While I’m sitting here eating my lunch, I’m staring at an article with the headline “As House healthcare debate begins, report finds millions of Americans have preexisting medical conditions”. I’m musing about the upcoming attempt to repeal the health care legislation, and how this is happening in the face of budgetary studies that show the legislation will save the government loads of money and reduce the deficit, and other polls that show there is little support in reality for full repeal.
So why is there such horror at the legislation in some circles? Is it just because Obama came up with it? Is it just the tyranny of the outliers (a subject I plan to write about as soon as my laptop comes back from Geek Squad)? I don’t think so.
I think the primary objection in this debate is the fiercely independent nature of many Americans. We don’t want the government to tell us what we must do. We don’t want the government telling us we must eat this and not that. We don’t want to be told to wear our seatbelts and our motorcycle helmits. We don’t want to be told we have to buy health or automobile insurance. We don’t want to be we must do this or that in order to protect the safety of all. We just don’t want to be told what to do. That’s why there’s the hatred of this.
On the other hand, we love it when our government tells us what not to do. We love the rules that tell insururers they can’t behave this way or that way. We love placing rules on the populace that tell us what we cannot do in our personal lives. You can’t smoke that — good rule. You can’t marry that — good rule. You can’t drink this. You can’t have that medical procedure. The same folks who object to mandated insurance love to tell me what I can’t do.
I’m not sure where I’m going with this. As I said, these were just musings. Perhaps I just wish people would think a bit more and simply react a bit less.
