just because our salaries were paid with tax dollars instead of sales it didn't mean we worked with less devotion or effort. I've exerted far more effort in my teaching than I ever did when I was working for corporations or small businesses.
It's this black & white thinking that gets me. For example, I agree with Bernie that Big Pharma in this country has been guilty of a grotesque degree of profiteering and greed, but at the same time I've been amazed at how quickly these same companies managed to find a vaccine for this deadly virus and get it into production and into our arms so quickly. Same with government: yes, Reagan had a point - in the '70's there was plenty that government was doing wrong - just like there was plenty that GM and Ford and GE were doing wrong. Inefficiency was running rampant in the US and around the world. But then thousands of people from every angle - government, industry, finance, higher education - began addressing these myriad issues, and many have been solved. Of course it wasn't a once-&-done matter, it's ongoing: many challenges have been met but many new issues have been created, some more urgent than others.
It's this either/or thinking that prevents us from working together toward solutions. It's easy to declare all politicians liars and cheats; it's easy to attack all billionaires as selfish jerks; it's easy to point to government dysfunction and extrapolate that to all of our challenges - but that doesn't solve any problems. The tough work is digging in and learning about what succeeds and what fails, and then finding ways to bolster the successes and fix the failures.
In fact, that process involves a LOT of hard work and it's not all that gratifying on a daily basis. I know that from teaching math to high school students. But I can tell you emphatically that it's more than worth it - when you see a student's eyes light up when they understand something, and when you see test scores go from barely passing to A's and B's, that's when the gratification comes in. Same with government - and with citizenship. It takes a great deal of sustained effort to be a good public servant, but it takes similar effort to be a good citizen.
So let's all get to work!
I'm glad to see you using the term "governance". Your opponents are largely local political hacks and timeservers who have very little if any record of productive governance and whose main and seemingly only issue with you is lack of "management" experience.