Paul's Passing Thoughts

I am happy that people are catching on to what is really going on in our society right now. It is the age-old problem of social caste and elitism. In EVERY element of life, it is “Rules for thee, but not for me.” In the words of elitist Leona Helmsley, “We don’t pay taxes; only the little people pay taxes.”

People find anti-capitalism among the mega rich and mega famous confusing as well. Didn’t these people become rich through a free market economy? Yes, but here is their problem with capitalism: it funds individualism. To the degree capitalism raises the economic status of a rube, it lowers the status of an elitist. When a movie star sees a serf pull up to the light beside them in a $50,000 vehicle, that diminishes the status of the movie star. It really boils down to that.

This is why the difference between a Republic and a Socialist government is directly relational to the size of the middleclass. Presently, you have to admire the genius of what the Democrat party is trying to do; by eliminating the middleclass, they will achieve Marxism by default. That’s the endgame entirely. I contend that this is primarily behind the hatred for Donald Trump; his economic policies empower the middleclass. Having financial means empowers the individual.

But, we must remember: all actions are driven by ideology, and the difference between ideology and religion is a fine line. Here is the key; you must understand how the elitist defines wisdom. To the elitist, all wisdom, and depth of wisdom, is determined by an understanding of how totally depraved humanity is. Often, elitists are immoral. Right, because their moralism is equal to wisdom; hence, their actions are irrelevant, while what they know about their actions is the real test of their morals. Therefore, trusting the abilities of the individual is the epitome of evil. Trump also fits into that category. This is the core cause of so-called Trump Derangement Syndrome.

So, the wise person knows that we are all totally depraved, and therefore, also according to wisdom, the wise person knows that we must depend on government and religious institutions to MANAGE evil. Being evil is not the point: your moral temperature is determined by your willingness to be managed by the “experts.” The orthodoxy is total depravity, and the priesthood is expertism.

Accordingly, if our children were educated about world philosophy over the past 100 years, there wouldn’t be a Democrat party. Neither would there be an institutional church. Ironically, an understanding of world philosophy in general, and Platonism in particular by the framers of the American constitution spawned the American Revolution. Somehow, the essential need for this understanding to continue did not formulate. Benjamin Franklin once said that we have a republic, “…if you can keep it.” Unless people understand the ideology that drove human history until the advent of Americanism, our ability to keep this republic is unlikely.

There is a good question here. “Don’t the elitists understand they will not be elitists without capitalism, individualism, and the freedom of upward mobility?” No. Elitists think they are elitists by virtue of who they are, not how they got to where they are. And, it’s really more about having power over others than the money. Wanting to control others is really one of the main pillars of sin itself. The primary essence of sin is control-lust. The Bible states this explicitly. Sin is not necessarily the breaking of a law, it is a failure to love God and others. It is individual focused. It is earned self-esteem through person building according to a truthful assessment, and helping others to build wisely is what we call, “edification.”

I see a lot of social media buzz about elitism of late, but unfortunately, the primary complaint is that elitists are “hypocritical.” This misses the point entirely. John Kerry is not a hypocrite because he bemoans carbon footprints while jetting around the world in a private jet. You see, a limited carbon footprint by elitists jetting around to save the world is a far cry from the great unwashed flying around the country and the world for no good reason other than some selfish purpose. The little people don’t need to be flying anywhere, they need to be home or at work supporting those who are saving the world from its total depravity. Nether should they own cars; they should ride a bicycle to work or take public transit. Yes, there will still be a need for planes, cars, and jets, but not for the little people. They need to lead simple obedient lives that only have one purpose: to support the state or any other institution that attenuates evil. All of humanity is seen through the prism of evil.  

It really all starts with presuppositions about mankind. If people are basically unable, the ability to use fear to control people will be greatly enhanced. The principles in this article can be applied to everything we are presently experiencing in our culture.

We must go far beyond understanding elitism; we must understand the ideology that drives it, and make individualism the driving force in our own lives. America stands or falls on this principle alone. And what of God? Well, this is a simple thing: you will stand before him ALONE to give an account of the sum and substance of your own life.

And trust me, you will get little credit for blindly following the dictates of tyrants and religionists.

paul

Day after day, millions of people arrive at work to begin the task of different jobs. The job of nurse aide is arguably the best job any person can have. One reason, among many, is the arrival.

Regarding most jobs, the arrival at work is routine, but for those working as nurse aides and possessing the heart of a nurse aide, the arrival is far from routine. In fact, it is fair to say that a nurse aide’s arrival can be a matter of life and death. My brother was under the care of a nurse aide at home and had a medical episode at the time the aide was scheduled to arrive. Unfortunately, the aide was late, and when she arrived, she found my brother deceased.

