The huge, divisive issue in American politics right now is the healthcare debate. Battle lines have been drawn, emotions are running high, and it transcends mere party affiliation.
The primary opposition to the latest government proposals comes from white, middle-class senior citizens in mid-America… pretty much the last people you’d expect to show up and show out. What seems to have been forgotten is that these are the same people who took to the streets in the 60s and 70s to end an unpopular war and end racial segregation; they wrote the book on public outcry and social activism. You might call them long-haired hippy community organizers. They are now greying (or balding) and the only thing hippy about them is their middle-age spread, but they never lost their basic mistrust of the government and its ability to take something filled with good intentions and turn it into a monster.
Ronald Reagan said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'” That pretty much sums up the feelings of my generation toward the “help” being offered by government.
Is there any common ground? Is there a way for Congress to craft a bill we would trust?
Maybe.
We are being assured, and reassured, that the fears are unfounded… that there will be no funding of abortions, no “death panels,” no rationing of healthcare services… so what if they put that in writing? What if the first page of any proposed legislation began with a simple, plain-language preamble?
American Healthcare Act of 2010
PREAMBLE
We, the elected representatives of the citizens of the United States of America, solemnly pledge to those who elected us the following, without reservation:
• No funds from any federal government source, direct or indirect, shall be used for the provision of termination of pregnancy under any circumstances, ever. This is an irrevocable assurance that shall never be amended, altered, reinterpreted, edited, overridden or deleted; if any attempt is made to circumvent this pledge, the entire legislation to which it is attached shall be rendered immediately null and void.
• There shall be no selective rationing of healthcare services based upon age, extreme medical need, or advanced stage of disease or disability, ever. This is an irrevocable assurance that shall never be amended, altered, reinterpreted, edited, overridden or deleted; if any attempt is made to circumvent this pledge, the entire legislation to which it is attached shall be rendered immediately null and void.
• All elected officials serving in the Executive and Legislative branches of the Federal Government shall be bound by this Act to relinquish any and all other healthcare coverage for themselves and their immediate family/household, and shall have as their only healthcare option such coverage as detailed in this Act. This is an irrevocable assurance that shall never be amended, altered, reinterpreted, edited, overridden or deleted; if any attempt is made to circumvent this pledge, the entire legislation to which it is attached shall be rendered immediately null and void.
…well, you get the idea. For each and every objection being raised that we are being told “That’s not true… that’ll never happen… that’s not going to be part of the final bill…” — for each and every one of those objections, simply codify the assurance, in writing, in advance, with no lawyerly subject-to-interpretation language to allow for wiggle room.
Then, let’s talk…