This is in part a response to yet another comment to the effect that some people just aren’t good enough to get health care. I want to be very clear about my self-interest in this story.
- I am a white, divorced (after a 22 year marriage) mother of 2 children
- I have a masters degree
- I have 2 jobs
- I do not have insurance (my children do, thankfully, due to my divorce decree)
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John, John, John. We are all killing ourselves. And yes, I do expect us to provide basic health care for everyone in this country. I believe a society is not judged on how it treats the best most privileged of it’s citizens, but on how it treats the least of these.
(I have no illusions that we are actually having a debate here. I have a feeling John and Jenna are drive-by commenters. On the other hand, on the off chance they’ll actually track, this I have a couple of questions.)
1) Where in my post did I mention Universal Health Care?
2) It seems you are assuming the choice is between the “status quo” (that means “things as things are now”) and “universal health care”
3) WHICH of the gagillion versions of a universal health care plan are you against?
4) Why do you assume that all people without health coverage are actively working to undermine their own health more than you yourself are? Let him (or her) without a McDonald’s receipt throw the first stone.
5) I’m have to assume that neither of you follow a spiritual discipline such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism or several others I could list. Otherwise you would be aware of the Universal Command to care for the poor, heal the sick and visit those in prison.
6) Explain to me who determines who is “worthy” in your system? Seems like only people who have JOBS that offer health insurance. And that people who have 2 or more jobs, none of which offer health benefits, just aren’t hard working Americans and therefore deserving of health care. Have I got that right?
7) Could you please list for me exactly which sins are unforgivable in your system thereby making a person forever unworthy to receive basic humanitarian aid and forever labeled a burden and drain on society? Apparently, addiction is one (does that include recovering and non-recovering addicts?) and another is being arrested. What else? Being divorced? Getting laid off? What about being retired with a pension that was plundered by upper management? And don’t forget the widows of those pensioners. They probably never worked and only leeched off their husbands their whole life. Then there’s the ones working for a small company that doesn’t “have to” offer health benefits, so doesn’t. What about those self-employed folks? They should probably get a real job, like you, huh? We don’t even need to start about musicians and artists and actors. If they can’t make it in the big time they should face it that they’re losers and get a real job, too, huh? Who else should we exclude? Children! Of course. They don’t even work and contribute to the GNP, so they’re really not worth it. Talk about a burden!
I really can’t believe that John and Jenna don’t have stories in their circle of family and friends that aren’t examples of why our system needs to be changed. I’m sure if we sat down and talked about it, they’d realize that they too have a self interest around this issue.
edited at 19:12 for spelling
Posted in justice issues, social justice
