What Were They Thinking?

What Were They Thinking?

After all the health care rants I’ve written, I thought it necessary to comment on the passing of the legislation that President Obama signed on the 23rd of March.

First, congratulations to the Congressional representatives from Illinois who went against the fear-mongering, alarmist pandering of the opposition in order to vote yes. Secondly, to Congressman Lipinski and Congresswoman Biggert, do you really think you can avoid the cost of siding with selfish, greed-driven, hateful Republicans against your Democratic constituents?

Sadly, because of the customary apathetic Democratic mindset, they may actually get away with it. Just as the Right-wingnut army is currently getting away with violence and destruction against those who voted to move America a little closer to being a society that cares for ALL her citizens, not just the wealthy.

And to Eric Cantor, who accuses Democrats of “using reports of recent threats of violence for political gain,” I say, “How dare you?!” If the tables were turned, do you for one New York nanosecond think that Republicans would not be fueling the fire, screaming about how ‘true patriots’ wouldn’t dare threaten elected officials or whipping each other into a frenzy by murmuring about the ‘radical leftist forces’ in the hallways of Congress? ERIC!! Get REAL!

The fact is that all those intransigent Republicans and their insurance company buddies, along with a shameful number of so-called Democrats were, and are, thinking that somehow, some way, the forces of money and influence are going to ride to the “rescue” and save us all from the horror of being able to see a doctor when we get sick or, even worse, deal with the devastating effects of a chronic illness without the added stress of sleepless nights worrying about the bills. They’re not satisfied with the woeful inadequacies of this legislation. They’re not content with the enormous profits (some of which will fuel their future campaigns) the insurance and medical industrial complex will rake in.

Chuck Todd hit the nail on the head when he said the health care reform debate was the true measure of the ideological difference between the two parties, but he didn’t go far enough, so I will. That difference comes down to one thing – how each party sees their fellow Americans. True Democrats see the American people as a family that should care for, encourage, and support each other; they acknowledge, if not respect, the value of ALL life; they try to forgive, or at least allow, others’ words and acts of hatred and bigotry; they seek peace. Republicans and their ilk see the American populace as “us” or “them” based on economic, racial, religious, or social factors by which they determine human value; their respect for life is limited to unborn Americans, as evidenced by their disregard for endangered species, the citizens of other countries, and adult Americans whom they feel justified in threatening or killing because they’re a “them”; they sneer at words and acts of kindness or compassion and attempts at diplomacy instead of war as signs of “weakness”; they seek domination.

All the yammering about the “cost” and the raising of the deficit is camouflage, because if they were really concerned about cost, they would be talking about the cost of even more people relying on emergency room care than do now, or dealing with people dying in the streets (how much did that cost during Katrina?). They wail about our children and grandchildren having to pay for this – unless true universal health care becomes a reality, what makes them think they will have children and grandchildren? Sure, most of them can afford to pay for prenatal care or problem pregnancies or complications during delivery or birth defects or a lifetime of care for disabled children – and if they can’t their kick-ass Congressional insurance will pay – but the majority of Americans are not in that same boat, especially the poor women who have always been, and still are, denied access to abortions which would save many lives, not to mention the “cost” of society paying for children born into poverty, abuse, crime, and the likelihood of prison time. Oh, I forgot, those children’s lives are “sacred” – at least until they’re born. Those 59,000 nuns were right – health care reform IS pro-life!

The health care reform question comes down to a very simple thing – those who are for it want everyone to have access to health care; those against it want only those who can pay for it to be able to get it.

So it’s up to those of us who want to see this small step in the right direction expand and become true progress. We can’t shut up now. We have to let our politicians know that this is OK for now, but we want more, we demand more. We have to use our voting power to show Lipinski and Biggert that they cannot escape the consequences of their votes. We have to reward Schakowsky, Bean, Rush, Jackson, Gutierrez, Quigley, Davis, and Burris and Durbin for having the courage to vote yes. The Republicans are already entering their “full court press,” whipping those teabaggers and their “base” into a frenzy – and that’s something they do much better than we do because they have the energy of anger and judgment, of “us and them” while we don’t want to be “mean” or hurt anyone’s feelings – we just want everyone to get along.

But in order for that to happen, we have to be a force, not a whimper, in shaping our society into one where that is possible. Come ON, people!