"Everyone should have some basic security when it comes to their health." (President Obama)

Just one more thing about health care.

I debated writing the last post, and this one, because every time I post something political I regret it at first because I'm opening myself up to disapproval, disagreement, and derision -- none of which I handle well. But then I was so upset about the protesters and I knew I had to put it into words because I'm a writer and if I don't write I will burst.

One of my favorite bloggers/columnists to read is Ezra Klein at the Washington Post. He's really good at explaining complex subjects without dumbing down or being condescending. (He also tweets some pretty funny stuff.) He wrote a post on Who does health care reform really help? which made me happy because it reinforced why I support reform and this bill, even with its flaws. He also referenced an article in The New Republic written by Jonathan Cohn about his observations of the Capitol protesters:

The conservatives protesting on the Capitol lawn Saturday see things differently. Health care reform isn't about contributing money for the sake of their own security; it's about having their money taken for the sake of somebody else's security. When they hear stories of people left bankrupt or sick because of uninsurance, they are more likely to see a lack of personal responsibility and virtue than a lack of good fortune.

This kind of thinking goes against everything I believe. But seeing it in print and recognized by others, did help to ease some of my sadness and anger. And I realize this might be boiling down their viewpoint to a talking point, but it's the biggest issue I've had with the opposition so I'm focusing on that. Cohn continues:

The bill before Congress may be flawed. And the process that produced it may be severely flawed. But it is, nevertheless, an expression of the idea that we--as as society--are not prepared to let people continue to suffer such dire consequences just because they’re unlucky. [emphasis added]

And that pretty much sums up my government and life view. I'm not naive enough to think that government can fix everything. In fact, after Katrina, I put my faith in the people to fix things, to make a difference. But I do think we have a responsibility to others. For starters, one day it could be us needing a helping hand. But more than that, quite simply, it's just the right thing to do. I don't see another option. Nothing is black and white to me, except this.

This is what I voted for

I had the terrible misfortune of walking through the sea of anti-health care protesters at the Capitol yesterday. And I've been thinking about it all weekend. Weighing heavy on my mind has been one sign in particular:

Health care is a privilege, not a right

I can't even get mad over this because it just so completely breaks my heart. It was being held by a white couple in their 20s or 30s. I'm sure everything is a privilege for them, they're in the majority. And I'm a white girl in my 20s, I'm in the majority, too. But what about everybody else?

What about minorities? The poor? They tend to have the hardest time getting coverage. What about kids fresh out of college? Those who lost their job? People with pre-existing conditions? What if those sign-holders lose their job tomorrow, and with it their coverage. Will they still be singing the same tune?

Some people simply can't imagine a time when they will need a little help. And they can't muster the tiniest shred of empathy to care about how it affects others. And it just makes me very sad.

And please, please, if one more person says that the American people don't want this, that they are saying no, I will scream.

Some of us want exactly this! Some of us voted exactly for this! I want this! I voted for this!

You've had your chance for months to speak your mind and you have done that repeatedly, as is your right. But you don't speak for everybody! Your voice may be the loudest right now but you aren't the only voice. And it doesn't make you right.

Finally, to the people who spit and screamed racial and gay slurs at members of Congress, I just don't have anything left to say to you. I feel that you were probably the same people who spit and screamed during the Civil Rights Movement. And it didn't work then.

Friday Soapbox

I tried to keep it in but I have to get it off my chest. If I lose readers then that's ok, sorry.
I love the fact that we live in a country where we are free to protest. My biggest regret about college is that in four years at one of the most politically-conscious colleges in the country, I didn't attend a single protest. Bu the protest yesterday at the Capitol, and the many in the past few months, have just got me thinking.

The media coverage has been focused on those against the health care debates and proposals, against the so-called "socialized" medicine. They deserve to have their voices heard, but they aren't the only voices. And that's what bugs me the most, about some of their signs and messages, some of them acting like they speak for everyone. Some people want this! Please quit making it out to be Congress steamrolling the electorate. Some people have fought for this, voted for exactly this!

And "tea parties" where they claim they have no representation? They have representation, they just don't like what their reps are doing. (The only people who can legitimately claim no representation, are D.C. residents. And I thought that long before I became a resident and will continue to think so after.) The same people crying "hands off my health care," are probably the same ones who would shout down someone with a pro-choice "hands off my body" rally-cry. (Of course, I want government hands off my body but on my health care, so maybe I'm a hypocrite, too.)

This is what I voted for last November, so I'm happy. But I do need to try to remember how miserable I was for 8 years, and that a good portion of the country is feeling the same way now. (Of course I'd be a lot more patient and tolerant if people would stop saying the President is Hitler, the Joker, a Kenyan national, and a Grandma-killer.)

And while living a mile from the Capitol has made me less tolerant of protesters, particularly when they're exercising the First Amendment in the middle of a workweek, I still appreciate living in a country where it's at least an option. Where it's a guaranteed right in the pocket Constitutions they were waving around yesterday. Though I don't remember them doing so when freedoms were trampled on with the Patriot Act. Just another difference of opinions and perspective, I guess.