NOTE: Clearly, the biggest story anywhere is the shooting of former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. I have some thoughts about what happened there – and why – but I also have thoughts about commenting on anything before all of the facts are known. Reporting in the immediate aftermath of a major news event is almost always filled with flaws, so I urge you to take everything you hear with a grain of salt. Be patient and allow the facts to come through the media cheesecloth. We’ll know more in a day or two, and we can wait until then before we weigh in with opinions.

I know this is going to push some buttons on some people. I hope so. But please, set your political knee-jerks aside and look at this just in the way it’s being presented. Because some things are more important than politics. For me, this is definitely one of those things.

Anyone with a pulse is now acutely aware that our President is in the political battle of his life, and it’s not because of his policies. President Biden’s performance during a debate with former President Donald Trump on June 27 put a spotlight on Biden’s perceived health issues – primarily that he seems to be dealing with cognitive issues. People on both sides of the aisle are weighing in on whether or not Biden should stay in the race or get out of it.

All of this is simply too familiar and too sad for me. Less than two years ago, my stepfather succumbed to a massive heart attack, so heart disease was the official culprit in his death. But the real villain was dementia – in his case, Lewy Body Dementia. This type of dementia leaves protein deposits in the brain, causing problems with little things – you know, little things like movement and thinking.

I was downsized from a position in 2008 and found myself with few career options other than going to work for my stepdad at the church where he was priest-in-charge. Other than the very small salary, it really wasn’t a bad job. Plus, I got the opportunity to work closely with him again. (We had previously worked together for close to 10 years at a different ministry.) The unexpected side to this was that I suddenly got a first-hand look at the slow progression of dementia and the startling regression in his train of thought.

There aren’t a lot of specific examples to illustrate this, primarily because every week brought a fresh example or two that elevated my concerns. Dad was retired and ministered at the church almost for free, so he worked from home most days and usually only came to the church during the week on Wednesdays. That way, he got to handle church business and also lead the noon midweek service. Most often, he would call me on Monday or Tuesday to give me a heads-up about what he wanted to discuss when he arrived on Wednesday, and I’d take notes and do whatever research was needed to prepare. Here’s a sample conversation:

Monday phone call:

Dad: Doug, it’s near the end of the summer, so we need to start thinking about our plans for the Christmas season.
Doug: Yes, sir. I was thinking the same thing. I already have a list of some ideas to run by you.
Dad: Perfect. Make sure you also get the dates for when Advent starts. And I want to think about something we can give people on Christmas Eve as a present.
Doug: I’ll have everything together for you on Wednesday!

Wednesday meeting:

Dad: You know, Doug, it’s almost the end of the summer. We probably need to start thinking about what we’re going to do for Christmas.
Doug: Um, yes sir. You told me you wanted me to get started on that when you called on Monday, so I already have a list of ideas.
Dad: Uh, that’s what I meant. We need to talk about the ideas you have for Christmas. And maybe even a present to give to people on Christmas Eve.
Doug: Yes sir. I already put a list together of things we can afford to do.
Dad: Nice thinking, son. I love that you’re thinking ahead.

This kind of exchange was noticeable early on in my tenure at St. Jude’s Episcopal Church, probably no more than two years into my time there (probably 2010 or 2011). Dad didn’t pass until December 2022, so this was something we dealt with for more than a decade. In the last six or seven years, he was officially retired and pretty much stayed at home, at first helping take care of his horses and then just watching television. In those years, his stiffness of movement was evident, and his ability to sustain a conversation was even more evident.

Here’s where the big frustration comes in. Dad was completely unwilling to admit that he had an illness or even a problem. Whenever you talked to him, he would tell you he was in the best health of his life and that things had never been better. What’s worse is that he had people in various corners of his life that fed this delusion, not because they didn’t see it, but because they weren’t willing to oppose him or hurt his feelings. To talk to any of them, he was fine up until the day that he died, even though others expressed grave concerns and urged increased medical care. It’s not that he didn’t have any help along those lines – there just never seemed to be any sense of urgency to get him the kind of help that he truly needed.

Fast forward to today. We have a President in the White House who clearly is having medical issues, and those of us who remember my stepfather the way he used to be are having extreme flashbacks. The stiff movement. The lack of balance. The slurring of speech. The lost train of thought. It’s all there, and probably even more if we sat down and made a list. And lest you think this is political, I’m neither Republican nor Democrat. I maintain a status of Independent because I want to be able to call it as I see it. And in this case, I don’t give a damn about the man’s political party.

Joe Biden is a human being who, regardless of how I feel about his political bent, deserves some measure of human dignity. And, sadly, almost no one in his sphere seems to want to provide him with that dignity, and certainly almost no one in the Democratic or Republic Parties is thinking about his situation in human terms.

A growing number of Democrats are mortified because of his recent performance in the debate and the subsequent interview with George Stephanopolous. They’re begging him to drop from the Presidential race so they can draft a new candidate with a better chance of winning. On the other side, Republicans seem all too giddy about Joe being the Democratic nominee, primarily because he seems currently so easy to defeat. Meanwhile, the President’s inner circle seems unwilling to admit that he’s weak, and they tell us how amazing he’s doing – when he’s stressed out, tired or some place we can’t see him. Sure, he sucks when he’s in public, but you should just see how awesome he is when he’s without stress, fully rested and in a place where no one else is around.

Lost in the middle is Joe Biden the man – someone with a clear neurological problem. What problem? No one knows because no one around him is willing to talk about it. (My brother has done a lot of research because of someone he knows has Parkinson’s Disease, and he thinks it’s related to Parkinson’s because of how the President moves.) Whatever the problem is, it’s time for us to set politics aside and start to show some concern for the President. Personally, I think it’s probably time to him to step aside immediately and let his Vice President step to the forefront. Politically, there are issues with that decision on both sides, but that really isn’t important when it comes to the man’s health. And if he won’t step aside, it’s time to consider taking the decision out of his hands with the 25th Amendment. But that will require some honest discussion about how he’s really doing – a discussion that no one has been willing to have thus far.

Also lost in the mix is the incredible opportunity that we have at this moment. Alzheimer’s Disease and dementia are currently the sixth leading cause of death in the United States (probably even higher once more current statistics are released with greatly reduced involvement from COVID-19). There have been some advances in the treatment of dementia, but imagine how much weight someone like President Biden could add if he was willing to be honest about how it’s affecting him. It’s not a happy opportunity, but it’s a chance to elevate AD and dementia to a greater level of national discourse. And with more discussion will come greater funding and even more advanced developments.

I get that politics is important and that we should care about who is running the country. But some things are more important than politics. I remember my Mom telling me something a long time ago that still sticks with me. We had seen somebody who looked worn out and bedraggled – probably homeless – and I most likely made a comment about the way they looked. Mom looked at me and said, “That’s somebody’s baby.” No matter how you feel about the man politically, Joe Biden was once somebody’s baby, and he still deserves, at the least, our concern and some basic human dignity.

Copyright © 2024 Doug DeBolt.