Maybe some day we'll have a revolution...

Some people tell me they don't want the controversy I tend to stir. They want results instead. Without the controversy. Well, that’s admirable. But not always achievable without rocking the boat. Some call it stirring the pot. Getting people downright pissed. That’s why we have revolutions. People get damn mad over the status quo and declare emphatically they ain’t gonna take it anymore. And that often happens in a gradual manner. Bit by bit by bit. Until there’s an explosion. Like we had during the wonderful 1960s over civil rights. People became militant. They took to the streets. Blacks finally became pissed over the maltreatment they received for generation after generation after generation. And they enlisted white folks like me to the cause. Millions of us. Yes, we came in droves. And we got big gains. More civil rights. For minorities. But it took a long, long time. Too long. But that’s better than never. And we’re still trying to complete the revolution for full equality for everyone. It’s on-going. Never ending. People today are still denied basic civil and human rights. Often, in more subtle ways.

And I'm saying that our efforts to bring attention to the devastating problems associated with Alzheimer’s and other dementias will require a similar investment of time and effort. A revolution, of sorts. The gains will be ever so slow. But we have to build to a crescendo. Ever so relentlessly. Here and there. Until vast numbers of people become aware. Pissed. They’ve got to shout that we’re not gonna take it anymore. Meanwhile, each one of us has to pitch in. In our own inimitable ways. Calling attention to the sad plight of Alzheimer patients and their care-givers. We have to raise awareness in our corners of the world. To make things better. For everyone. I do my share. Almost daily. With my blog. And on the Alzheimer’s message boards. And in my local community. By trying to be persuasive and involved. In kindly, effective ways. But yes, also by raising hell. By being militant. Just like we did in the 1960s to bring about change. I’ve even taken my case for better treatment for Alzheimer patients to the Minnesota state health department. I put my concerns into the laps of state inspectors. The ones that see what’s happening and isn’t happening in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. I’ve called for experimental nursing homes where, in the memory care units, it would be required to provide extensive supplemental care, way beyond what’s offered now. Let’s see if my so-called good vibes therapy works. I’m convinced that it will. But we need proof. We need to test it. Let’s get results. Yes, it’ll cost more. But in this nation we don’t seem to hesitate to spend $2 billion a week on a senseless war in Iraq. We don’t hesitate giving the super rich tax cuts. We don’t hesitate providing billions of dollars on corporate welfare. And we give short shrift to our infrastructure. We allow our highways and bridges to deteriorate – so that we have more money to spend on national defense. And all this makes me sick. To my stomach. And worse yet, sick in spirit. Makes me a disillusioned American. Because I see up close and personal the glaring deficiencies in our health care system. We’ve got 46 million Americans without basic health and medical coverage. And we've got a shoddy system of health care for the mentally ill and for dementia patients. Yes, I’m raising hell about it. In my own neck of the woods. Daily. And in my blog. And on the Alzheimer’s message boards. I stir controversy. And I’m told that’s unacceptable on the message boards. But still, I persist in my own ways. Often, one-on-one. And when someone on the Alzheimer's message boards posts a thread addressed to me, asking for my help, for my assistance – well, before I even have a chance to reply, it brings negative responses. Meanwhile, I keep plugging away. I write letters to the likes of people who ask for my help. In the hopes of enlisting them to the cause. I encourage them not to be discouraged. Instead, keep plugging away. The two of us. Let’s try to make it the three of us, and then 4, 5, 6. Let’s keep building and recruiting more and more believers to the cause. Maybe some day, we’ll have a revolution...a wonderful one...in the Alzheimer's domain. --Jim Broede