An often non-nautical bit of relaxed musing, from the aft deck.
To President Barach Obama, Senators Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, and Representative Jay Inslee.
I write from a level of frustration at the current debate for health care reform in our country. I do not think that I am alone in having great difficulty trying to track the progress, setbacks, design changes, charges and counter-charges, and political maneuverings surrounding this whole lengthy conversation.
I find it difficult to parse the various options to find in them any responsible and universal health care for all who call the United States home. A stranger might well wonder, “What on earth are they talking about?” For me, what we should be engaged in is a conversation that ensures care for all as a given reality, not just as an affordable option; a conversation that takes the burden off employers (and employment) as a conduit for health care coverage and places it within the public realm; a conversation that is not driven by corporate profits, their lobbyists, their beholders within and without the halls of Congress, but the responsible work of those who represent the common person; a conversation that recognizes human worth and dignity as the character of all our citizens, not simply as pawns in a marketing model or political or partisan strategy.
The current level of conversation, if one can even call it that, with its lie, distortion, fear-mongering, and vitriolic tongue is hardly what one could example as a First Amendment right. To hear the cry “socialism” is to re-hear the accusation “communism” of a few decades ago. And perhaps we need to again learn about neighbor and mutual responsibility and what that means in today’s world. I drive Interstate highways, I call 911, I pay school levies, my taxes fund agricultural subsidies, I pledge to my church’s outreach programs, I get my monthly Social Security check, I am on Medicare. Perhaps this and more could be seen as socialism?
I am very concerned where all this current conversation will end. I am deeply concerned that those who live on our margins, those who are disenfranchised, those of all ages who are vulnerable, will be bypassed and again ignored and forgotten.
A mark of a true democracy is how it treats those who do not have power, not by how many become powerful. The ultimate conversation around health care is a conversation about justice, about being able to live with dignity and security.
The art of politics is the making of the probable possible. I ask that you do all in your power and with all your skill to make health care for all, not just a possibility, but a reality!
Thank you.
E. Michael Jackson
Most boaters that I know quite naturally not only have concern for other boaters, but in so many instances are active in expressing this concern, e.g., keeping an eye on absentee vessels, offering tows, sharing cruising knowledge, you know what I mean. This blog posting (which you may or may not support) is written in that same concern for others in mind and with that old boater's candor.
6 comments:
Well said; very well said.
Very well-written, Mike. I hope you sent complimentary copies to those named within.
Nicely said!
Right on! We cannot continue to load the cost of health care onto employers. Contrary to Whole Foods' self-serving "editorial" wherein they tout themselves for providing for their employees and therefore denouncing the public option,the majority of employers cannot afford to carry the burden of healthcare. Then, there are the employers who won't because they don't have to. Hence, the millions of uninsured or underinsured Americans. Place controls on the out-of-control pharmaceutical companies and lower costs, raise taxes if need be, and ensure that all Americans have access to healthcare. that's my vote! sj
With some anxiety I had expected the post to both get some negative comment, as well as positive. One recipient asked me to take him off the blog mailing list - - the only negative (but please, don't add to this tally!). Positives have been strong, mainly via email and personal connections, plus your comments, above. Not too bad for a blog that reaches over 400 recipients. Copies were sent to all the addressees, as well as a couple of papers (who have yet, if ever, to publish).
May it happen!
(And may Barack excuse my misspelling of his name, which all of you were kind enough to overlook.)
Thanks providing an moral beacon that eloquently cuts through the fog of disinformation.
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