One Wisconsin Now

Former Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson knew that if the environment was to be a priority on the national agenda, it would be the people, not the politicians, who put it there.

So, in 1970, Senator Nelson announced a nationwide grassroots demonstration on the environment; he called it Earth Day.

Thirty-eight years ago, the first Earth Day demonstration saw an overwhelming 20 million participants. The sheer numbers got the attention of Congress and led to the enactment of some of our most treasured environmental laws.

But as I said in an Earth Day speech at Edgewood College, we are a far cry from realizing Nelson’s dream of a world where our waters are unpolluted, our air clean, and our planet preserved for future generations.

“Studies show that no society that has totally embraced homosexuality has lasted more than, you know, a few decades. So it’s the death knell of this country.”

“I honestly think it’s the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam – which I think is a big threat, OK?”

When Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern said these disgraceful and disgusting words, she thought no one was listening. Speaking before a group of her supporters at what she believed was a private gathering, the Republican lawmaker viciously attacked LGBT Americans. But, every word of Rep. Kern’s bigoted tirade was caught on tape.

Over the years I have heard hundreds of heart-wrenching stories about individuals and families who suffer as a result of health insurers failing to provide the same coverage for mental illnesses as they do for physical ailments.

One Wisconsin woman shared with me an especially poignant story that illustrates the imbalance of the current system.

In the same year, this woman’s husband and daughter both required major medical care because of life-threatening conditions. One had a disease of the kidneys and one suffered from severe clinical depression.

Both patients required emergency visits and extended treatment. Both patients were compliant and followed their doctor’s treatment instructions. Both patients were covered under the same family policy.

But the insurance covered twice as much of the costs associated with the kidney disease as it did for the severe depression, simply because depression is a mental illness.