Privacy or Lunacy

First, I would like to apologize beforehand for the entire post being underlined. I have no idea why it is, nor have I any idea how to remove it. I think the symbol God is giving today is either a.) what I have to say is extremely important, so listen up, or b.) someone who cannot figure out this simple technological issue should perhaps be trying a simpler task than blog writing.

Changing diapers and jiggling fussy babies is exhausting, especially for large families of fussy little overblown diapered ones. However, having dealt with babies now of the tiny through college size variety, I am ready to state unequivocally that the college variety is more frustrating. And I am not even going to discuss the obvious difficulties such as being unable to send a college boy to his room, if indeed he could find his way into his room through the carefully placed research project which is simulating the layers of detritus that supposedly accumulated over millions of years in his attempts to show how fossil underwear can develop over a mere summer of lying at the bottom of the sediments of clothes and trash.

However, I am expounding today upon an even greater maddening situation- the government policy of protecting our children from those evil parents that might want to know what surgical procedure they will be paying for..... the privacy laws or HIPA. I believe that stands for Helping Insure Parents Agony. These laws in the health field are supposed to insure patient privacy and are only rivaled in short-sightedness with the privacy laws that prevent the parent paying for college or at least co-signing the loans from seeing the student's grades, or being allowed to even discuss the financial records of that student. All you parents who do not have a kid who has reached age 18, get ready. You are still responsible for paying all the bills, but no doctor is allowed to tell you what happened to little Johnny that requires you to fork over $10,000. Nor is financial aid in the college allowed to tell you what Johnny owes, why a hold was placed on the account, nor whether Johnny even attends that school or not. But they will gladly take your VISA number.

So let me give you poor parents a taste of what is in store for you. (Please note- this is a simulated situation. It did not happen, but it is not far from the mark. I consider exaggeration a useful literary tool and despite what you may have been taught, when used by an author it is not lying. Check out any article on global warming and you will see what I mean)
You take Johnny to the doctor and stand beside him to check him in. The receptionist smiles at Johnny and signs him in, looking suspiciously at the adult next to him who seems interested in the proceedings.
"Who are you?" she snaps.
"I, I , I am his m-m-mother," I stammer apologetically.
"The doctor is here to see HIM, not YOU!" she barks.
"B-b-but I am the one that will be paying the bills," I explain, feebly, understanding that mothers are scum of the earth according to HIPA.
"You may only come in if he signs a release allowing you to."
The adult child, seeing that only yesterday it seems he had to write, "I will respect my mother"one hundred times in his best cursive, sees pay-back time. He marches into the examining room without a backward glance, chin in the air, and says, "Woman, I never knew you." Note, there is a striking parallel to Peter in the Garden of Gethsemene when accused of being a disciple of the newly arrested Jesus, cries out,
"Woman, I don't know him!" (Luke 22:57)

In some cases, I have to really stretch for the spiritual message of the stories God brings to mind. This is one such anecdote, but I love the challenge. Honestly, I do understand the need for adults to have privacy, but to deny parents, particularly parents footing the bills, access to their progeny's records while they are still dependents seems to me as ridiculous as crying out that we don't know God, our own Creator.

Ezekiel 20:44
You will know that I am the LORD, when I deal with you for my name's sake and not according to your evil ways and your corrupt practices, O house of Israel, declares the Sovereign LORD.' "