Wouldn't it be interesting if a poll could be taken of each house and senate member that asked if anyone in their family has or HAD Alzheimer's Disease or a related brain degenerative disease. I bet the percentile of "YES's" would be well over 60%.
Maybe they should do that next year, before the Conference begins....It could be a blind poll, but perhaps the percentile in itself would stir up a lot of attention.
But maybe, like a lot of others, they may have a relative with AD but don't have a clue as to what's involved. They're IDIOTS on every other issue, why not this one.
And if it turned out a high percentage did have family with AD, then any funding for AD would be represented by the news media to, and perceived by, the public as self-serving pork-barrel spending.
oh no. I don't think that way. I think it would bring to light the high number of families that are affected by the disease...and increase the public awareness .... no family is spared this heartache and tragedy.
I believe that such a poll would open their eyes - and they'd realize that AD is not something that only happens to someone else. When my DH was first diagnosed I didn't know anyone who had a connection to the disease. Since then, I have found out that so many of my church friends, former business associates and people in my neighborhood had a father, mother uncle, or grandparent, - who also suffered from AD or is suffering now. In an odd way, it's created a different connection between those of us who share this experience. That being said, I was thinking if Senator "smith" knew that Senator "jones" were to realize they shared the same experience with Alzheimers back home, it would create a bond they didn't have before. I doubt the Senators and Representatives know of one another's personal life and challenges back in their home state. If they realized that they had this particular commonality, they' might be inclined to join together in a more aggressive fight for more aggressive research and funding for Alzheimer's Disease.
Call me a cynic ... but I think they'll be inspired to support AD causes aggressively by finding out how many of their voting-age constituents are dealing with ADLOs, not by finding out how many of their colleagues are.
At the risk of offending, I will add that I would really like to include many members of said House and Senate in the slapfest line-up. In this matter I am completely non-partisan. There are those in both parties who need a good smack upside the head.