A couple of posts ago, I touched upon the subject of the right to dissent if you believe your government is not doing enough to serve your needs. I believe the government is there to protect the people and their well being and health, and allow for free competition that gives everyone the chance to succeed. In this post, I am taking aim at the behemoth problem of health care. This is directly related to both the right to dissent and the role of government, not as working within the parameters of a defined role, but how a healthcare overhaul might affect the its image in the eyes of average Americans. It will also refer back to my post about punditry and doing your own research. That section, of course, will take aim at the recent “grassroots” protests at local town hall meetings. Lastly, I will consider some things I have read about healthcare in relation to California and its budget crises, including some scary statistics.
Let’s start by taking a swing at the left. This is of course regarding the Op-Ed piece that Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to the Washington Post. In this Op-Ed she said that the disruptions at the town hall meetings were “Un-American.” Bad move, Pelosi. I think your intentions were spot on, but your wording was off by a mile. These protests and dissents are the epitome of what it means to be American. You cannot, and should not berate dissenters as un-American. The act of protesting, as I have said in the aforementioned passage, it’s a right that is ensured under the Constitution, and a medium through which people can voice their discontent with the administration’s health care plan. With that said, Pelosi should have gone about it a different way. Pelosi should have explained that the protesters were rude and inconsiderate and shouted down any chance for their representatives to help assuage their problems. Shouting down your Senators, when they are trying to help you, is something that Glenn Beck would do to a guest he has on his show who disagrees with him. She also should have taken aim at the fact that many of the protesters were either uninformed people who just shouted irrelevant messages about stimulus funding and socialism, were paid Republican staffers or were subsidized by private medical insurance companies. But, they are certainly NOT Un-American.
But, the dissent has a very irking characteristic to it. That characteristic is the unorganized, chaotic, disrespectful, mobbing, unintelligible and disunity of the message that the health care uprising has included at its rallies. This mob is has not taken sides or shown any kind of coherence of message in their uprisings. That is, they attack both Democrats and Republicans at their town hall meetings for a various host of issues, all of which have nothing to do with healthcare. Birthers, Anti-Tax, Anti-Bailout, Anti-Global Warming and Nazi graffiti have all been characteristics of these town hall meetings, which were aimed at a spirited discussion about healthcare. If these people want transparency and an active role in having their opinions taken seriously, they should be doing it in a fashion where their opinions can be respected and heard. Booing and talking over your representatives does not produce such a result. Being angry and yelling does not produce such a result. Asking for Obama’s birth certificate does not produce such a result. Spray painting a swastika on a sign for a town hall meeting does not produce such a result. Calling Obama a fascist, socialist or Hitler does not produce such a result. Here are some examples of mob rule that has unfortunately characterized our “dialogue” with the people:
1. Sen Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania) was shouted down and booed at a town hall meeting after he tried to talk to his constituents about health care. Some attacked him personally for switching parties, while some yelled about “restoring the country” to what the Constitution had envisioned. Of course the Constitution had wanted to keep health care a private, for profit business. The Constitution was a “bundle of compromises” and if these people are not willing to compromise on their manner of speech to get an agenda through, then their opinions are mute in the healthcare issue. Of course, amidst the booing, healthcare was hardly brought up.
2. Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri), a relatively centrist Democrat who is known for being a moderator between the parties, was shouted at, booed and drowned out by the mob. She expressed her concern that the debate was not about “who was the loudest.” At one point she tried to talk to the crowd about healthcare, was shouted down and threatened to leave the meeting.
3. David Scott (D-Georgia), also a relatively centrist politician, had a town hall meeting in an Atlanta suburb, and a swastika was spray painted on a sign outside of the town hall meeting. I didn’t know the likes of Hitler had anything to do with Healthcare. I didn’t know trying to ensure that everyone has access to healthcare was a Nazi idea. Oh yah…their just being racist and unbelievably ignorant. Nothing to do with healthcare.
4. Sen John Cornyn (R-Texas), a reliable conservative and head of the GOP Senate Campaign Committee, was booed down in a teabaggers rally for supporting the Bail out. Of course this was a tax-based rally, not a healthcare town hall. But, booing him for voting for the bailout at an anti-tax rally does not produce tax reform, and certainly does not paint his constituency as reliable.
5. Bob Inglis (R-South Carolina), the most reliable conservative in the GOP, was yelled at and shouted over about vaccines for swine flu and his criticism of a conservative broadcaster (probably Limbaugh, Beck, Hannity, Savage or one of their cohorts). Angered, he was later quoted as saying that these protestors cannot build a base off of unsubstantiated and false claims. And, of course this goes to show you that these people eat up the bullshit that pundits and broadcasters tell them, and revolt with furious anger over such bullshit as if it were god’s truth.
6. J Gresham Barrett (R-South Carolina) was booed down, and had backs turned to him at an anti-tax rally in April for voting for a 2008 bailout. He tried to plead with the crowd, citing his conservative record and his devotion to the “conservative cause” but was not taken seriously. Again, while this does not have to do with healthcare, it shows you how the protesters don’t understand how they need the support of their representatives to pass legislation that is to their desires. They can’t just boo and yell and expect something to get done.
