The passing of the health care bill has been on my mind this past week. First I was appalled by the reaction of some angry protesters. Spitting and name calling seem to be a bit over the top. I KNOW that may sound strange from me because I have been know to express some frustrations with government in my lifetime all the way from protesting the Vietnam war in my youth to disrespectful statements about previous presidents all the way from 'Tricky Dick" through the last one that we had. (If you are too young to know who I am referring to when I say 'Tricky Dick' you probably should 'google' it.) But even aside from the anger, it does seem that a new president was elected a little over a year ago to make some changes. Now some people didn't vote for him and they may not like the changes but at least we are getting those changes and I happen to think that we do need some change in the way health care is made available to people in our country. I have always been blessed with exceptionally good health care and that has been a part of my compensation as a teacher. I think that this change was asked for and we should be able to give it a try. In our country the elected officials must answer to the electorate if they do not do our bidding, we vote them out or at least that is the way they taught me in my government class. Many social changes have met with public distrust but we now accept Social Security, free public schools and Medicaid as programs that are important in our society.
I woke up this morning to the news on the radio (Yes, I listen to that liberal station NPR) and President Obama was speaking. I lay there listening and it was good to hear that he "Has his Groove Back". I have been a little concerned because I haven't heard that 'hope' in his voice lately. I think it is back. In my opinion it is nice to hear that hope for something good to happen rather than to be 'snowed' by an administration that only wanted it their way AND their way meant that some people died at war.
I'm going to push the button that says 'Publish Post' before I lose my nerve.
Della, Good job pushing the Publish button. I have aregued this topic with one of my younger, politically conservative, friends who thinks "anyone" already has acess to exceptional health insurance if they only work for it. Because he has never been anything but a city employee. The system needs an over haul, and I know this while not really having an idea how to achieve it. I think it goes all the way to the creation of health care professionals. Why does it cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to become a doctor? Why does the hospital charge $23k for surgery but accept half of that as payment in full from an insurance carrier? Yep, I protested the Vietnam War too.
ReplyDeleteProtest, fine. Be upset, fine. Be celebratory, fine. Debate is the sign of a healthy populous. Throwing rocks and slurs, inciting a revolution, threats to people's lives...not fine....and not the "American way."
ReplyDeleteWe can all agree that health care needs some work in this country. Insurance premiums are too high. Too many people can't afford coverage. Myself included. We've all heard about or experienced really unfortunate situations that should never happen in a developed country regarding medical coverage. The majority of our elected officials have voted and the President of the country has signed a bill into law that will address some of the "broken issues." Let's see how it works.
I'm feeling pretty happy.
I hope.
I also feel tolerant of dissent...it's inherent and natural.
Violence on the other hand needs to stop.
Thanks for posting this.