Against my better judgment, I got some points to make about “The Health Care.” They aren’t necessarily good points, but they are my own. I better get these out now before the Government takes over Blog Care, too.
Just kidding.
Because people love lists, I’ve written everything I know about the just-passed Obama Special Healthcare Bill in the form of a numbered list. To paraphrase Neville and Ronstadt, I don’t know much but I know I love you, and that’s why I’m posting this. If I didn’t love you, would I really dive into these shark-infested waters? How silly of me — I actually think I have some worthwhile things to write about regarding this hot-button topic. Anyway, enjoy:
1) There are things in this passed bill that are fantastic.
I’m talking about the “no limits” clause and the “pre-existing conditions” clause, both of which are long overdue and had to be included as part of any serious approach to US health care. These clauses directly address the major weakness of the old US system, namely that it (was) based upon social status and insurability rather than need. There are (a few) areas of life where strict capitalism works well; access to medicine is not one of them. So, something clearly had to be done. Just by getting rid of the pre-existing condition disqualifier for health insurance, Obama has leapfrogged Clinton on the list of “most effective presidents.” Don’t get excited, though — Clinton would be at like no. 48 on that list.
2) I will benefit from this bill.
Disclaimer (although I probably won’t need it when you see the rest of my points): I am one of the people who will move from uninsuredness to insuredness because of the Obamacare. I will take the public option if need be, and I will gladly stand in long lines to see semi-disinterested doctors who look at me for a few seconds before misdiagnosing my diseases. This will put my family’s mind at ease a bit (though certain members are probably pretty angry with Congress right now), which is always preferable.
3) We (the people) cannot pay for this.
We can’t pay for anything. We have no money. We have anti-money, in fact. We have a dark black hole of debt where our money should be, thanks to (insert preferred scapegoat here). This is not the time to be creating another government program. This is the time to be disbanding them and fending for ourselves like feral alley cats.
4) In related news, Social Security and Medicare are NOT success stories. Pelosi, I’m looking at you.
They will go bankrupt, at least in the sense that they’ll not be able to make promised payments on time because of the baby boomers and their accursed birth control. This will cause cuts — real cuts, not just the slowdown in increases that have been proposed (and rejected) in recent years. By the time I’m old, if I get to live that long, Social Security will look way different than it does now. Either that, or we’ll be a totally communist nation.
I wonder if people ever think about exactly how much of our income goes to the Social Security “flushing toilet of death.” Yes, it’s helped a lot of people meet their needs in a “dependent on the Man for a check” kind of way, but for the money we’re all pitching in, people should be spending their golden years in mansions made of actual gold. Do you realize how much your employer contributes to Social Security? Ask him/her about it sometime. Expect to hear cuss words back.
5) It is accurate to say, as a Christian, that God has a heart for the poor.
If you read the Bible, it’s almost reasonable to conclude that the poor are all He cares about. Jesus, especially. This has become a popular talking point among liberal Christians w/r/t Universal Health Care, to the point that the issue has almost become a litmus test for how compassionate (and, therefore, Jesus-like) a person is. Would Jesus deny health care to poor people, they ask? Would he want the rich Insurance Companies to make money off pain and suffering? When people came to him to be healed, was the quality of healing they received directly proportional to their available resources? Did he only heal those who had jobs?* And so on. The answers to these questions is obviously no.
6) It is not accurate to say that Jesus wants Universal Health Care passed.
I’m going to throw a big word at you: Hermeneutics. It’s a fancy term for the systematic interpretation of a particular text. Applying all the verses about God’s love for the poor to the idea of a government-run health-care system is a violation of everything you learn in Biblical Hermeneutics 101, if there was such a class. In other words, it’s bad Theology. Not only that, but it’s the same exact mistake that Conservatives and Evangelicals are always accused of making — namely, equating the Nation of Israel in the Old Testament with the good ol’ U.S. of A. When God gets mad at Israel for not doing anything to help the poor, you can’t look back at that verse in 2010 and put the U.S. government in the place of Israel and apply the passage in the same exact way. Why? Because the nation of Israel’s equivalent since Jesus did his thing is the Christian Church, not a particular country or culture. What does this mean to the health care debate? Well, Christians should evaluate a thing like Universal Health Care in America on its political and pragmatic merit, rather than the fulfillment of the Church’s mandate to care for people. This means that liberal Christians can’t rightly call conservative Christians heartless and godless just because they think differently about political issues and core economic principles. It’s not unchristian to challenge the merits of a piece of legislation. It’s just not.
