Letter: What the health care reform bill was really about

Talk about it

What if health insurance was made illegal? I’m by no means advocating that, but let’s say it happened. What would your reaction be if you knew that any health care you received, you would have to pay for at the time the services were rendered? My guess is that it would move taking care of one’s self and staying healthy up the priority list a couple of notches. It may even put getting educated about solving ones own health care issues on the list. Seems reasonable enough, doesn’t it?

What if health insurance was made universal? Does it seem reasonable to suppose that people are going to do a better job of being healthy? Does it make sense to suppose that the general health of the nation would improve?

I think that perspective pretty well establishes the fact that the health care bill wasn’t actually about improving the overall health of the nation. The actual intent can be discussed all day, but I think we would do well to ignore the notion that current politicians passed the bill because they are so very concerned about your well-being. They are looking out for No. 1 and in their book, that ain’t you.

Speaking of perspectives, I wonder what would have happened if a prominent Democrat had stood up during the debate and expressed an opinion along the lines of “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” Even though a Democrat said that, I think I might borrow something similar to that for the up-coming election. I’m pretty sure the Democrats won’t mind my using it. They’ve abandoned that notion long ago.

I haven’t. I think pride in one’s country, pride in one’s fellow citizens and pride in one’s self are more important than pride in entitlements. I hope the upcoming elections bear out the fact that most citizens still agree with that perspective.

Tags: letters, healthcare reform, michael garber, opinion, healthcare, garber