By Cyndy Slovak-Barton
Groucho Marx must have had the ability to see into the future. Maybe he was looking at 2016, maybe 2020, but definitely he could see 2021.
You might not be a Groucho fan, but it’s worth watching him sing “I’m Against It.”
Because, dang, that song fits our time.
What are the lyrics? Read on and laugh a bit.
I don’t know what they have to say
It makes no difference anyway
Whatever it is, I’m against it
No matter what it is or who commenced it
I’m against it
Your proposition may be good
But let’s have one thing understood:
Whatever it is, I’m against it
And even when you’ve changed it or condensed it
I’m against it.
This song came to mind as I was reading a ProPublica story about a 12-year-old Florida boy whose parents rushed him to a hospital. He was in pain and sat in the ER waiting and waiting.
You see, he was having an appendicitis attack. But the ER was full of people – almost all not vaccinated against COVID-19 – who were sick.
Yep, you guessed it. This young boy waited and waited. And waited.
And, when his pain increased, his mom plead with a nurse for help. The nurse had her hands full and couldn’t help. She just looked around the room and shook her head.
Finally, after many hours, his appendix burst.
Instead of the routine 24-hour ordeal of a normal appendix operation, he ended up staying 5 days in the hospital (he was rushed to sister hospital), and he was pumped full of antibiotics by the doctors, trying to save him.
The young boy lived, and he’s back to normal now, though the bill ended up being $48,000 because of his long stay.
And all of this happened because the ER was full of people “against it.”
They are against masks; they are against getting vaccinated (for COVID-19); they are just against everything.
And, yet, they aren’t against taking up space in the hospital, because health care is the right of everyone. Sure, health care is the right of everyone – whether you take care of yourself or not.
But there comes a time when health care is going to be rationed. That started last week in Alaska as hospitals became swamped; doctors were pleading with people to stay home; nurses were trying to give out the free vaccinations
But, there are always people who are against it.
The Groucho Marx song, as are so many of his movies, actually quite funny. He was the original rebel in that he fought against a staid American society.
You get to chuckle along with him.
But it’s no laughing matter when ERs around the country – or in our county – are full.
It’s not fun to have to sit on the floor of the ER for six hours with your drip line tacked to the wall behind you. (Yes, this happened at a hospital right here in Hays County. You see, the hospital ER was full.)
It’s not funny when you have a broken arm or an allergic reaction and have to wait hours to get seen in the ER.
It’s not funny to harass people who keep their masks on – not because they are scared but because they know that, just by keeping a mask on, they might keep a virus from hitting them or another person.
It’s not fun to get the vaccine. You might have a slight reaction. You might have to actually take time out of your day twice, or maybe three times, to roll up your sleeve.
But we should all do this. The vaccines are free, and this is the only way we are going to stop this spread. We want businesses and schools to fully open.
We want to have fun again. Heck, we want to go to a theater and watch Groucho Marx without fearing that the cough you hear in the row behind you could be a COVID person.
We want to be able to take a grandchild who is too young for the vaccine to a store without fearing for his or her life.
Let me just say ... I am NOT against it. I’ve taken the shot. I want you to do so, too.
Help us get out of this hell.
Take the damn shot.