Also, it’s technically an ad-hominem argument to say that the right doesn’t care about the poor because they oppose Universal Health Care. Again, this doesn’t mean it’s not true — it’s just not a valid argument.
7) Maybe We Need To Embrace Socialism
Um, has anyone seen this button:
Just asking to be hotlinked
http://www.zazzle.com/i_welcome_our_socialist_overlords_button-145271086667136959
I think it’s funny that an Obama supporter would wear this button not realizing that the quote is actually from news anchor Kent Brockman on The Simpsons, who mistakenly believes that giant ants have taken over Springfield, and so out of fear pledges allegiance to them. So what you’re saying when you wear this is a) You just support Socialism because you’re afraid of being killed by giant Socialists, and b) Socialism isn’t real. Ahh…this brings back memories of when The Simpsons was great. Let’s try this again…
7) Maybe We Need To Embrace Our Socialist Overlords
I know a lot — a LOT — of Christians who are afraid of big government, and they have (mostly) good reasons for feeling that way. I’m not. This makes me naive and (in many ways) stupid. I want you to know I realize this. Perhaps because I believe in the American Dream, or perhaps because of my next couple points, I just don’t think Obama-style Socialism is that bad. Anything that restricts normal freedoms is bad, I agree — for example, laws about smoking in restaurants or using cell phones in school zones. Those prevent people from doing what they choose for no dang good reason. Sure, it might be good to eat in a smoke-free environment, but it’s totally stupid to not allow restaurants themselves to make that call. These are the types of issues that freedom and capitalism were made for. But redistribution of wealth? Not so bad. I think we’d all like to believe that the rich deserve more money than the poor, but I think we also deep down know that they don’t. Anyway, I plan on giving away all my money as soon as I pay off all my debt, so I’m going to react to Obamanomics with a big fat personal “whatever.” And yes, ladies, I am available. Shocking, I know.
8) This vote probably means President Palin in 2012.
This health care bill is wildly unpopular; every poll during the past year has said so. Conservatives are fired up at unheard-of levels because of it, and every one of them that stayed home for McCain will come out in spades for whomever the Republicans throw out there. This upcoming crap-storm will make the Tea Parties look like a College Republicans’ Mixer. It will be huge, and it will start this year. If the Socialism Fear really takes off, we could end up with a Republican supermajority and a Palin Powersuit Presidency two years from now. In which case, the parts of this bill that haven’t taken effect by then (which are most of them) could be in jeopardy.
Don’t think so? How are pro-life Democrats going to react when it’s rightly pointed out that Obama’s supposed last-minute Executive Order to uphold the ban on using federal money to fund abortions will be (presumably) superceded by the bill itself? How will they react the first time the Executive “Order” is circumvented? I’m guessing probably not well. As much as the Press would have you believe otherwise, this particular Universal Health Care legislation is not supported by the majority of the people in America. Once somebody figures out what’s actually inside the bill that passed, this fact will become crystal clear.
9) Fining those who choose not to have health insurance is actually, really Tyranny with a capital “T,” and also super-unconstitutional (not that it matters…or does it?)
Will the courts throw this plan out completely, throw out this particular part, or just whistle while looking at the ceiling as it passes by them? There will be a court case — I know there will be, because a friend of mine has threatened to file one when the time comes. It’s impossible to know how they’ll rule, but this is a good thing, this Constitutional review of laws. This is what the courts are for. Separation of powers, checks and balances, and all that good stuff, remember? Now, if only we could convince the court to make the right judgments, we might have a Republic that works. But I don’t want to get into our insane and dart-throwing court system right now. I could go on and on all night about that, and I have to work at 6 am.
I think that covers it. Carry on, then.
* Ok, so I made up these last two questions. Pretty good ones, though, don’t you think?
