As I read stories in the news and see the status updates on Facebook, it's apparent that our biggest problem in today's society is that people no longer know the difference between want verses need.
I recently got into a heated debate over IVF (in vitro fertilization) because my stand point is that we are wasting valuable research money on fertility when having your own biological child is a want not a need. I also think that spending 100's of thousands of dollars in having our own biological Children when clearly there is a reason you can't conceive (DNA, evolution, genetic disease) and we have plenty of orphans is ridiculous but that's not the point I'm trying to make. Once I realized the person I was debating with was pregnant with a child I'm almost certain was conceived through IVF, I decided that stressing out a pregnant women and potentially affecting her fetus wasn't worth me totally pounding her into the ground with my point and leaving her emotionally destroyed. I actually think about others even in a debate. Plus I would have played dirty and said that if she is eating chemicals while pregnant she's already commiting child abuse, which is a whole other rant for another post.
Here is my point: There are people and children who are currently alive who have no homes (adoption) and who were born with major birth defects or have had a major accident that has left them incapable of caring for themselves (need). The money spent on fertility (want), obesity (man made disease) and heart disease (man made disease) should be spent on real medical issues (ms, paralyzation, Parkinson's, asthma, blindness, deafness etc) that affect a persons ability to feed themselves or even know who they are or you are half the time and even wipe their own ass let alone get to a bathroom themselves (all needs). These are only simple examples, you can't imagine their hardships. I see these people at physical therapy and doctors offices. There is no way on earth you can convince me that spending money to figure out how Bob and Bunny can have the child they want, can in any way be compared to the importance in figuring out how to get Bobby born with a paralyzing birth defect
the ability to feed and take care of himself. Anyone who can think they can find a qualifying defense is part of the problem or carrying it in their utterous. I don't begrudge anyone who has partaken in IVF the happiness of having your own child but don't go around acting like infertility is a real problem when it's a luxury problem. I have no issue with people speaking of how heart wrenching it is to not get what you want in terms of ease of getting pregnant or the time it took, miscarriages and all the suffering you went through but please don't act like what you overcame was something you needed to survive because it's simply something you wanted in your life that you couldn't get easily. Have a little more perspective on people with real medical conditions who need to figure out ways daily to accommodate their needs while you complain and struggle with your wants. If we could all take a minute to think first about how many people really suffer and really live a life trying to just cover their needs maybe we can have a little more perspective and tact on how we are handling not getting our wants.
Side note: Right now I would like to walk full time without a crutch but there is no way I can compare my hardship of being disabled the last 2 1/2 years with anyone who has any of the diseases/conditions I mentioned. I can clearly recognize that I want to be pain free, cure my autonomic neuropathy, turn my neck, walk unassisted and stop the spasms but I can live and survive with a lot of extra effort while others are far worse off than me.
