Saturday, June 30, 2012

MEAN SPIRITS

The spectacle of Republican governors doing everything they can to deprive the neediest of their citizens of the benefits afforded them by President Obama's health care act would be laughable were it not so cruelly appalling.  Now that the measure has been declared constitutional by decision of the US Supreme Court, failure to implement it looks like nothing more than sour grapes on the part of the right-wing ideologues who now dominate the Republican party.  My hope is that those who suffer as a result of this intransigence will finally recognize that it is being employed to deny them the basic care that is rightfully theirs, and that the November vote will reflect their outrage.  Is this what it will take to bring the American electorate to its senses?

I have been reading articles that criticize the Obama administration for not having done a better sales job on their bill.  It seems to me that the benefits are out there in plain sight for anyone with half a brain to understand.  Those who protest most loudly against their own interests, whether immediate or long-term, are choosing to listen to their own prejudices rather than the readily available facts; to the distortions and outright lies broadcast loudly and repeatedly by the ideologues rather than the simple truth.  I honestly don't know how things could be made much clearer than they already are.

How many people will have to suffer needlessly before we reach critical mass in the public's realization that the provision of universal health care is the hallmark of a society that cares for its own and for each other?  And that each one of us will have reason, sooner or later, to call upon that system for its help?  We are all bound together in the inevitable process of aging, illness and death.  Not one of us can reasonably expect to be spared.  We need to approach this issue with mutual compassion, which asks us to discover our generosity of heart and spirit in order to counteract the small minds and mean spirits of those who speak out of mistrust, selfishness, and fear.

4 comments:

M. H. Anifantakis said...

As to Obama's salesmanship, or lack thereof: I think it's an important part of the job to sell ideas to the people. So far he's pretty weak at it. But he seems to be a learner, so maybe he'll learn this important skill for all of our benefit. Everybody has room for improvement.

CHI SPHERE said...

I really think it is selfishness and fear from the oldest politicians. If elected representatives lost their health care after serving the terms their fellow citizens elected them to then I think a different tune would be heard. It is the long term office holders who lead the resistance to health care.

Nations with healthy citizens are more productive and work longer at their jobs. What could be better?

How about a bill that removes the life long health care for Congress and the Senate. I hear moaning in the wings.

Peter Clothier said...

I see your point, M. H. The one I hoped to make was that salesmanship also takes a ready and intelligent buyer. I have always been a bit annoyed when I hear teachers blamed for not sufficiently inspiring their students to learn. Inspiration is, yes, a part of the art of teaching; but it takes an open mind to learn. We seem to be a nation of closed minds--and we too readily blame others for what we ourselves should be responsible. It's not that Obama and his team have not persistently put out word about the health care plan; it's that people don't bother to listen. Or that they fail to discriminate between fact and fiction, truth and lies.

Peter Clothier said...

Yes, Gary, I'm with you. Let those who govern be subject to the rules they set for everyone else!