Wednesday, August 12, 2009

And what about our fellow humans?

Pretend for a minute that you have no political affiliation - not a Republican, not a Democrat - are just a human being.

Then ask yourself "What is the right thing to do? If a person is sick, should they be able to get medical attention? If they are pregnant?" - if your answer is "Yes", then you owe it to yourself to look at what the president is trying to accomplish.

If you don't agree with how it is proposed then look to change it - but not to stop it!

Taking care of one's fellow man is not Communist or Socialist or Nazi. As the only wealthy Democracy that doesn't do this, we are in a shameful place. As the wealthiest democracy in the world, we need to look at ourselves and know that we cannot ignore the problem anymore. We need to look beyond our own needs. People who are yelling about taxes being too high are only thinking of themselves. And it is not wrong to think of oneself, unless it is to the exclusion of others - which is what we are, in essence, nationally doing.

Having recently been hospitalized as a precaution (I had some chest pain which turned out to be muscular), I'm seeing how ridiculous the cost is: $11,000 for 16 hours in a hospital room, 1 xray and a stress test. That doesn't include doctors fees. Would I pay it for the assurance that I'm ok - yes - my cost is 10% and whatever overage the doctors will charge. If I didn't have insurance, I would either not get the treatment or pay this out of pocket. That is more than half of what poverty level workers make in a year.

The same people that are spreading fear about death boards who sentence Grandma to non-treatment are essentially actually sentencing a few million Grandma's to exactly that - if the effort fails, they will not be able to afford medical care. And yes - hospitals cannot turn people in crisis away, but if their life is not immediately in danger, they can be turned away. As we all know, emergency health care and health care are not the same - both are needed to keep a reasonable quality of life. It is not just for children (it is important that they are covered, but that's not the point. Everyone needs to be able to be covered).

Yes, the devil is in the details. We need to be involved. This cannot be a "let my congressman worry about it". But it also must be done. But for the grace of god, there go I. We owe it to our children and our parents, to our neighbors and our friends and to complete strangers alike. It is not entitlement - it is respect for human existence on a base level.

Write your Congressperson. Write your Senators. Ignore the rubbish that is coming out of the extreme media. Find the truth and spread it.

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