I would quit social media if it weren't for the benefits derived from connecting with readers and like-minded folks I never would meet otherwise. And I have so many friends from across the political and philosophical spectrum that my algorithm is an eclectic mix of right, left, and center commentary. Not to mention puppies and frogs. So I don't really stay in much of a bubble like we were warned about in "The Social Dilemma" and keep being warned of by Jonathan Haidt and other experts.

I don't remember the date Paige Kordsmeier McCammon popped up in my Facebook feed. But there was a young woman in a gray T-shirt on what appeared to be a screened-in porch, and she was crying. Something about her anguished face rang so true I could not look away. I turned on the sound and here is what I heard:

"Help! I need your help! I am telling Arkansas that this is wrong." Paige paused, physically pained as she held back a sob, and wiped her face with her shirt. "I am scared every day that something's going to happen to my baby, and he's already so sick."

She explained her baby's rare genetic disorder and problems associated with it, how she--a school counselor--deals with it, and what they need to help keep him safe. Paige described how she recently applied for a Community and Employment Support waiver, which waives a couple of the requirements for help under Medicaid for families like hers who want to care for their disabled children at home instead of putting them into an institution.

The application process is egregious, but we can all relate on some level to filling out government paperwork or health-care forms, insurance forms, school forms, whatever. What is unimaginable is that the paperwork Paige had to fill out was 180 pages long, and this is while........

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