Of all the things Christians do that annoy others, it’s their incessant whining about the trials and tribulations they face in this fallen world of ours that really wears thin. There isn’t much they won’t whine about.
- If you don’t let ‘em make you pray – they whine
- If you don’t let ‘em make you fund them – they whine
- If you don’t ‘em dominate society – they whine
Whining is perhaps the number one thing Christians do extremely well. Second to this is their self-centered irresponsibility that they seem to love so dearly. A prime example of this special feature of Christians is Phyllis Schlafly’s latest article about Universal Health Care.
School’s around the nation are starting to recognize that children can and do suffer from mental health issues. They’ve also figured out that like the Hurricane Season in the south, the Flu Season comes around every year without fail and that there are some really bad ass diseases floating around. Their response to these is to start screening children for possible problems and requiring that children obtain certain shots as a condition of attendance.
Sounds reasonable right? Not if you’re a self-centered irresponsible Christian who just happens to think that *your* children are somewhere between pets and property, not humans and *you* have the right to expose them as well as other children to viruses and diseases that can kill them in addition to failing to get your children the mental care they may need.
For example, Schlafly specifically mentions the new vaccination requirements for New Jersey. Let’s go through that list, shall we?
- The first one is the pneumococcal vaccine for children aged six months to 5 years old. For children this young, that would be the Prevnar shot. The Prevnar shot helps to protect children from airborne bacteria that can lead to meningitis and sepsis. Meningitis is nasty disease that infects the fluid surrounding the brain and in the spinal cord. It can and does kill. Sepsis is a whole body infection with a 20% fatality rate in it’s most mild form. The worst form has a fatality rate of over 60%.
- The flu shot is required for children within the same age group. While most of us recover from it within a couple of weeks approximately 36 thousand people die from it each year. The elderly, chronically ill people and young children are most susceptible to catching the flu and for developing complications such as bronchitis and pneumonia as well as infections of the sinuses and ears. Chronic illnesses such as heart disease and asthma can be worsened will infected with the flu virus.
- A Diphtheria-Pertussis-Tetanus (DTaP) booster shot for six graders. These three bacterial diseases are quite serious. Diphtheria is a thick covering in the back of the throat. It can lead to heart failure, paralysis and death. Tetanus (aka lockjaw) causes painful tightening of the muscles. Up to 2 in 10 cases are fatal. Pertussis (aka Whooping Cough) causes coughing spells so bad that eating, drinking and even breathing becomes hard. It can last for weeks and lead to pneumonia, seizures, brain damage and death.
- A menigococcal shot for sixth-graders. This is a shot for meningitis itself. As I said above it is an infection of the brain and spinal cord caused by bacteria. 10%-14% of cases are fatal. 11%-19% of survivors have permanent hearing loss, mental retardation, loss of limbs, or other serious consequences.
It just boggles the mind that anyone could be against trying to stop the spread of these horrible diseases, especially in the name of being “parents”. But, leave it to a Christian to whine about how doing so is an affront to their parental “rights”.
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But if a child dies before they hit puberty, they are much more likely to still be sexually pure and much less likely to question the invisible guy up in the sky. Kill ‘em young and they go to heaven.
I know, cynical as all get out, but that’s my take on it.
They are highly skilled whiners. You’d think they were still being fed to lions instead of running America!
You are right on so many counts…the whining and treating children like [mindless] chattel. I am currently watching a pair of dumb-ass parents make the lamest medical decisions for their son. The kid is not being consulted at all, just placated and pacified with video games and other expensive technology. And the parents whine about their lot, the rigors of his care and transportation, the expense… yet they spend their dollars carelessly and ask for financial help from those around them. Gradually friends and family are dropping away. The online journal for the boy is not at all about the boy or kept by him… but it is a journal for the mother to vent. Her last post indicating that people can’t understand, and what they say to her “trivializes” what they are going through. So no one is saying anything anymore. And to top it off, they refuse to become involved in a support group, so they can meet and interact with people who know precisely what they’re going through. The kid would have been better off being raised by wolves…imho. But they’re fundamentalist Christians. Thank you for your insightful article.
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