People are dying out there!

When a hurricane devastates the coast line, the Federal government and scores of volunteer groups head straight for the disaster area. They deploy and serve the needy, regardless of race, creed, religion or national origin.   We have decided that this kind of care is important in our society, and nobody calls it Socialism.  Nobody seems to care that taxpayer dollars have been spent to aid the needy, heal the sick, feed the starving.

In nations around the world, U.S. Taxpayers foot the bill for disaster relief agencies,  Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to bring health care to disease ravaged millions, save innocent lives, feed starving refugees, and every day people willingly give to charities or pay taxes that cover these huge expenses.

We think nothing of sending our troops to help out in a disaster, using government and private agencies to bring help and succor the needy.  We think this is just a part of being a super power, a decent people, a religious calling, pick your reason. You decide.

But when it comes to health care for ourselves, suddenly the air grows thick with suspicion and innuendo. People shout and scream that creating health care to cover ourselves is Socialism, Communism, Fascism, and many other words that have huge but unrelated meanings. Why is that?

From my point of view it is a fabricated argument. Someone has an agenda to push, a policy to guard, an income to maintain, and then suddenly, without warning, the stories begin to circulate, fostered by people who have a vested interest in making sure that universal health coverage never sees the light of day. And who are they?

One can easily blame large insurance companies, companies that routinely fear for the change to the bottom line. And they do profit from our fears. But in the end, it is really all of us who fear change, and so we go along because we talk ourselves into accepting their facts, their point of view, their agenda. And we seldom question it.

But there is perhaps another reason. Who here thinks he or she is really going to get sick? Aren't we after all supermen, and superwomen? Invulnerable? Isn't it always "they" who will have disaster fall upon them, not us? Have we not come to think that we will be spared the ravages of disease, the shame of foreclosure, the loss of a job, the death of a child for lack of health coverage? Worse yet, have we not also come to believe that we are rugged individuals, people who neither need nor want a helping hand, the kindness of strangers, the benefits of our national government? If so, then we could not be more wrong.

Who amongst us would not call the fire department if our house was on fire? We all pay collectively for fire protection, but is that not what some people are now calling Socialism? Collectively paying for a benefit in society? Do we not all have car insurance as well? Why? Is there no benefit to having it, or is it a Socialist idea that we must all somehow have this coverage in case of accident or injury? Some may think so, those who have convinced themselves they will never need either the fire department or insurance.

Expanding this idea further, when the tornado hits, will you quibble over who sent the food and clean drinking water you need? If it comes from the government, does that make it Socialist and therefore a thing to be avoided? Will you deny yourself & your family necessities of life because of who sent them or because of why they were sent? When the earthquake levels your community, will you really say thanks but no thanks to government money to rebuild? Somehow, I doubt you will. It is not Socialism. It is simply human being watching out for fellow human beings. It is what we do as a species, when we are thinking straight, when we are not being lied to, having our opinions taken advantage of, or deluding ourselves.

We do many things together, such as pay taxes for a military to keep ourselves safe, for electing a government to listen to us and make in formed decisions, to ignore the few who shout to hide their sparsity of numbers, or to keep the minority safe from the whims of the majority. We elect people, whether we know it or not, to make sound decisions that are good for us, not for just a few.

We also pay, individually and/or as employers, for things like Social Security, Medicare, Welfare, Job Training, Unemployment Insurance, and many other things we may never need, but which are there for those in need. We pay for all kinds of natural and man-made disasters. When a train wrecks, the ambulance crews do not work for free, their equipment is not donated, their medical supplies are not the gift of some benevolent company. The people who clean up the mess also get paid for their work. We enjoy Interstate and local roads, bridges, parks, beaches and so forth. These things are all paid for by us, collectively, as a group, as much for our benefit as for the benefit of complete strangers.

I only ask that we all keep these things in mind before we start shouting out talking points created by others, ideas with which other groups and organizations use our minds and voices to struggle for something which may or may not be in our own best interest. Listen as well as talk, hear what others have to say and do not immediately jump to the conclusion that because someone disagrees with you or presents other information that somehow it is tainted or their purpose is corrupt.

We need to listen to all sides, rationally, with interest, and then make up our minds. Our Democracy only works well when the discussion allows for dissent, for the inclusion of ideas and information which may not agree with our stand or take on things.

That is how a Democracy survives.