healthcare. finally.
American healthcare.
I don’t really know where to go after those two words. They have consumed and captivated the interest of the Western world for the past few months.
Why does the rest of the world care so much? What difference does it make if Americans have health care or not? What difference does it make where the system goes?
Honestly? It’s about American exceptionalism. The same cause for anger and resentment towards the country that breaks – no makes – rules.
America claims to be, and is, a bastion of freedom. We are the chief representative of the Western world. Our influence has permeated across the world – some through military, some through mass media, some through Michael Jackson.
What does it mean to be American? It means to live in a world that believes in justice and equality. It means All Men Are Created Equal. That we are endowed – not permitted, not given, we are endowed – with certain inalienable rights: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
America was created as a refuge from the injustices of Britain. It was founded on principles of justice, of adequate and equal representation.
And, despite any and all missteps, it remains a symbol of all of this. I am not overly patriotic, but still, in politics essays at University, I am compelled to write that the American system is most right.
And this is why healthcare is such a big deal. Everywhere in the world.
Because this is our chance to redeem ourselves, since the world was let down with Iraq, it’s the time to prove ourselves.
Many European countries have more comprehensive healthcare systems than ours. So what are we so afraid of?
Honestly? I don’t understand. The details of the plans are inevitably immensely important. The requirements for employers to provide healthcare. The existence of a public option. The effect on the economy. The effect on taxes.
To be honest, very few people know or understand these details. It is only avid readers of broadsheets and watchers of CSPAN who have followed the details. What lies at the heart of the reluctance for universal healthcare is a moral and philosophical problem.
American values place special emphases on individualism. The government need be only as big as required.
And with the proposed healthcare plan, the argument goes that the government is too big. Individuals who don’t have health care are at fault. And it is not the responsibility of the American government to be a welfare state.
All this leads to one overwhelming, underlying question: why are we so afraid of the government fulfilling its duties?
The government exists to protect its citizens. We are fans of big government most of the time: we are fans of big government when it provides public education for all our children. We are fans of bigger government when it’s maintaining security. When it’s convenient.
Because the truth is, very few of the approximately 15% of Americans who are uninsured are part of the debate that we read in the newspapers and watch on CSPAN.
For most of the voices that are heard, the worries are: higher taxes, reallocation of resources; a slippery slope of individualism being traded for the big government.
For most of the voices that are heard, the concern is not healthcare. It’s not being able to go to a doctor when they’re sick.
For many involved in the debate, the actual real idea and thought and promise of universal healthcare itself is almost irrelevant.
