It can’t be only me. Many of us must have noticed “that house” in our neighborhoods. Maybe it’s a house on the corner.
The lawn is green, lush and always freshly mowed during the summer. They put out comfy hammocks on the front porch. Clay pots with just the right herbs and plants. Flags for the 4th of July. Pumpkins and colorful yellow and orange flowers for the fall. Seasonal wreaths on the door. Beautiful Christmas lights and decorations. You get the picture. It’s visual perfection. A feast for the eyes.
But then 2016 rolls around.
The house that has always brought about a smile, suddenly has a Trump sign out front. This is what happened to to me. Since I am not a supporter, my feelings about that “beautiful” house changed. Because I started thinking about the beliefs of the people inside.
This picture above is not the actual house in my neighborhood, because I didn’t think it would be fair to them. Ever since that sign went up, I started thinking of it as the Trump house on the corner. And now every sign that goes up on their lawn, I view with skepticism.
In Massachusetts, we have three ballot questions to vote on. Question 1 has been giving me trouble. If passed, it would limit the number of patients assigned to registered nurses in hospitals and other health care facilities.
The nurse staffing issue seemed pretty easy to me when I first heard about it. Of course there should be a limit. I would vote YES. But then I drove by the Trump house on the corner and there was a sign for YES on Question 1.
Huh? Not what I expected. Also, they had a Diehl Senate sign. He’s the Republican running against Elizabeth Warren. So they hadn’t suddenly become Democrats.
So if these people are also supporting Question 1, am I missing something? Maybe it wasn’t as simple as I thought? Could there be unintended consequences? I started to dig a bit deeper into the question.
From what I’ve read, there could be hospital closures and longer waiting times to be seen as a result. WBUR did a segment about the issue, but I still don’t feel good about the question either way. Some nurses support the initiative and others oppose it.
A Boston.com article says that both Senator Warren and Senator Markey support it. The Democrat running for Governor, Jay Gonzalez, supports it as well. Our current Republican Governor, Charlie Baker, appears to not be taking a stand at this point. Not a surprise.
My mom and I have spoken about Question 1 a few times as well. She is not sure either. I was planning to do early voting today, but this question is holding me back at the moment. What do you think?
Now I’m wondering more about the people living in the Trump house on the corner.
