Letters: Hopeful patriotism; Competence, care and class at MNMC
Hopeful patriotism
On July 4, 2022, social media was littered with posts proclaiming that Americans were opting out of celebrating Independence Day. Nationally, parades and fireworks were scaled back, as volunteers were scarce, and the country continued to sludge through a collective ennui brought upon us by the daily trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest.
I dedicated my graduate studies to community psychology with a feminist ideological leaning, so I would be a logical participant in the anti-4th colloquium. However, my family celebrated.
It is impossible to change a system from which you have completely disassociated. As an American citizen, I reap many benefits from this country and honor its accomplishments, while simultaneously acknowledging its insidious side. I can not pretend that I am somehow removed from it, even when our systemic problems completely break me down. To actually live in a united state, we must get better at diplomacy and acknowledgment of this conflicting duality on a community level.
This holiday is an opportunity for reflective discussion. It’s a time to plan actionable steps for social change and lean into being American. Because “being American” represents you. Your views are defining American culture in an active, living way. Those fireworks are for you, too.
We need productive discourse and everyone represented. Continue to march, to protest, to boycott, to speak out, to advocate, to educate, to vote, to be intentional, to research — with a level of hopeful patriotism for the future.
Competence, care and class at MNMC
I judge an organization, its products, services, and its people by: competence, caring and class. During a recent stay at the Mount Nittany Medical Center, I found all three!
Competence: One seeks a high level of competence from a medical and support staff when experiencing surgery. I found that, at Mount Nittany, every person I encountered – from the individual at registration to the lady with the razor in pre-op, the person who said “good night” in OR, to recovery and finally to the social worker who arranged PT – all knew their job and performed it smoothly and efficiently.
Caring: In addition to competence – the staff at Mount Nittany performed their tasks in a caring fashion, so that I did not feel that I was just another patient in the system. From intake through pre-op, to recovery, 3rd floor east and discharge, every technician, nurse, NA, PA-C, physician, culinary, and the quietly thorough housekeeper performed their tasks with my comfort foremost. (BTW: the food was excellent!)
Class: I call it “presentation.” It’s that message which one encounters when using services. At Mount Nittany, the facilities, patient materials, even the dress of the staff all exude a high level of professionalism that said: “These people know what they are doing and are happy doing it.”
It is not the Cleveland Clinic or Johns Hopkins, but we can take pride and comfort in the Mount Nittany Medical Center, knowing that we have an excellent facility here in central Pennsylvania.
Ignoring public opinion
On his website U.S. Representative Glenn Thompson writes that PennDOT has “blatantly ignored public opinion” about plans to add tolls to certain Pennsylvania bridges.
How about that? Public opinion is suddenly important to Mr. Thompson!
If that is the case, Representative Thompson, then why do you and your fellow Republicans blatantly ignore public opinion to enact strong gun control laws for the safety of our citizens?
Why do you and your fellow Republicans blatantly ignore public opinion to take strong action on climate change?
Why do you and your fellow Republicans blatantly ignore public opinion to provide safe and legal means for a woman’s right to choose?
Public opinion is blatantly in favor of all these things.
The only conclusion is that Glenn Thompson is two-faced. And blatantly so.