The month of August brought with it not just a brighter sun, but also, unfortunately, a gloomier cynicism.
Next to psychotic, cynical is perhaps the best word to describe the assault-rifle-wielding, swastika-bearing opponents of health care reform who have dominated town halls and newspapers across the country. Apart from the fact that drawing pictures of the president that liken him to Hitler and chanting about “death panels” kind of undermines one’s message, if we peel back the layers of ignorance on this onion of crazy, we find a deep-seated mistrust for all things government.
These opponents of reform, armed to the teeth with misinformation, believe that “big government” just can’t get anything right. Except for Medicare. Or Medicaid. Or the Department of Veterans Affairs. Or Tricare. Or the military. Or law enforcement. Or fire departments. Or pretty much anything else that I have neither the time nor the space on this page to list. While their cynicism is misplaced, it can certainly be understood.
When most people hear the word government, they don’t think of the institution (and the functional policies and programs it can create). They think of politicians, particularly the ones they don’t like, and all their character flaws. They think of Lyndon B. Johnson’s knack for military campaigns, or of Richard Nixon’s sense of fair play, or of George Bush Sr.’s words. They think of Bill Clinton’s respect for the courtroom and the unadulterated truth. They think of George W. Bush.
They let these political personalities obstruct their view of government and the positive reforms it can and must enact.
Although this skepticism of what government can achieve is understandable, the venom with which some express that skepticism and their refusal to see beyond it embodies the mindset of opponents of progress throughout our nation’s history. I can’t help but get the feeling that this is the very same crowd that would have opposed the creation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “You don’t want the government coming between you and toxic chemicals,” they would have said.
Well actually, yeah, I do.
They would have opposed child labor laws, the minimum wage, the 40-hour work week, the creation of pensions, paid leave and Social Security. They would have said “No thanks, that’s socialism” to Prometheus when offered the flame. Hell, the wheel might have flipped them out. “It’s too non-square looking. Who knows what evil it might contain,” they would have grunted.
Yes, rounded objects are clearly a tool of the devil.
What these opponents of government involvement in our nation’s health care system fail to realize is that, in this case, government is not interfering in the marketplace. Instead, it is intervening on our behalf to protect us from the greed of the profit-based insurance companies that routinely deny care. One of the more well-known quips from conservatives is that — and I’m paraphrasing here — government should be reduced so it’s small enough to drown in a bathtub.
If the greed and political power of the insurance companies that control our current health care system remain unchecked and unbalanced, our lungs too shall fill with water.