Thursday, January 17, 2008

What So Proudly We Hailed - Free PR

I wasn't planning on two posts on the same day, but I read something today that I simply could not wait to write about. Honestly, I don't think I could pay for this kind of PR for WSPWH. All I would ask is that you tell your friends . . .

First, please read these selected passages from WSPWH in which the main character, Gideon, is explaining what happened in the United States in the years preceding 2023 (in the book, individual states, rather than the federal government” were the first ones to offer “universal healthcare”).

The early state-sponsored plans did run into some minor problems, but they were always marked off as nothing more than normal growing pains, and nothing came up that wasn’t able to be corrected in midstream.

The biggest issue they had was also one that apparently came as a big surprise. You see, the beauty of a universal healthcare plan is that everyone is provided with healthcare, but the flip side, the side no one had ever talked about, was that in order for the healthcare to be universal, everyone has to have it, and as it turned out, not everybody wanted it.

Also:

In order to minimize the costs incurred from expensive treatments (and of course, because the whole purpose of having healthcare is to prevent people from getting sick in the first place rather than treating them after the fact), everyone who had healthcare – which, as it turned out, was everyone – was expected to undergo periodic testing and take an active part in the prevention programs that were offered.

And:

The hospitals were numerous and clean, the nurses would always smile as they herded you through from station to station, and the doctors would all nod their heads as you answered their questions. It seemed the same as before, and yet, there was a definite underlying current that everyone seemed to pick up on even though we were all afraid to say anything about it. A negativity that you could literally feel. Because even though the smiles were the same as before, there was now an unspoken message that was as plain and blunt and non-negotiable as it was taboo to even mention: Shut up and take your medicine.

So we did.


And later on in the story when government control is complete:

The HMO’s, for instance, who ran the country’s healthcare system wanted to know how well you were taking care of your body. What did you buy at the grocery store? How much of it did you get, and how often did you go back for more? How many hours were you at the health club? Did you eat fast food? Did you smoke? Did you drink? Were you complying with your individual health mandate – making your scheduled doctor’s appointments, getting your vaccinations on time, and taking your prescribed meds?

There were risks that had to be managed and profits that had to be maximized, and now that your life – and the way you lived it – was an open book that could be studied and compared and analyzed down to the smallest detail, your individual risk and profit potential could be adjusted accordingly. And just like that, healthcare premiums began to shoot up.

It didn’t even matter if you didn’t like it. You were part of the healthcare system and all of your assets were electronically held by your bank; you didn’t get a bill, it was just automatically deducted from your account. You couldn’t opt out.


Do you understand? You could not opt out.

There was no way to say ‘no’.


Now, compare that “paranoid flight of fancy" to these words directly out of John Edward’s healthcare overview** (at least two other presidential candidates – Clinton & Obama – have also specifically used the term “individual healthcare mandate”. I would suspect that all candidates on either side of the fence have similar proposals):

Finally: Individual Responsibility. Once insurance is affordable, everyone will be expected to take responsibility for themselves and their families by obtaining health coverage. Some Americans will obtain coverage from public programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP and others will get coverage through their jobs. Other families can buy insurance through the regional Health Care Markets. Special exemptions will be available in cases of extreme financial hardship or religious beliefs.

The emphasis on shared responsibility builds on Edward’s past proposals to insure all children through shared responsibility and contain health care costs. In 2004, his plan would have made children’s health insurance affordable and required parents to purchase coverage for their children. Today, he proposes to expand that approach to make coverage universal.


**http://www.johnedwards.com/about/issues/health-care-overview.pdf


I'd be flattered with the credibility that so many things in the news today seem to be lending to WSPWH if it weren't all so disturbing.

Here's one more thing on a related but slightly different topic:

“It’s possible that in the near future, the United States may significantly weaken the rights of parents to raise their children. Crucial decisions that parents are accustomed to making, such as what our children read, who they associate with, what kind of discipline is used, whether we take them to church, or whether we homeschool, all become decisions for the state if the United States ratifies the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).”

Read the entire article at: http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/washingtontimes/200801150.asp

Maybe I wouldn't be so paranoid if there weren't so many reasons to be.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

It reminds me of a statement I heard in a movie, "I, Robot" spoken by Will Smith (a homeschooler by the way). It wasn't deemed to be a great movie, but I found it very truth-telling. Society creates this system of robots to take care of them and serve them and do everything for them, then the robots turn on them and take away their freedom, in the guise of "they can't take care of themselves, and it is for their own good." Of course by the time the people realize this, the robots have become part of everything, part of their lives, even in charge of their military....so who helps them when the robots turn against them?

The quote was something to this effect: "If the definition of insane means you are the last person on earth with common sense, then I guess I'll be crazy"

The world is just spinning out of control and those who see what is happening are deemed "conspiracy theorists" or "paranoid."

I feel like there are "memory holes" everywhere just swallowing up everything that has been so that a new reality and a new "truth" can be delivered.

Blaine Staat said...

So true. Another "Hollywood" quote that I've always like was from "Jurassic Park": "Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."

Came to mind with all of the cloning stuff going on lately.
-Blaine

Unknown said...

Isn't that the truth!