I am sick today.
Of course, it’s just the stomach flue. I’ll go a day mostly in bed, go without eating, but I don’t need a doctor. That’s good news, because for me to talk to a doctor for ten minutes would cost me more money than I make in a day. If my doctor prescribes some medication or recommends a treatment, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t be able to afford it anyway.
If I got Leukemia it would kill me. I would die. The United States is the only first world country on earth in which a 25 year old could get a deadly yet treatable illness and simply not treat it.
On MTV, there is show called Cribs. Cribs shows glamorous over-the-top celebrity houses, cars, and diamond Jacuzzis. It shows their $500,000 kitchens, full size pools and $5 million dollar wardrobe. People watch it because it can be an entertaining to imagine what you might do yourself with a ridiculous, un-spendable amount of money.
I know we hear a lot about the financial crisis, but America is still the wealthiest country in the world. So many of us think we are in financial struggle because our car wasn’t made in Italy, our wardrobe fits in our closet, and our Jacuzzi is more of shower/bath combo. Most Americans are far from destitute– we make foolish purchases and spend our money on toys and treats. But 50 million Americans don’t have any health care.
There are 44 countries in the world that have a longer life expectancy than the United States. Can you even name 44 countries? We shouldn’t be that low on the list. The wealthiest country in the world should have its people live the longest; I don’t think anyone could disagree with that. We need Universal Health Care.
Universal Health care doesn’t force you to a doctor against your will. It doesn’t make you less free in any way. What it does say is, “I refuse to let people die when we so clearly have the means to save them.” It is morally mandatory, and to actually fight against it would be inexplicable.
The most common attack against it I have heard recently is that Universal Health Care is just too expensive. I suppose that depends on your perspective. I guess if you wanted to be a Christian nation– as the Republican and conservative platforms are trying so desperately to label themselves as– you should change your priorities. To the right is a chart showing what we as a “Christian Nation” are spending our money on.
Do you know what that means? That means that we spend more money on killing people than the rest of the world combined. Is that Christian action? Jesus said “by their fruits ye shall know them,” but our production seems to point away from any teachings that ever came from Jesus.
I think it would be great to have America act as a Christian nation, in the sense that our deeds are acts of kindness, benevolence, and good. But when we attack Health Care for all Americans, and in the same breath support endless and careless spending on war and death, we aren’t even close to a Christian Nation.
A new commandement I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.–John 14:34
