I have been accused of making a slippery slope argument with this one, but I'll test it here anyway.
The USPS is not doing too well, and Obama himself has stated this. Yet, in the same speech, he was quick to note that UPS and FedEx are flourishing. Hmmm... interesting. The bureaucratic Postal Service is struggling, yet privatized companies are doing well. If the government can't pull off a feat like delivering my mail more successfully than private companies, how can it possibly take on health care effectively?
I also question the complexity and political jargon in the bill itself. I'd much prefer to see a well-written, organized, and logical bill than the current jumble of a bill sitting on capitol here right now. 1,500 pages is a daunting task for the congresspeople alone, let alone for the common man whom this bill actually effects. Complex problems, of course, have simple, easy to understand wrong answers, but this level of complexity and confusion is so great that most "Joe the Plumbers" in America cannot but help to struggle with the exact MEANING of health care. With a document so big, it is also easy to slip in pork and other nonsense.
Have you ever hit a tube of toothpaste with a hammer? Probably not. Luckily, I have for you. Not all the paste comes out the end, and the tube, not surprisingly ruptures. I fear a similar situation when health care reform is smashed through the system at such a hammer-like velocity.
Another tough problem facing me in the midst of this whole debate is the portrayal of "the other side" by both parties or ideologies. False name-calling, political games, careful editing of newsworthy clips to fit an agenda by the media, and the like create a real debacle when one tries to carefully asses the situation at hand. Trying to surf through the liberals' portrayal of the right as frightened pawns of Rush Limbaugh alone has almost alienated me from the plan. If anyone disagrees with this policy, the liberal media can twist the situation so that it appears to be a case of racist hate against a black president. (See the first few minutes of this informative, albeit conservative, video:
http://www.pjtv.com/video/Afterburner_with_Bill_Whittle/___MSNBC_&_The_Great_Liberal_Narrative:_The_Truth_About_The_Tyranny_of_Political_Correctness/2343/) But, at the same time, we see the conservative talk radio crowd dismissing all supporters of the plan as radical Marxists with an insatiable desire to ruin the American capitalist way and turn it into Soviet Russia.
Clearly, many issues are at play with the so called "health care reform." Would it be prudent now, with the federal deficit growing even greater and the advent of unsuccessful stimulative programs (i.e.,CARS) which have no real, tangible end, to force a paradigm shift on the entire American people without enough time for everyone to more fully understand the nuances of the issue? I vote no. Surely, something must be done about America's health care policies -- there's no doubt about that. But first we really need to know what "health care reform" entails. That means careful research on the part of social scientists, diligent and honest philosophical discussion concerning the moral and ethical repercussions of such a plan, and earnest political discussion that seeks not to alienate parties but rather to build bridges between both seemingly ever-opposed factions. Let's take a breather here. With the very notion of American life as we know it hanging in the balance for the forseeable future and beyond, ought we to take a sledgehammer to the tube of tooth paste, when squeezing it out gradually will almost certainly hold a brighter future for us all?
Poll
