Michael J. Fox And The Politics Of Cures
Ankle Biting Pundits
by B.T.
[T]he recent controversy over Michael J. Fox’s appearance in political ads for democrat candidates in Missouri and Maryland I think requires some commentary, especially considering I am a diabetic and the entire science of stem cell research, both embryonic and adult, may or may not have an impact on my hopes for a cure one day.
Having had diabetes since 1983 at the age of 9, I have been told by one doctor or another every year since that “a cure is just 5 years away”. Hearing that repeatedly without seeing a whole lot in the way of actual results is fustrating, and as I get older, even though I work on my health constantly, the effects of this disease and the wild swings in blood sugar take their toll over time. Two of my in-laws also have type 1 diabetes, with one having a severe case of it. Healthcare issues are paramount in my family, so I don’t care to hear anyone selling false hope. With that in mind, I’ve read a lot about what Mr. Fox has had to say in his ads over the last few days. I more than most appreciate his efforts to find a cure for what is ailing him. It’s natural to look for any avenue that may offer hope that one day, we will be rid of our respective diseases and their effects will be but a long distant bad memory.
But where I find fault with Mr. Fox and his efforts is this: what his efforts in this election has done, and whether or not he’s intended it IMHO this is what he has wrought, is to effectively make a decision at the ballot box a litteral life-or-death decision, where if you vote for one party, you may be either be enabling a cure for a particular disease to be found, or you may be closing the door on a potential discovery of a cure and thereby leading to the suffering and death of another human being. To be fair, this was done first by John Edwards in 2004 when he boldly proclaimed that a vote for him and John Kerry meant that quadraplegics would walk again. It was an utterly absurd and disgusting moment in the history of American politics for a vice-presidential candidate(and a trial lawyer) to come off as a snake oil salesman in order to win votes.
It should have ended there, but obviously it has not and has only gotten worse as the stakes for elections have gotten higher. And it does not help anyone to have Michael J. Fox out in the political sphere essentially doing the same thing, not even the democrats he is campaigning for. As we have noted here in the “Elsewhere” section and as has been noted by Rush and Michael Steele’s campaign in Maryland, the candidates that Mr. Fox is campaigning for have either grossly misrepresented themselves and their opponents or have actually voted against the very research Mr. Fox is advocating. No matter how well-intentioned Michael J. Fox is in his testimonials, the fact that his candidates have so grossly politicized stem cell research and cures that may or may not be derived from it is going to do more harm than good for people who suffer from chronic disease and disability.
Such politicizing also does not help the electoral process. No politician should be allowed to politicize such an intensely personal issue where a person’s hopes, dreams, and their very life are affected. But that unfortunately is where we are now. Any candidate can now go out and say “a vote for my opponent is a vote against your child being cured” and with the backing of a Hollywood star gain legitimacy for that statement. It is morally wrong, but unfortunately it seems morality and politics are on opposite ends of the universe with no hope of bringing the two together anytime soon. Mr. Fox should recognize that and think twice when he takes his crusade for a cure so far into the political realm as to make a vote a “life or death” choice, lest he hurt all of our chances at real cures by mixing those chances with politics.
By the way, let this serve as a prime example that politicians like the ones Michael J. Fox promotes don’t offer cures; researchers and doctors do.
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