I ain’t no political pundant, but I am just saying…

I am so sick of the particularity of the American myth of “self reliance.” As Americans our collective egos (Edging God Out) have created the story that as individuals and as a country we are self-reliant and that we have forged this country by pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps. WHATEVER! This country was built on the backs of indigenousness people and the free labors of enslaved Africans…don’t get me started, but I digress.

There is no a self-made man or woman. That person simply does not exists, it is a hologram, a projection, a lie that our collective ego leads us to believe these statements, “I made this, and I have accomplished that…. all by myself!” “You get yours, like I got mine…on my own.”

To me this healthcare debate has a lot to do with another myth…the myth of socialism, bad…capitalism, good. To me socialism is nothing more than living into the scriptures; I am my bothers/sisters keeper and love you neighbor more than yourself and… shall I keep going? I know it is an over simplification but does it really have to be any harder than that? Because I have more, and because I can, shouldn’t I pay for my brother and sister who have not? Isn’t this a moral, spiritual, ethical question? Where are those voices in this debate?

With this health care debate raging, I can’t help but be thankful that my daughter lives in a country where healthcare is not an issue. My lovely daughter is an ex-pat living in France with her French boy. France is socialist democracy where healthcare and a University education is the right of every French citizen, or even an American who marries a French citizen. Yup, the government pays and yes the French are taxed out the whazoo. My daughter and husband are blessed to be in the top wage earning bracket in France and they are heavily taxed. My French boy son in law complains about being taxed as much as we Americans do, with one big exception…he can rest in the assurance of never suffering an economic hardship and ruin from a catastrophic healthcare crisis. He and my daughter will send their children (They do need to qualify academically but my Grandchildren will be the smartest in France!) to a University free of charge, thus producing a highly educated society. I know their democratic socialism has its faults and I can’t even suggest that I know all the complexities. Hell, I am not an economist, just a simple hopeful optimist.

I just know that I am sick and tired of people bantering around the word “socialism” as if it were like “fascism” and would turn America into Nazi Germany ( it has actually been said) all because we are American and we are a self-reliant, capitalist nation, trusting in the free-market system. Dr. Phil would say how's that working for you? I pose the question, How that working for the least of those among us?

Even if the focus is the cost attached to government subsidized healthcare, aren’t we already paying for millions of folks using the ER for primary healthcare? And what is up that BS about “death counseling”? How about we ask the millions of Americans who had to deal with an HMO when trying to get authorization for a life saving procedure. Can we the American people afford to pay for a government subsidized healthcare option? The better question should be, can we afford not too?
Can we afford a government sponsored healthcare system? The better question should be can we really afford not too?