7. Michael N Castle (R-Delaware) was asked repeatedly during a town hall meeting on why there has not been an investigation into Obama’s birth certificate. These questions elicited boos and shots in support from the audience. Yes, let’s waste the valuable time of our Congress to find out the obvious fact that Barack Obama was born in the United States. Wait…who gives a shit? He was voted in, and given the confidence of the office of president by a mandate. Bringing up the “Birther” issue does not solve the problems of Healthcare, bailouts, two wars, global warming and all other RELEVENT problems facing the country.
(SOURCES: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-health-gop16-2009aug16,0,5794904.story?page=2&track=rss
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/08/town-hall-anger-why-we-love-to-hate-our-politicians.html)
But, LA Times columnist Gregory Rodriguez brings up a good point (http://www.latimes.com/la-oe-rodriguez17-2009aug17,0,4516013.column) He says that the right to dissent and challenging authority is much older than the United States, but is also a characteristic of democracy. He comes to conclusion after going through Alexis de Tocqueville's “Democracy in America.” His dilemma is that once you look down upon or consider these protests to be not wholly American, you put at risk not only a characteristic of American democracy, but you put at risk a tenet Democracy as a whole. But, one question he leaves unanswered is what happens when the innovation that comes from challenging opinions produces anti-intellectualism and a “sheople” mentality. This is definitely reflected in the uninformed protesters at these town hall meetings and their reliance on punditry to challenge their representatives. Nonetheless, I agree with his points that challenging authority is a very American characteristic and must be protected, like any other part of American democracy.
Now, let’s look at some scary examples of how healthcare reform needs to be instituted. These come from California, whose budget compromise has put a huge burden on healthcare, especially for those who can barely afford it, or depend on state and federal programs. Steve Lopez of the LA Times has been following the trials of volunteer workers and uninsured patients at a clinic in Los Angeles. Thousands of uninsured patients have got treatment through a nonprofit called Remote Area Medical for anything from root canals to diabetes medication. Lopez’s recent article is called “At a Free Clinic, Scenes from the Third World.” He has some testimony from a dentist from Westwood. CA who worked in Brazil, who said that their free healthcare and clinics cause a waiting period, but not as bad as it is in the United States. Most of the patients have Medicare, and many need small operations, medications and eyewear that Medicare does not cover. And, with the budget cuts to state supported healthcare, that coverage list might get smaller and smaller.
(SOURCE: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez16-2009aug16,0,3959652.column?page=2)
Another example is a legacy of the budget cuts to California, but also resembles the need for a base standard for healthcare. The Healthy Families program of Los Angeles will have to cut insurance to 60,000 children from its program. These children come from poor families and are often times disabled. Without funding for the program, 670,000 children will have to be dropped by June, 2010. This is unbearable to think about, mostly because these Children had nothing to do with the budget crises, and their circumstances are beyond their control. They are being punished for the actions of others, and they do not have the political power to do anything about it. This is a prime example of a healthcare system gone awry, not just in California, but in the nation.
(SOURCE: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-california-budget14-2009aug14,0,6580131.story)
We need to step back from our hooting and hollering, our anger and distaste and our need to vent and take a long, concentrated look at our healthcare system. 47 million uninsured, poor and disabled children in the hundreds of thousands being dropped from insurance and free health clinic resembling third world countries are not hallmarks of the most powerful and influential nation in the world. If nations like Brazil can offer better healthcare for children and Mexico begins to offer free healthcare for tourists, then we certainly have a big issue on our hand. Minimal healthcare must be provided for everyone. This is not socialism, fascism, Nazism, but it’s a product of the concern for the health and safety of our citizens. You may have the right to protest Obama’s birth certificate, taxes, global warming and waste tea while you do it. But, while you yell and scream, some uninsured person is costing you as a taxpayer a lot of money because they hurt themselves working to make America what it is. Everyday, the working men and women that these “Grassroots” protests represent work preserving the American entrepreneurship spirit, and yet they cannot afford healthcare and became the same burdens on taxes that these protesters decry. Maybe it’s the recession? Maybe a whole lot of uninsured, unemployed people have to vent their frustration at a situation that was most likely beyond their control. They were employed at steady jobs before an irresponsible bank sector, housing market policy and credit system crippled the economy causing massive layoffs. Now, they look at the administration in its promises of new jobs as the culprit of misinformation and bad policy. But, some of these people are leading unhealthy, unsustainable lifestyles that they aren’t willing to give up, which also puts a burden on the healthcare system.
But, you know who else suffers because of your principles? The poor, the low income, the disabled, all who depend on an equitable healthcare system and to be treated with respect and dignity, like all Americans should be. Their situations are often beyond their control, but they don’t have the means to voice their opinions, or their struggles. They are the result, the end-product and the poster child for policies. But, in the end they are not helped. In the end, the healthcare issue is not resolved. In the end, the time-wasting, shouting, booing, inconsistent, disorganized, mob-mentality of these “grassroots” protests does not make the situation any better for them. You act on the principles of America, and yet you fail to recognize or respect those who are truly struggling. So, abandon your quest for an Obama birth certificate and start thinking about other people for a change. Then, maybe you will realize that this healthcare system needs a change. It does not necessarily have to be the same policy that Obama wants, but it should include a minimum standard. We should strive to help as many as we can with a new healthcare system. The well being and health of ALL Americans should and always be a priority.
Hmm, Sheople. I like.
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