Obamacare: Do With Less- Die Happy
This last weekend I went down to San Diego to kick it for happy hour and meet up with some friends that I was long overdue to visit. In my true style, we went out for margaritas, delicious enchiladas and then beer. Lots and lots of beer. I can’t remember the exact details of how it happened but I started getting into a polite chat regarding Obamacare with a Bulgarian friend of mine. It started out with the normal lecture I generally receive about how insensitive and cruel I am because I don’t believe that everyone has a right to free health care. Once he ran out of wind there he tried telling me that we shouldn’t be treating the Constitution like a bible and it is only meant to be used as a guide.
Then I lost it.
He actually used those words: “we can’t treat the Constitution like a bible.” I’m sure there are plenty of lawyers who will correct me on this, but isn’t the Constitution the document that gives the citizens of America the rights that we all rely on? To treat this document as a “guide” is ignoring the fact that we are a country brought together by a common belief that freedom is the only way to prosperity. Even better is that Petar is not actually an American citizen. He’s studied here for a number of years but at the end of the day he doesn’t deserve nor have the right to the same freedoms that the great citizens of America do. Maybe that’s why he doesn’t feel the need to stick to the Constitution.
Why do so many people want America to be like Europe? Clearly they’re not doing everything right either on the other side of the pond. The last time I checked we still had the largest economy, the US Dollar was still the world reserve currency, we still hold permanent veto power within the United Nations, we essentially created and nearly entirely fund NATO, we played a significant role in toppling every evil dictator for the last 50 years, we’re the only country to actually rescue our hostages from Somali pirates despite the negative press, our ex-presidents are the only people able to convince North Korea to release political prisoners… do I really need to go on? We are not like Europe. We will never be like Europe. If you want to live in a place like Europe then fucking move to Europe. I’ll say that again just so nobody misses this crucial point:
If you’d like to live like a European then move to Europe. America is founded on freedom and one of those freedoms is the freedom of choice.
During my conversation with Petar the argument came up regarding whether our Constitution creates guaranteed freedoms or it creates guaranteed opportunities. As far as I understand it, a freedom is the right for an individual to do something or think something. An opportunity takes that a step further and actually says that individuals have both the freedom to do something and the means to do it. So for instance, if our Constitution said that we all have the opportunity to be millionaires then it would be an obligation of the US Government (and hence the people of the United States) to make sure that everyone is a millionaire. After all, my opportunity is guaranteed so all I have to do is be a US Citizen to be guaranteed that my opportunity will be fulfilled. On the other hand, if our Constitution said that we all have the freedom to be millionaires then that means that the US Government isn’t obligated to make us millionaires but they are obligated to ensure that we live in a free market which would allow us to become millionaires. Now of course neither of these examples actually exist in this light but they do exist with some of the major freedoms that we all take for granted. We all have the freedom of speech but we are not guaranteed the opportunity to speak out. Mr. Obama isn’t going to come to your front porch and setup a karaoke system so that you can personally piss and moan about labor unions. Sadly, you’ll have to spend your own time and money to make your voice heard, but you do have the right and the freedom to make your voice heard.
As you might imagine, Petar argued that should all have the opportunity to health care. I argued that we should all have the freedom to earn health care. I just thought it was more American to believe in that you need to earn what you have but maybe I’m wrong.
What we’re proposing with Obamacare is giving everyone the opportunity for free health care. Yes, some people will need to pay for it but we’re going to make sure that everyone, whether they want to pay or not, receives equal benefits. This doesn’t sound like freedom to me. This sounds like socialism.
One Comments
Jeffers… I just wandered on to your site exploring the wonders or wanders of Facebook where I think I recently became your friend but always thought I was anyway. And now I discover you live within the diversity of contradiction and thought, ever deep, that I confront daily being somewhere in the middle or the new left/right or perhaps the new “out” where lifestyles and beliefs crash into each other. How cool is that!
You may not know it, but somehow I think you are so aware. My republican/conservative friends will be challenged to think that someone from the “far side” could be so intuitive and agreeable to where their minds reside.
Very intuitive. So what are your thoughts on Iran and Aminidjad or however, you spell that. Let’s just call him AJad. And honey. Your next trip. Promise me you won’t go hiking in Iran.
P.S. Forgive my cyberC (challenge) But what the F”s a URI?