Men and Their Shadows

Men and Their Shadows

Optimism = Change
By Eric Rutberg

When facing obstacles and failure, the inner voice of an optimist says; “Now I see what went wrong. I can do it better next time.” When facing those same obstacles and failures, the inner voice of a pessimist says; “This would never have happened to someone else. The problem here is me and I will never change.” The optimist thinks they will overcome the environmental barriers that stand in the way. The pessimist believes that it is their deficiencies in character, their genetic inheritance and the plight in to which they have been born that is at the root of their failure.

I am an optimist. That isn’t to say I’m blind to my personal imperfections. I have failed to get out of my own way on more than one occasion. And, when I do, I get angry with myself and even down myself at times. Yet, I am an optimist. I have been conflicted about war, I have been saddened by floods and rocked by the Asian earthquakes. I believe those tragedies impact us all on a cosmic, energetic, unconscious level.

Despite world events, I am all too aware of the problems right here in our state of Maine. Fuel prices, the cost of wood, credit card debt, healthcare…healthcare. Let’s just stop right there. This is a topic, near and dear to my heart and I am fuming over Governor Baldacci’s out-of-touch-hands-off, negligent approach to preventing the fiscal/techno debacle that directly and negatively impacts my efforts to service clients with MaineCare. For the past nine or ten months, I have been brewing inside; trying to make sense of the mockery of a travesty of a sham we call human services in this State. But it’s time to speak out, both for providers and for those clients who have been and are going to be affected by this administrations cross-eyed approach to human services in Maine.

It shouldn’t be news to anyone that this administration switched out the computer system that managed the accounts receivables and payables, without putting into place a sufficient back-up system. The new program crashed causing “shock and awe” among providers. This administration completely failed to disperse the monies providers, like me, earned for more than eight weeks. Imagine not getting paid for eight weeks. How many of us could come through that unscathed? The Baldacci administration is scoff-worthy as it whines about how there was nothing that could have been done to avoid this. We inherited the problem, they will bemoan. In other words, “it’s the nature of the beast.” No accountability, no reasonable actions to remedy the fallout, finger pointing and side stepping is all that I have witnessed from this administration.

If you’re a pessimist, you will continue to believe that it the nature of the beast is that all politicians are the same and there’s no chance for change. Or, you can be an optimist. Human services in Maine can thrive but only if we believe change can happen and only if we work towards making that change happen. This government screwed me and I bet a lot of you are feeling screwed too. Let’s hold it accountable; let’s make it change.

Over time, I hope to interview politicians and leaders in our community regarding the future of human services in Maine, so that readers can enjoy varied perspectives and make educated decisions come election time. If you’d like to contribute to this column, feel free to contact me.