Life Is NOT A Privilege
– by David Matthews 2
Do you know what’s really repulsive? Someone who is intentionally arrogant and pompous.
It’s one thing to be that way unintentionally. To come off as arrogant and not know it. But when you’re that way and you know it, that’s when there’s trouble.
One of the reasons why the French Revolution was as violent as it was partly had to do with the pompous, self-righteous arrogance of the nobles. When the “Let them eat cake” quote was made public, it didn’t matter if Marie Antoinette said it or not, it didn’t matter if it was said in jest or if she was seriously as clueless as it implied, it was still scornful and pompous and arrogant, and it helped fuel the bitterness and the rage that already existed amongst those that were being forced to suffer simply so Ms. Antoinette and her elite friends could party all the time.
“Privilege” is an elitist term. It means that you didn’t really get where you are because of hard work or talent or skills or because you saved your money. You got it because someone else GAVE it to you. The power isn’t in YOUR hands, it’s in someone else’s.
“We serve at the privilege of the President.”
Sound familiar?
Well to a large extent, WE ALL serve at the “privilege” of someone else when we work for a living instead of working for ourselves. If you don’t own the business outright, then your job is at the “privilege” of other people.
There are a lot of things that are considered a “privilege” in our society. Driving is a privilege. Shopping is considered a privilege. Doing business is considered to be a privilege. How many times have you seen a sign that says “We reserve the right to not do business with you” or something to that effect?
But is LIFE ITSELF a privilege?
According to certain members of Congress and the insurance companies, it apparently does.
One of the key problems that healthcare reform tries to fix is people not having insurance coverage. That’s why this idea of a “public option” or a government-run or government-managed program keeps coming up. Because people have either been dropped from their insurance or because they cannot AFFORD to get insurance.
You see, in the minds of insurance companies, healthcare coverage is a PRIVILEGE. Not everyone can get coverage. They certainly don’t want to be stuck paying out money for people who are just going to get sick all the time, right? This is, after all, a form of legalized gambling, and NO gambler in their right mind ever wants to LOSE.
Now many states have been down this road before when it comes to other forms of insurance like car insurance and homeowners insurance. Some people couldn’t afford it. Others just chose not to get it. The government’s solution was simple: require everyone to have it.
You see, in the minds of our corrupt politicians, having a car or having a home is a PRIVILEGE… one that can be taken away at their leisure. You can’t afford insurance? Then you don’t get to drive a car, or you don’t get to own a home. It’s that simple in their corrupt little brains.
But what about healthcare?
No difference, according to our corrupt politicians. If not having it is a problem, then members of the U.S. Senate want to REQUIRE you to have it… OR ELSE!
This is the glorious plan of Senator Max Baucus of Montana, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the guy who was spearheading the Senate side of the reform program. It should be noted that he’s considered the darling of healthcare companies, reportedly receiving millions in contributions from the insurance companies, pharmaceuticals, and health services, and they would obviously profit heavily from a government decree that would FORCE people to sign up for and pay for health insurance OR ELSE.
I want you to think about the sheer insanity of this idea. If part of the problem with healthcare coverage is that a segment of the populace cannot AFFORD to get healthcare coverage, how does REQUIRING they pay for it serve as a solution?
Make no mistake, this IS what people like Baucus want us to do. They want to FORCE US to enroll for healthcare insurance even if we cannot afford it! And if we do not or cannot afford it, we face FINES. In other words, we will lose even MORE MONEY that we did not have in the first place simply to appease the demented logic of those that have been bought and paid for by healthcare providers and insurance companies and Big Pharma!
It’s one thing to have a public option, a program that would be funded by the taxpayers. At least then there WOULD be coverage without that ever-prevalent THREAT OF FORCE.
And if you don’t think there isn’t that threat of force, ask yourself what happens after you refuse to pay a fine imposed by the government. You know those police chases you see on TV sometimes? What do they usually get stopped for in the first place? Things like unpaid traffic tickets.
Now when asked about this, supporters of this kind of demented logic justify it by falling back ON the car insurance example. Their rationality is that since they can FORCE drivers to get car insurance, they can FORCE the rest of us to get healthcare insurance.
But there is a HUGE difference between owning a car and getting healthcare insurance… and that is that you can always choose to NOT drive a car. If you don’t have coverage, you can choose to NOT DRIVE. But you CANNOT CHOSE TO NOT LIVE! Or at least you’re not supposed to… because that is called SUICIDE!
And yet let’s get brutally honest here… that is EXACTLY the kind of choice Baucus’ “masterpiece” plan called for! Sure there were SOME “hardship exceptions” that were offered, but the basic rule was that you HAD to get coverage, even if you couldn’t afford it… OR you would be fined, which would mean paying even MORE money that you don’t have in the first place… OR you just had to kill yourself. As disturbing as it may seem, and it is just that… there is no other way around that kind of thinking. It’s either pay money that you don’t have… or just kill yourself.
Worse yet, President Obama, in his joint-session address to Congress and the nation, actually SUPPORTED THE IDEA!
Now I would like to think that, much like his predecessor’s “16 words”, President Obama really doesn’t know what he’s talking about. I would like to think that he was simply reading the script that was put before him, and if he really put two brain cells together and put some thought into what he was saying, that he would realize the Machiavellian choice being proposed and would want to change his mind. I’d like to think that he’s smarter than this.
Thankfully… thankfully… there ARE people who saw what was going on and have put in a public option to balance things out. But unless this can be guaranteed by the time it reaches the President’s desk… presuming the whole thing even makes it THAT far… we would have to choose between continuing a bad situation or bringing in something that would make it much worse.
LIFE IS NOT A PRIVILEGE! The very arrogance of certain politicians, no matter the political affiliation, to operate as thought that simple statement was not true only serves to further justify the distrust we have for those who claim to be operating on our behalf.
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