Stay with me here. Is health care a right? One candidate said it was and one said it wasn't. I read some commentary on the debate and specifically this question. I will paraphrase the insight: If health care is a right, shouldn't food be a right since you would die without food usually within a few days? What about shelter? Doesn't everyone need shelter to survive? So, what if my food is better than yours or my shelter nicer? These were the questions he was asking in his analysis.
I gave it a lot of thought...and I asked a lot of other people what they thought, too.
At first, almost everyone agreed health care was a right...but they wouldn't agree that everyone was entitled to the other things. Maybe health care should be a right since I can get food for myself, but I can't set my own broken arm? No one could come up with a way to explain guaranteeing people health care but not food and shelter. And who can or should guarantee these rights? I don't know.
So, then I started thinking about our dear friends who just returned from a trip to India to distribute wheelchairs. And they made a DVD (bless them!) because you can't imagine the tragic circumstances without seeing it with your own eyes. Adam asked the recipients how they became disabled...and several said because of polio. Huh? So for the lack of a vaccine that we've had for decades, these people (our brothers and sisters) have been dragging themselves along on the ground in some cases? Ridiculous. Criminal.
So what do you think? Are people entitled to health care? To food? To shelter? Is there a minimum? I know Andrea has a great response I hadn't even thought of. Really, how do we solve this problem?
***You don 't have to send your answer via e-mail. Just post your thought anonymously.
La Salvation
4 years ago
3 comments:
Okay--I've been thinking about this, and there isn't enough room here, to tell you all my thoughts. (Nor do you want to read them all.) Suffice it to say, that everybody has the right to health care, but not necessarily FREE health care. I definitely do not want the government getting involved in that aspect of my life--(check out the DMV for government efficiency or even the mess they are making of the schools and the welfare state they have created by trying to solve it). The more the government gets involved in helping the people who "have not", the bigger the mess they make. (Can you say Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?)
As for the situation in India-- India produces as many brilliant people as America, so why don't they have the same standard of living as we? One thing we have done right since 1776 is allow people to have the freedom to succeed (or fail) on their own (without government intervention). Every American should read A History of the American People by Paul Johnson. He's a Brit, and the research is incredible. But it really points out the difference between our form of government and that which you find particularly in Europe. There is a reason that this nation is so great, and it's because of an inspired constitution that allows ALL men to achieve--not just a few. According to the Declaration of Independence--we have the RIGHT to liberty and the PURSUIT of happiness. Beyond that, all I want from the government is for them to keep us safe and maybe fix our roads. Hows that for a rant? BTW if you want to read a real rant, check out Bart's blog @ gibbletsngravy.blogspot.com It's worth the read.
Hmmmm. Between Carrie and Andrea--lots to take in. I like it. You pose hard questions Carrie.
I guess I should add--I don't agree with free health care either. People need to be accountable for at least something. Some friends I know have healthcare from the state, and they go to the emergency room often, because it doesn't cost them. I think another thing that needs to change too, is the cost of healthcare for the uninsured. If we have insurance, we are billed, say, $90 for the service we receive. But if we don't have insurance, we are billed $130. Maybe more people could afford care if that wasn't the case.
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