Thursday, October 20, 2011

You can't mean it!

Let's get serious! The Heath care debate has begun anew as the 2012 election approaches and the distortions of the politicians and selfishness of the electorate are becoming loader. I don't get it. Are we, as a nation, so selfish that we can not find it in our hearts and pocketbooks, to extend access to health care to the 16% of our fellow Americans? Are the cheers of 'let him die' that bellowed from the audience of the second debate of presidential candidates representative of the majority of us? I doubt it. However, the rest of us, beginning with the potential leaders of our country remain silent. In this debate, there can be no silent bystanders. Those of us who cringed when we heard those heartless people pronounce a death sentence for a hypothetical fellow citizen, have not raised our voices in support of the small, but very significant, changes to our health 'system', established by President Obama's Affordable Health Act. As with any social change, it is vital to have perspective. The five day work week and the eight hour day were not the first improvements to our labor laws, nor was the voting rights act the first achievement in the struggle for the civil rights of Afro-Americans. History is important! It is not so much a question whether the Affordable Care Act went far enough. It is a question of whether we will fight to support this step and be able to improve on. All of the possible future presidents of this country who were on the stage when the audience cheered to let the person who did not purchase health insurance die were silent. Images of a Roman amphitheater spun through my head! 'But we can't afford it!' Nonsense. We have been paying for the costs of the uninsured all along. Come on! Do you really believe the care the uninsured receive when they end up in the hospital, are not paid for? Of course they are. If it is not from a federal program, it is from the state, or city or county all entities we support with taxes in some form. Again why do those who understand the basic function of government, not stand firm and loud and speak up? Lastly I have to say something about taxes. They are what allows the wheels of government move similar to the oil we use to lubricate our cars. When the Oil is low, I believe we all know that if we do not fill up on oil, our car will not continue to run, and if we are foolish enough to drive when the oil meter flashes red, the cost of repair will overshadow the cost of a quart if oil like an elephant does a mouse. Arguing that we cannot afford to pay for health care for the uninsured and under-insured may save you 'chump change' but your children and grandchildren will need to pay with real money, very real. But who cares about them, particularly if they for some reason, do not purchase health insurance.