Hi all,
Thought I'd take a break from the birds and toss out my two cents on health care... (I keep promising the occasional non-bird post, and I keep breaking that promise... I might as well chip in on health care... Everyone is talking about it anyway...)
First, understand that this post comes from CapeCodAlan and not eBirdseed.com. These are my thoughts, and my thoughts alone.
The scan above is of two remarkable documents, and both are held in a single 50-page booklet that measures just 6.5" by 3.5". O.K., "remarkable" is anemic in description. "The Declaration of Independence" and "The Constitution of the United States" are breathtaking - perhaps the finest works by humankind.
Alright... So now here we are with this upcoming health care bill... All agree that it consists of 2,500+ pages of gobbledygook. Even the politicians admit that they haven't read the thing, much less make sense of it. (And there's a reason for that - in many or even most sections, they didn't even write the bill - lawyers for the lobbyists wrote it.) So what we're basically doing in this country is taking over 17% of our entire economy while flying upside down... Oh goody...
But beyond that insanity are the principles behind it - the idea that we as Americans have new "rights" to health care and education. My little booklet doesn't say that. It says that we have the rights to "Life", "Liberty", and the "Pursuit of Happiness". That is to say, I have the right to live and work freely, and pursue my dreams. In my case, I worked my tail off and earned three degrees. Others in my family have done far more. But at the heart of it all was the freedom to work, learn, and grow. Along with that growth comes earned health care, and it certainly didn't arrive via some government-mandated "right" for health care or education.
Here's the deal... I've spent untold years working, traveling, or going to school in cities, and have seen literally thousands of drunks and druggies lying incoherent or unconscious in our subways or on our sidewalks. And not once did I feel guilty when I walked by or stepped over them. They were free to make their bed and they got to sleep in it. That's sad, but it is what it is. Freedom is a double-edged sword - it cuts both ways...
Oh, my guess is that some monstrosity of a health care bill will pass by hook or by crook. And one party's defense for their actions will simply be "Well, the other side of the isle has used these same political gimmicks too!" I for one get tired of childish excuses from both sides of the isle.
Look... Don't get me wrong... Health care in America is broken in the extreme. I'm firmly convinced with every fiber in my being that it was our current health care system that killed my father. Yeah we need a fix for sure. I just don't think that that fix should take the form of 2,500+ pages composed by lobbyists and lawyers... Me? I'll just stick to my little 50 page booklet.
See you by the feeders,
CapeCodAlan
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