So we have a healthcare bill. Finally. We finally have the leadership in place to make this a reality. We finally can join the ranks of civilized nations who actually give a damn (or at least sort of) about our citizens.
It's about bloody time, I say.
Now, I'm not running around pretending that this bill is going to fix everything that is wrong with our healthcare system. It won't. Not by a long shot, but it's a start. Personally I think that this bill really needed a strong public option which would have best served not the people living in poverty, but the working poor that frequently have to make the choice between going to the doctor or paying the rent. I think that this country really needs a two-track healthcare system. Not like the system in Britain, but more like the Australian model. As I say, this bill isn't perfect, but it was something that could get signed by the majority of our lawmakers. It's a start.
Most of you who read this already know where I stand on this issue because I have written about it in the past, both on my own blog and at DC Metro Moms, when I was the resident dad over there. What I would like to do now, is talk to the folks I know that were against this bill. I would really like to have a cogent discussion with them/you about your opposition.
My point is that in the press, "mainstream", "Liberal", and "Conservative" (and isn't it a shame that we can even say those things about the press?), what we hear most are the voices of extremity. I would like to ask the anti-healthcare people why they hate the notion of making sure that all Americans have access to medical care. I know that there are those who object to the expense. I know that there are those that are fiscal hawks who want to keep spending reigned in. I understand those things, and I can, in part, agree that we must be very, VERY careful about how things like this get paid for. Having said that, I must tell you that the tenor of the debate on this bill has had very little to do with expense, or the means of paying for it.
My concerns with the debate are those we see in it's forefront… the Teabaggers who scream about abuses of "liberty". The people that are beginning to advocate anti-government violence (sedition anyone?), the thinly veiled racism that is so common at the demonstrations, the cries of "Socialism", "Stalinism", "Nazism", and the like. Why is your side all about these things? Can you tell me in a way that doesn't make you seem like dangerous lunatics?
Come on, I know that you are out there. Talk to me (Goose). I promise that we can still be buddies after our argument. If you are local, I'll even buy you a beer when we're done.