If anyone watched the videos posted, there are many countries that have addressed this issue in multiple ways. In the United States, the Democrats are the only ones who truly launched a significant attempt at reforming the health insurance system itself. Now, depending on how that reform effected a person, or their family, opinions on its worthiness will differ. The Republicans haven't really come up with a plan to reform the insurance system at all. They have pushed for various smaller, supplemental, approaches that have served as a band aide on the problem.
What I see in other countries is that their citizens demanded sound, economically feasible, reforms. In almost every case, there was a serious, overwhelming, need, and a serious overwhelming desire on the part of the people demanding change. In America, we the people complain a lot... but we aren't demanding change. To satisfy the electorate, each party fields their approaches, each with it's own problems, just to secure votes on election day. Not to mention, each party has corporate "special interests" that pull on the purse strings of elected officials to keep things as close to the way things are currently... because these various interests are banking big profits off of the sick.
We will see change when the American people are united and demanding change. Think about this... on 9/11 terrorists killed roughly 3,000 Americans. In the wake of that horrible event, the nation was united. It didn't matter if you were conservative, liberal, libertarian, black, white, male, female, gay, straight, or in between. We were a united people demanding that our elected officials address the act of war perpetrated upon us. I remember seeing Congress on the steps of the Capital Building united in resolve. The White House was tender, knowing our pain, but strong and determined. President George Bush, standing in the rubble of the WTC was addressing the crowd, and a firefighter yelled, "George, we can't hear you!" To this, the President responded with the immortal words,
“I can hear you! The rest of the world hears you! And the people – and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon."
Now, you might be asking, "What does this have to do with our nation's health care crisis?"
It's a matter of perspective. As I said, on 9/11 roughly 3,000 Americans were killed by terrorists, and we stood united, determined to address the threat. Yet, in America prior to the ACA, we saw a yearly average of
45,000 Americans suffering and dying from treatable conditions... only because they didn't have the insurance, the coverage, and/or the money to have access to the treatments, medications, or specialists they needed. And not all of them were "poor". Many were hard working Americans who just couldn't afford insurance. Many self-employed. And yet, the American people have failed to take in the true humanity of that reality. Imagine if terrorists set off a WMD, killing 45,000 Americans. If losing 3,000 on 9/11 could unite us in the call an determination to address a threat... what should unnecessarily losing 45,000 Americans do to our unity and resolve on an issue? We're not really taking in the reality of what we're facing when it comes to health care. And frankly, much of the civilized world is shocked that we're ignoring the problem year after year, election after election. If terrorists killed 45,000 a year and our politicians did nothing, we'd be marching in the streets, protesting, there might even be violence in the streets as the people rejected the absolute failure of leadership to address the threat. Now, nobody expects that kind of revolutionary protest on healthcare. But, it's going to take a similar level of resolve and demand for change. It's going to take waking up to the reality of our healthcare crisis, the needless loss of humanity, and it's going to take a groundswell of outcry. Then real reform will be possible. The American people became outraged at children being separated from their parents by immigration officials and united in their condemnation... and those policies changed within days. It's going to take some outrage concerning our healthcare crisis on the grassroots level to bring real change.
When it comes to the healthcare crisis, it's easy to put it on the back burner when you're healthy and feeling great. But when you, or someone you dearly love, is sick and lacking the ability to pay for much needed treatments and/or procedures, the emotional pain and fear is beyond words. The trapped and hopeless feeling can be overwhelming. And in many cases, the most you can do is hold their hand, and make them comfortable while you pray for a miracle. Sadly, thousands don't get that miracle.
But here's the truth we ignore... we're all human. We're all aging. We're all going to get sick one day. Every last one of us, if we live long enough, will hear a doctor tell us that we have some strange condition we've never heard of, or worse yet, one we have. Let that sink in for a moment. Everyone reading this post will one day hear their doctor tell them, "It's cancer.", or, "It's MS.", or, "It's coronary artery disease." We live in a dream, an illusion, as though we'll live forever, and that good intentions will keep disease at bay. Oh, intellectually we know this isn't true. But the reality of the day when we will hear words we wished we never heard is largely ignored... until it happens to us personally.
So, the problem isn't in Washington. The problem is on Main St. America. We're not contemplating the reality and the cost of the problem. The American people are more interested in who is on, Dancing With the Stars, than they are who is being sent home with pain meds to slowly die...in the shadows of a healthcare system in one of the richest nations on earth.
I'm convinced that when we as a people become outraged enough there will be real change. And, I'm convinced we'll not only push for a similar system like one found in other countries... but we'll rise to the occasion as we Americans always do... and our system will be better than all of their systems combined. But we have to wake up and admit that we have a problem with our current system. We have to admit that it isn't working. We have to admit that we've failed on this front. This isn't "America bashing", this is actually patriotism. Because no problem can be fixed if we deny it exists. I'm so pro-America, I know we can fix it. But waking enough Americans up to the reality of the problem is the challenge. America will have to address this issue sooner or later. And the longer we wait, the more expensive the solution will be. But, we'll rise to the occasion. Whenever the America people awaken from their slumber... we show the world how it is done.
Now, as spiritual leaders, elders and churches would do well to advocate for the sick. But all too often today they'd rather avoid this topic because as stated in the beginning of this post, it is typically the liberals leading the way on any effort to reform healthcare. I think it would help if we realize that healthcare isn't a liberal or conservative issue. Both conservatives and liberals get sick. Both sides have loved ones who get sick. It's not a left or right issue. It's about ensuring that every citizen have access to the care they need when faced with sickness, injury, or disease. Sadly, the one issue that shouldn't be partisan has been made a major partisan issue.
So, I believe in the American people. I just don't believe enough folks have awakened to the seriousness of the issue yet. But when we do... we'll see the changes we desire to see.
Linear Mode
