Clarity
Over the weekend, NPR interviewed some of the "Tea Partiers" in D.C. while they were protesting healthcare. Yes, I know exactly what I just wrote. They were protesting against more than this specific legislation; they -- or at least some of those interviewed -- were protesting a moral position. I quote: "Healthcare is not a right."
And they wonder why I think they're evil.
posted by Greg! | 3:07 PM
4 Comments:
Hmm...
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.. "
Note which came first.
E
They're not evil. They're just scared out of their (limited) wits and are lashing out at anyone their leaders tell them is a threat. Beck, Limbaugh & the rest have got them feeling terrified and cornered, so there's really only one option in the fight-or-flight response.
If someone were going to kill your grandmother, what would you do?
All the lies they've been feeding the teabaggers have been leading to this.
Fear; anger; the Dark Side. Yes, it's a pretty simple formula. And Beck et al have spent the past few years working it pretty intensively. I blame them for a lot. They're exploiting -- and, perhaps worse still, celebrating and perpetuating -- the ignorances and deficits of their audience.
Still, "Healthcare is not a right" doesn't sound like someone who's frightened; it sounds like someone who's angry. Angry, and a little bit evil.
There is a bit of a quandary here. I agree that access to health care is a right -- Eric is absolutely right about life comes first. It is hard to be a productive contributor to society if your body doesn't work properly.
The flip side is the magnitude of self-made expensive health problems in this country. If we could encourage behaviors that keep people from needing expensive procedures or medicine, we might be able to get a health care system that doesn't give us sticker shock.
Kate Gilbert in Eat Pray Love posits that most evil springs from people not having what they need. The far right has fanned the flames of security fears for 8.5 years, to convince people they aren't safe. I don't see how making people afraid is the Christian thing to do.
I'm waiting to see what happens as the reforms take effect. I'm glad somebody is at least trying something.
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