There are other reasons a timely arrival is important for a nurse aide. It is a demanding job, and the aides you are relieving are probably ready to go home. However, it goes far beyond that motive. Among nurse aides, the arrival is an opportunity to honor your fellow aides. The point here will focus on shift change reports. Though the job is unique, in and of itself, with the focus here being the arrival, aides can make it even more unique by setting themselves apart with the right focus.

One focus of the arrival should be a relevant report. You see, reports shouldn’t be the presentation of a case that you did your job so that my shift will be easier; good aides know that the pursuit of easy as an aide is a fool’s errand anyway. Besides, the job is about the resident, not how hard your job is. If you are a good aide, it goes without saying that you did your job, and if you didn’t, there is a good reason why and knowing the why is of no benefit to me. If you are a substandard aide, cleaning up your mess comes with the territory. Good aides know that tattling is a waste of time and smart DONs know that it is mostly the projection of your own guilt anyway. Good aides report abuse, but they don’t tattle; they suck it up and take on the day. They know they are good, and don’t need to bring others down to prove it, or for that matter, merely shine a spotlight on a poor performance that may or may not reflect someone’s overall performance anyway.  

Honor other aides by being on time and assuming the best about them; it’s a great way to start a shift. Herein is really the first point of this article; the arrival of a nurse aide makes it a unique job because of who is glad to see your arrival. Too often, way too often, aides are not happy to see the arrival of their relief because it means, after putting in a hard day, they must make a case for how easy they have made the beginning of the shift for their relief.

Hence, unfortunately, for the most part, other aides are not among the two parties that are happy to see the aide’s arrival. As an aide, pleasing other aides cannot be your focus. You won’t last long. Nevertheless, changing the culture, beginning with the purpose of the shift change report, puts the aide profession in a more honorable light and improves care. Though it should never be your goal to include aides in those who are happy to see your arrival, a little extra icing on a cake is always good.

Few job participants are greeted with appreciation upon arrival like the nurse aide. We will start with the residents of a long-term care facility. The fact is, many residents pin their hopes on having a good day, or night, by which aide is scheduled to work. Residents know if the aide wants to be there or not. Residents know if the job is just a paycheck in the mind of the aide.

Full stop: nothing is worse than being cared for by someone who is put off or inconvenienced by your needs. If you are an aide, and you want to care for people; they know it, and your arrival makes their whole day worth the living. Few jobs may boast such a daily arrival.

Furthermore, we must ask ourselves, how many falls and subsequent injuries are due to a resident trying to do something they are unable to do because they know the aide is put off by their needs.

The next ones who are glad to see your arrival, and the last subjects of this article, are the nurses. They are probably glad to see you, even if are not that great of an aide. Their job is nearly impossible without you.

Here is the key to surviving the rigors of being a nurse aide: please the nurses; it is very much mission possible. Aides eat their own and always will; you work for the nurses, not the aides. If you remember that, you will do well. If the nurses value you, the aides can bark at the moon till the cows come home, and probably will, but to no avail.

A few tips for winning over nurses. “‘Nurse’ is a noun and ‘aide’ is a verb.” One of the elements of a fake aide is the expectation that nurses should have to help the aides. Most nurses don’t even have time to go to the bathroom. If you think nurses should help you to remain humble, don’t worry, the facility administration will take care of keeping nurses humble.

Dare to change the present culture. Don’t sit down unless it is your break time, and never sit down on the hall. Down time is patrol time: that’s when you are the extended five senses of the nurse. Stay off your phone while you are on a hall. And for crying out loud, don’t text while you are assisting a resident with a meal. Just don’t do it.

Put your STNA training to use. Instead of running to the nurse with every resident complaint to start with, apply your training and then report to the nurse. For example, SOB. Is the breathing apparatus properly inserted in the nose? Is the resident elevated to the semi-fowlers position? What is the oxygen saturation that can be reported to the nurse? You just saved the nurse 15 minutes. Applying your skills throughout the shift will save the nurse hours. That will not go unnoticed by any stretch of the imagination.

Lastly, empty the med cart trash can and keep the water pitcher iced and full. However, you may want to apply these tips gradually over time lest the nurses think you are mentally unstable.

If you do your job, you can know, while you are enroute to the facility, that your arrival will make people glad. Beside the residents, the nurse will look at you, and he or she may not say it, but they are thinking, “It’s going to be a good shift.” Not a bad gig. You are making good nurses better…and happier. 

Like any difficult job, you will need to remember from time to time the objective reasons for wanting to be an aide. That will give you the staying power and the encouragement you need. You must remember why you are an aide. And if you think about it, it wasn’t because you thought it was going to be easy; no good aide ever wanted an easy job, but rather something challenging that pays the dividends of self-fulfillment.

And there are many good reasons, more than any other profession, but perhaps the best one is the positive arrival you experience on every shift.

Paul Dohse, MA-C, STNA