my vent

Since the new health care reform bill passed I have been inundated with the heavily biased rhetoric from the far right. A teacher came to school with a black band around his arm because one of his civil liberties died the day the bill was passed. I'm seriously considering a Facebook hiatus because of status updates and comments. I cannot believe how ridiculous some of the comments are. (Note that the typos are from the original authors, not me).

Things like:

"So they just passed a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he didn't understand it, passed by a Congress that exempts themselves from it, signed by a president who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese."

"It's supposed to be like Canada. I'm told people that can't get medical attention there are coming here because the waiting lists are years out for the treatment they need. I don't want the government to control weather I need health care or who I'm covered by, and I don't definitely want to pay for other's health care. No thanks!"

"But now the govt. will control and regulate hospitals (we know how much we all love HMOs!), doctors, pharmacies, everything! It's going to be great! It will be like going to the DMV or the post office! That's the level of efficiency we will have. We have the best care in the world right now, second to none. Say goodbye! PLUS-we all know the biggest 'fear mongerers' are congress and the Speaker of the House and our President trying to scare the hell out of people about all these people that have died because they had no insurance. All you have to do is check out these stories and they are bold-faced lying."

I mean no disrespect to the people that have written these comments but I am SO freaking annoyed and it's my blog so I'll do what I want to! I don't mind debate if it is balanced and rational. I don't expect everyone to agree with me. What drives me crazy is the regurgitation of what the spin doctors on the far right are saying (and yes, I realize the far left has it too). The new bill will not resemble Canadian health care at all. The United States does not have the best health care... far from it. They continually rank as the worst industrialized nation in preventable deaths. The government has NO plans to control and regulate hospitals. READ THE FREAKING BILL.

And here is what rankles me most... (even though I know it shouldn't) but in a highly Christian state I am shocked that many people are more concerned with dollar signs than what is the RIGHT thing to do... which is to provide insurance to those with pre-existing conditions and the lower middle class that can't afford it or have companies that don't provide it. I want to look in to the faces of some of these people and yell "WHAT WOULD JESUS DO!?!?"

I really want to ask some of them "Can you please outline the new health care bill for me?" "And what is it that you are strongly opposed to?" "What civil liberty was taken away?" "How does this compare and contrast to Canada's health care?" "How many American's die per year due to preventable deaths compared to the French?" "If your child was born with dwarfism, how would you currently pay for his/her bills and surgeries?" "How much of your insurance is subsidized by your company? Could you afford that all on your own?"

But I don't. I silently fume because I know that it doesn't matter what I say, they will only hear and believe what they want to. So I rant on my little blog. And I am openly pleased that health care reform is on its way.... because even though I'm far from being like Jesus... I think it's the right thing to do... and I think He's on my side too! Ha ha.