Trump is not a moral leader

Trump is not a moral leader

In Trump's America, we can disagree about many things.

However, one has to be informed about what to disagree about. I would like to describe why our President could be considered dangerous and even attempting to become an autocrat.

He has told one thousand documented lies since taking office. Our president fomented hate speech throughout the election season, whipping up crowds with inflamatory rhetoric like "lock her up!", mocking a disabled reporter, making fun of Hispanics, threatening Muslims with a travel ban, Unfortunately, hate has been a problem for years in our country, however, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, hate crimes have risen dramatically since the election.

Phillip Yancey, a well known Christian writer, wrote, in his book "Grace Notes", that when American becomes so materialistic, there will come a person who will claim to be able to "fix everything". The former Supreme Court Justice Souter once made a similar point

If one wants bring his or her own personal faith to bear on this presidency, refer to the book of Galatians, where one of the "fruits of the spirit" is "tolerance".

I do not know if Mr. Trump is able to control his tweets, temper tantrums, his tendency to blame others and to bully, to not assume responsibility for his actions. I do know is that I do not want our children to think they can model their behavior after his actions.

We have to be very careful of the country we all love. This is not about being liberal, conservative, Republican, Democrat, rich, poor or "elite." It is simply about knowing right from wrong. By so many appearances, Mr. Trump is a very sick man. Trump is not a moral leader, and it is becoming increasing apparent that he is no competent to serve.

Fighting cancer, from Rock Hill to D.C.

Last week, I had the honor of representing SC on Capitol Hill by traveling to Washington, D.C., with more than 700 of my fellow American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) volunteers from across the country to urge Congress to make cancer a national priority.

Together, we called on Congress to support lifesaving policies that help people prevent and better treat cancer. We asked legislators for their support in increasing federal funding for cancer research, backing legislation to improve patient quality of life and removing cost barriers to colorectal cancer screenings for seniors.

When I met with Congressman Ralph Norman, I told him that cancer is nonpartisan, and that Congress should seize the opportunity to pass critical legislation that can help end cancer as we know it.

I also let our lawmakers know that South Carolinians and many others across the country rely on them to support legislation that will help reduce the cancer burden, potentially making cancer history. With more than 1,650 people dying from cancer every day, we must take legislative action on these important issues.

I encourage you to join us, giving us a stronger and louder voice in the fight against cancer. Visit acscan.org to be connected to people like me in your community.

Time to fix the health center funding cliff

Affinity Health Center is hundreds of miles from the U.S. Capitol, but what happens under that dome has a direct impact on our patients.

Community health centers like ours bring a unique and important perspective to the national conversation on health care. At Affinity Health Center, over the last 12 months, we have provided healthcare services to more than 3900 patients. 70% of our patients live in poverty. 61% of our patients have no insurance coverage. 29% of our patients are homeless or unstably housed. We provide critical services including primary care, dental, mental health, and medication assistance for those most in need in our community. We help to reduce costly ER visits, long-term hospitalizations and the impact of chronic diseases. Nationally, health centers generated $24 billion in health care cost savings, according to the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC). It is also noteworthy that a survey conducted by Capital Link discovered Affinity Health Center saved the state Medicaid program $7 million in 2016.

There is little doubt that health centers have contributed significantly to cost savings for the American taxpayer. Yet, it is not sufficient to describe us as just another health care program. We are problem-solvers that look beyond medical charts to not only prevent illness, but also address societal factors like homelessness, lack of nutrition, unemployment and drug addiction that contribute significantly to poor health.

For decades, health centers have drawn bipartisan support because of our record of success. Yet, such broad support may not be enough to ensure we can continue to serve people who need affordable primary health care in the future.

Right now, 22 South Carolina health centers face the threat of loss in funding. An estimated 70 percent of our federal funding, which amounts to more than $56M for our state annually, is in jeopardy if Congress doesn’t act by Sept. 30th. Without this funding, more than 60,000 patients will lose access to care in South Carolina. The Department of Health and Human Services has projected that the national impact would be dramatic: closure of 2,800 health center locations, elimination of more than 50,000 jobs, and a loss of access to care for more than 9 million patients. Our patients need Congress to act now to allow us to do what we do best – save lives and money.

This story was originally published October 2, 2017 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Trump is not a moral leader."