The "H" Word

It's been a while since I've written a blog for Levittown Patch.  As many of you can relate, life has a way of sneaking up on you and siphoning off what little free time you may have.

I've also been extremely cautious about venturing into the realm of politics, only because I can appreciate what a hot-button topic it can be.  I consider myself a Democrat and Liberal, though I have been known from time to time to at least acknowledge fiscally conservative ideals.  That being said, I have found myself more often than not engaged in robust discussions with Republican/Conservative friends and family on a number of topics, from gay marriage, women's rights to their bodies, and of course the dreaded "H" word -- healthcare.

It's the latter issue that prompted this recent post.  We all know Healthcare has been a favorite topic between the Dems, the GOP, and of course the Tea Party.  My position to Healthcare is similar to that of the homeless: There are some people out there who choose to be homeless and make no effort to improve their situation.  Likewise, there are some people who make a choice to be without healthcare.  They make great salaries, feel they are in great health and therefore don't feel it's necessary to spend any money on it.  That's their prerogative.  But if they get deathly ill, I really don't think it's the Government's responsibility to cover their medical expenses.  Granted, I'm not pulling an Ebenezer Scrooge and saying this person should die and decrease the surplus population.  If anything, they get the medical bill and they spend the next couple of years paying it off one way or another.

Alternatively, if a family is struggling because one or both parents have been laid off, and despite their best efforts to find employment there's none in sight, I think it would be wrong for us as Americans to not offer some kind of healthcare assistance if their child gets sick.

Of course, just as there are folks out there that think that abortion should be prohibited regardless of the situation (and believe me, this is a topic we could spend hours on), there's people out there that feel that regardless of the situation, the Government should not have to help.

I didn't watch the GOP debate this past Monday night, but like many I later saw the video clip of Wolf Blitzer asking Ron Paul a hypothetical question about a person who chooses not to get health insurance and later gets sick.

Again, part of me agrees with Paul that the government shouldn't have to foot the bill for the person if he gets sick.  But when asked by Blitzer if the person should die, I was stunned -- and sickened -- to hear a number of people in the audience shout "YEAH!" and cheer at the idea.

I'm not a religious person: you don't find me on Sunday in any of the local churches (my personal connection with God is my own business).  However, given that the Republican and Tea Party are comprised largely of religious individuals, I had to wonder how many of the people in that audience attended Church services the day before?  How many of them prayed to a God that, according to the Bible, took mortal form for thirty-some-odd years, during which time he healed the sickly poor countless times -- without ever asking a dime from them in return?

Looking back on the time I spent in parochial schools, I'm comfortable saying I have a pretty good grasp of the different language and tones of the Old and New Testaments.  Old Testament: lots of angry, vengeful God stuff with a number of passages and laws that most of us now concede are archaic (unless of course you're using them to tell people that they can't love the person they're with because they're the same sex).  New Testament: God sends an aspect of Himself to Earth, who shows people love, compassion, forgiveness and understanding.  He tells people not to judge one another, to help the poor, aid the sick and so on.  The only time he shows anger is when confronted with the selfishness of others.

In other words...that Jesus guy?  Contrary to what some people think, He's a bleeding heart Liberal.

I'm often reminded of a song by Sting from one of his post-Police albums.  It's about a prostitute who's turning tricks in order to survive.  Part of the refrain of the song is:

Don't judge me
You could be me in another life
In another set of circumstances

I think that's what separates alot of us in this country right now: people are not cognizant of how vastly different their situation could be.  There's the lovely house, the kids going to private school, the six figure salary, so of course it's easy to think "I pay my already extravagant taxes, why should I pay for someone else's food/housing/medicine?"

But it could have been so very different -- we could be out every day looking for a job, while the kids eat cold cereal for dinner again, and everyone worries that the bank could foreclose at any minute.  When you're in a situation like that, Healthcare is a desire, but not a priority.  That doesn't make your life any less important than those who can afford it.

Anyway, I've ranted enough.  I'm curious to hear your perspective.