not being asked!
If indeed socialized medicine is so bad and hated by those who are saddled with it as the Republicans would have us believe, why is it that not a single country that has it now has ever tried to repeal it? Germany, England, France, Canada, Japan and all the Scandinavian countries are all democracies with regular, fair and free elections, yet after all these years not one has ever even attempted to abandon their socialized medicine in favor of a for-profit-system like ours!
I have posed this question to many of my right-wing friends, none of whom has even attempted to answer it. Obviously, there is nothing they can come back with since this is the essential question in the argument, they simply go blank and change the subject to yet another name calling personal attack on Obama. Try it with some of your friends; it”s actually kind of amusing to watch the process!
None of those countries with socialized health care has a perfect system and they are always trying to improve. Our Founding Fathers new their Constitution could not create a perfect government either, which is why the very first sentence of our Constitution reads “We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union ?” Later in the document they made provisions for amendments that would continue this quest. In fact, almost before the ink was dry they added the Bill of Rights, which are the first 10 amendments. Despite the fact that none of these socialized health care plans are perfect, they are appreciated and supported by the vast majority of those lucky enough to enjoy the security provided by them. Are there a small percentage of those citizens who are unhappy? Of course, that will always be the case, but these folks are in distinct minorities.
Why is it that the most obvious question regarding health care has not been asked by anyone, especially Obama? I really can”t answer this one. Maybe it”s the old adage about the forest not being seen for all the trees. One thing is certain; Obama has done a poor job herding his health care reform through Congress. I guess the fact that he”s new to this shows. He ran on a platform of change and a public option for health care was one of the central themes to his election. He held town hall meetings in every state, followed by the ultimate polling of the electorate in November of last year. He won by the largest margin since 1972. We don”t need the charade of town meetings turned into orchestrated outpourings of hate and scripted ignorance by Fox “News” and their dupes to throw us off task.
It”s hard to imagine the chaos that would be created if every time the government tackled a thorny issue they had to stop, hold meetings in every corner of the country and get permission! I remember not so long ago George W. Bush saying he didn”t take polls into account when making important decisions as he just did what he thought was right. He was proud of this and most of the right-wing Fox watchers who now attempt to deprive others of their free speech cheered him for it! Cheney was confronted by the fact that the vast majority of U.S. citizens were against the war in Iraq. His famous response, hissed through clenched teeth was simply “So?” It”s time for Obama to do what he knows is right. He has a mandate and it”s been nice of him to try to involve his adversaries, but they are more focused on his destruction than helping Americans deal with this ongoing travesty.
Lowell Grant is a Lake County
