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2010
Soap Box Archives What's Happening Here? In response to a soapbox from a couple of weeks ago titled "From Each" in which I wrote about my feelings on the Obama health care plan, we received a very courteous, sincere and much appreciated opinion from a gentleman in Scotland with his evaluation of my column. I am going to reprint it, the reason being that I want to make a point-by-point response to his opinion. I will not use his name, but his points are in bold. As an outsider, I really don't think the U.S. is turning into a pseudo Soviet state. Healthcare for all - is that wrong? If so, why? I agree with you that the United States is not turning into a pseudo Soviet state. What is happening here is that the United States is moving toward a full-blown Soviet style state. I also agree that there is nothing wrong with everybody having health care, but this is not about health care. It's about control. People who can afford health insurance will still get tomorrow what they get today?? People who can't afford it, will still be treated - might take longer for non-emergency stuff, but they should get that new knee. Sir, with all due respect this is not the case. Our president's ultimate goal is a one-payer health care system. He has said as much. This is just the first step on the road to forcing everyone in this nation on to socialized medicine. And if the plan was what you seem to think it is, why wouldn't our politicians go on it themselves instead of having their own exclusive plan? I live in Scotland, part of the UK. The National Health Service is not perfect - there are waits of up to a year for some elective surgery for instance, but emergency stuff is dealt with immediately, no matter who you are, and how much you can pay - it is just a basic UK right. Why should we go on a program where you wait a year for elective surgery when we can have it immediately now, and what if the bureaucrat in charge of your plan decides that something that keeps you in constant pain is elective surgery and let's you suffer for a year or more? Those of us that can afford private health insurance, or whose employer pays PHI, can access faster care. What is the problem with two complementary systems? Nothing, if the government would stay out of it. I don't know about the government in the UK, but our government in the US can't even make our postal service break even after two hundred years experience. And what about the death panels?? Aren't some people so dogmatically idealistic they will stoop to subway depth low levels to raise peoples' fears? I am an honest person and would not stoop an inch to raise anybody's fears. I don't know if you've heard the statement made by Barack Obama's reply when asked about providing a pacemaker to an elderly grandmother. His reply was that it may be better to give her pain pills instead of the government giving her a pacemaker which means that she should just be allowed to suffer, and very possibly die. No, they wouldn't be called death panels but when the bureaucrats decided you were going to cost the system too much money you're a goner. My beautiful wife, was stricken with breast cancer in 2006. She was in her early 40's and from diagnosis, she began treatment in days. She had an operation, chemotherapy - the latest drugs, and also radiotherapy. Since then she has had reconstruction and other "plastic" surgery treatments and is the picture of health and long may it last. My father in law, now 80 has had a few heart operations in his 60s and 70s and has had for the second time, his hips replaced (2009) he wore out the last ones. Off course, if we had death panels they could have said his life was worthless and he should die, because he was too expensive to treat. We don't think like that in Scotland. Do you really think that is how you will think in the US??? I'm so glad you're happy with your health care, and yes that's exactly how I think. I'm glad you can trust your politicians, but we can't. Think about this. In your country of Scotland, the NHS recently approved a revolutionary new rheumatoid arthritis drug, but across the border it was shot down by NICE in England and Wales because of the cost, over £9,000 a year. That is the problem with government run health care; rationing and cost concerns take precedent over the good of the people. One thing you do have to watch though, if you have a good health service - people from other countries will come to you for free treatment - it is frustrating, but you have to bite your tongue and remember your Christian upbringing. Sir my Christian upbringing has nothing to do with my attitude toward socialized medicine, however I'm so glad to hear that you folks in the UK are willing to provide health care to anybody who happen to come to your shores and will have several million we'd love to send you. Anyway, I am sure a wee bit of a US health service will not make you an undemocratic dictatorship, after all, you voted for it didn't you? And if you personally didn't, well that's democracy - do you want it or not? Sir I believe in democracy, but we actually live in a representative republic where the majority is supposed to rule, and a "wee bit" of what the Democrats have been proposing would amount to taking over 1/6th of the U.S. economy. What we have happening here is neither a democracy nor a representative republic. When the leaders no longer listen to the people who put them in office it's called a dictatorship, and the majority of the people in this country do not want socialized health care. In fact, they won't even tell us what is in the 1000 page bill. Now do you call that democracy? I don't. Thank you for the email. What do you think? Pray for our troops, and for our country. God Bless America Charlie Daniels
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