Motion to Suspend Funding to Volunteer Ambulance Service

Navigate to approximately 1:13 to hear the failed motion.

"Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness".

Whether or not you love your country, you can probably agree with those basic unalienable rights, as guaranteed by the Declaration of Independence from the British Crown (sadly, these rights do not yet extend to cats. boo).

But, in these guarantees, our great country has thrived - perhaps by the grace of God, but also the grace of our own virtue - with these principles buttressed by a robust system of laws and rules enshrining our Constitution as unalienable. Unalienable. Cannot be alienated, not by a tyrant, petty or all-powerful.

In the case of free speech, we are robustly protected. Love speech or "hate" speech, speech is protected by the US Constitution. I can profess my love to cats for eternity, or even my hatred for them (no!), and there isn't much that can be done in the way of recourse against me.

Not so, however, in the case of small-time tyranny.

On December 17, 2018, a small ambulance service in Patrick County was made public spectacle by a board meeting called by Dr. Lock Boyce - a spectacle of an entire town for the media, incited by a singular individual.

The case in question was one of Mr. McNabb, a popular shock jock and radio host who has made a variety of jokes about African-Americans and people of the Jewish race that I personally find distasteful. According to the Huffington Post, Mr. McNabb is accused of a lot of mean, racist commentary in the portrayal of his fictional character, "Dr. Narcan", an apparent shock jock type skit that relies on crass racial humor for comedy. Personally, I'd rely on cats for comedy, but that's just a matter of taste.

In his private life, Mr. McNabb is a part-time emergency medical technician, a role that he has apparently served for quite some time without any type of complaint raised against his quality of care by anyone, despite many of the patients in Patrick County being of African-American origin.

I don't agree with Mr. McNabb's speech. In fact, perhaps like you - I hate it. Or I love it, whatever - the point is, speech is free in America.

What I don't hate, however, and certainly love, is a medical professional performing his duty in an underserved community with a sterling record.

Further, what I really hate, and really don't love, is an individual who has been censured for alleged malpractice in veterinary medicine to attempt to defund a service that saves lives due to an employee who has never been censured for any kind of alleged malpractice having views I disagree with.

Luckily, it would seem many agree, as Dr. Boyce's motion to suspend funding to Mr. McNabb's employer didn't even get a second from the board. Still, using a pulpit such as a town hall to violate the fundamentals of our Constitution and prevent a community from receiving medical care is an ethical violation, and I believe that citizens should be made aware of these facts.

If one thing is clear from watching this video, it's that Dr. Boyce is against funding medical services who hire people with views he doesn't like. Wow, right?