I’ve had heroes in my life. My Dad, for one. Lifetime Air Force who fought in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the Cold War. He spent some time at the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs ( when they weren’t total sellouts like they are now) before he retired as a Colonel. He was actually shot down behind enemy lines in World War II. More important, he was a great Dad who taught my brother and me so many important lessons about integrity and honesty.
And he taught us to recognize true bravery and sacrifice.
In the last months, I have met some new heroes. They aren’t the kind you would expect. They don’t have medals on their chests and they will probably never be given awards for their bravery. But not because they don’t deserve them.
These heroes were the nurses and medical workers who stayed on duty during the entire Covid “pandemic.” I met them because they are being let go tomorrow because they won’t take the Covid vaccine. They know the jab is not safe. There are a so many of them. We can never thank them enough.
Two of them stood out to me. These two nurses would not want me to name them, but I think they will know who they are. On Tuesday, in an effort to get their message out, we protested in front of our county courthouse and then attended the County Council meeting. After almost three hours, which included the most dishonest, misleading presentation by the County Health Department head about Covid, people who signed up could give three minute speeches to the Council.
Two of them were nurses. They are nurses who will be fired tomorrow. They didn’t want to speak. Nurses are action people who spend their careers helping people heal with their kind touch, their soothing words, their expertise, and sometimes their hard physical labor. They certainly are articulate when they speak about their jobs and lives, but they don’t relish speaking in public.
Add to this the fact that they know that anything they say will more than likely get them reprimanded and fired. Sometimes their families don’t want them speaking in a public forum for that reason. And, let’s face it, one of the greatest fears people have is public speaking.
During the marathon meeting, I could see they were tired as they waited. It’s bad enough that they had probably worked that day, but now add the mental stress of speaking in front of council members for three minutes. But, the time did come.
It was amazing as both of these ladies, these true heroes, walked up to the microphone one at a time and began. They weren’t just speaking for themselves, they were speaking for all the nurses and workers who were in danger of losing their jobs, who had been bullied for months by administration and fellow workers, who cried themselves to sleep at night wondering what would happen if they didn’t take the shot or if they did.
With emotion and conviction, they spoke of their jobs, of how they had worked through the Covid crisis. How they probably had natural immunity after working with Covid, how they still would be wearing the same PPE they had for a year and a half that suddenly didn’t seem good enough. They spoke about how the medical establishment was lying about the number of Covid cases. They knew the virus was dangerous, but they also knew the numbers were exaggerated and the vaccine was dangerous, maybe even more dangerous. They told how the administrators wouldn’t let them and their colleagues ask questions about the vaccine, about the mandate. In the end, they both expressed the anger and sorrow they felt.
It was inspiring. Two heroes, showing their heroism in a way that wasn’t comfortable or normal for them.
And now, the zeroes. There are two kinds of zeroes here. The first one is the actual number “zero” and how many of them are appearing in the amount of money these drug companies, politicians, and hospitals are making off Covid and this vaccine. It’s in the billions. And, that hospital that just fired hundreds of employees? Why they are making millions. Drug company kickbacks, Chinese money from a well renowned hospital in Baltimore, and Medicare and Medicaid “grants”. Lots of zeroes. Part of it earned by putting the vaccine into workers’ arms.
And their administrators, men who don’t seem to give a crap for anything other than their bottom line, their salaries, and feeding at the state/federal trough for money; they are members of a unique group of zeroes. Human zeroes. People who care more for their political and personal power than the people who work for them and the patients they serve. We know that because we know that patient care will be severely impacted by their stupid, meaningless mandate and the resulting loss of staff. And so do they. But, it’s collateral damage I guess. These administrators know this is not about health, but money.
They belong to a big group. Our Governor, one of the biggest zeroes I have ever seen in political office, stands up in front of everyone patting himself on his back fat. He has killed our economy, our education system, and now our health care system by supporting this mandate. He wants to fill the fired health workers’ jobs with untrained nurses and foreign scabs. For what? Again, money. Money and his sick illusion of a run for President. Hey, Larry, not only are YOU a zero, but so are your Presidential polling numbers. BIG FAT GOOSE EGGS. In fact, you don’t even show up on the list.
I can only hope he gets an untrained nurse the next time he needs an IV or a procedure. Ooops, did it go wrong? Too bad.
Of course, we have the parade of zeroes in Washington DC. Soulless, evil people who are holding patients’ health, lives, and nurses’ careers as hostage. How big of a chicken shit are you to do this while dangling billions in front of other soulless human beings at the state and local level? My prayer is that they will get their true measure of justice when their time comes. And I hope it comes in the form of an untrained, foreign nurse who has to operate on them with a big, dull knife. I don’t think God likes zeroes.
As for the heroes, ladies I, and so many of us, will be there for you and your colleagues any time you need us. We love, honor and thank you. My hope is that soon you find a good landing place for your talents and skills. And I hope that the next place you work really means it when they put up a sign that says, “Home of the Brave.” It’s a phrase that applies to you ALL of the time for everything you do and have done.
