I've been doing plenty of outreach to friends, family, and acquaintances. I've written my fair share of blog posts, I've spoken with multiple media outlets and helped participate in a couple press conferences on the topic as well.
But it's more than just a need to see something positive happen for our state. It's a very personal issue, and the more I meet people around the state who are working just as hard as I am, the more I am touched by not only their dedication, but how much this means to them as well.
As I've said before, my case of Crohn's Disease is significantly more severe than most. While I'm now technically in remission, there's not much more than can be done surgically should my disease flare up again.
That being said, I truthfully do not know that I could personally benefit from an advancement in the research and understanding of my disease should it happen as a result of the passage of Proposal 2 to allow embryonic stem cell research in Michigan.
But that's okay.
What's not okay is the idea that today, tomorrow, this next week somewhere in this state, someone else is going to get the news that will turn their world upside down just like mine was almost 15 years ago.
They'll go through the pain of the disease, the frustration of learning about a disease of which they had probably never heard of, the anguish of discovering there is no known cure, and that as far as the medical community goes treatment is just a giant guessing game. And that's just for those who will share my illness.
There will be others like Laura from Livonia, someone who never got sick, but broke her neck during cheerleading tryouts and now lives her life in a wheelchair, paralyzed from the neck down.
Yesterday the two of us did a press conference to announce the release of an ad for the Cure Michigan folks featuring her, and afterward her father was interviewed. I felt my heart break as I heard him say "All I want is my daughter to be able to give me a hug again."
Saying no to Proposal 2 is telling Laura's father that he can't have hope that one day his 19 year-old daughter will be able to wrap her arms around him and show him how much he means to her. Do you want to be that person to say no?
At the very least, Proposal 2 is about hope. It's about taking something that's being thrown away in the trash and turning it into hope. With times like these, and with people like Laura, her father, and the countless others that you know that live with a chronic illness or injury, can't we all use a little hope?
(Yes on Prop 2 yard signs are now available. Email Minda at Cure Michigan for yours today. Picture swiped from photo-genius WizardKitten over at Blogging for Michigan.)
7 comments:
I am a member of the College Democrats on our campus. Last week, I was drawn into a completely last-minute opportunity to see former president Bill Clinton speak at an event on behalf of Proposal 2. Laura was there too, and I can tell you that hearing her story and seeing her in real life is even more powerful than in that video. And then this weekend, I came home to my conservative home town to see "Prop 2 Goes 2 Far" signs alongside many of the multitude of McCain/Palin ones. I think the fact they use chatspeak in their slogan is a good sign of the thinking power on their side. They went from false accusations about taxes to completely absurd ones composed of slippery slope logical fallacies. They ignore the fact that the vast majority of other states in the nation who use the policies they claim are too extreme are not, in fact, performing alarming experiments that will mutate science. The science simply provides a use for embryos that will be thrown out anyway- a use that can help countless people like Laura and others suffering from things that have touched us all. These people, claiming to be concerned about morals, are putting embryos not only equal to, but above living, breathing, human beings. It's an insult to everyone who values life as it should be. Ending diseases and helping people walk again is going "2 Far"? I won't be the one to say that, and I can't imagine anyone who calls themself "pro-life" would be, either.
Thanks Caitlin, I couldn't agree with you.
Please send Laura's YouTube video to everyone you know and encourage them to vote YES on Prop 2.
If you'd like some yard signs to counter the mass of information in your hometown, contact the CureMichigan folks, and they'll make sure to get you some right away!
Thank you! I probably won't get signs, only because I'm only home on weekends, and not even all weekends. It's my parents' house, and while they support Prop 2, they're not really big on yard signs of any kind. I'll definately link the YouTube video around, though. Finally saw it on TV last night!
Oh, and I don't mean to be having a whole conversation in your comments section, but- I got linked to this post through Twitter, so I only just realized that not only had you been posting about this before, you were at the same event, lol. But it was awesome- and I love your blog! I've read lots of liberal blogs, but very few talking about these local issues.
Thanks!! I've lived with Crohn's Disease for almost 15 years, so I'm very concerned about the issue of stem cell research here in Michigan.
You can catch me on Twitter as well - http://twitter.com/liberallucy and I'm one of the front-pagers over at MichiganLiberal.com where I do a lot of blogging about this as well.
I hope to see you there!!
Who do i contact to get a yard sign to show my support of prop 2?
I have been in support of stem cell research since i learned about it in detail through Christopher Reeves.
I sent an email to minda_nyquist@yahoo.com, but is there someone I can call to get my sign up ASAP?
Hi Gene -
You can visit the CureMichigan website (link provided in this post) or you can call their office - 517.708.3450
Thanks for helping out!!
Since you have Crohn's I just want to let you know about something that has helped me with my Crohn's. I'm on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). It took a couple of years and my Crohn's isn't as severe as yours, but it put me into remission. Although it doesn't work for everybody, maybe it can help you feel better. At least there are no side effects. The SCD is from a book called "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" and has an official website at www.breakingtheviciouscycle.info
Good luck with Prop 2.
Cheers,
Paul Stocker
eatingSCD.wordpress.com
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