Uncle Sam's Basement: A Health Care Tale

Fightin Words ^ | September 29, 2009 | Walter Scott Hudson

[Walter Scott Hudson]

This is the challenge before opponents of bigger government. People are dying. Children are sick. Families are going bankrupt. Something must be done. President Obama’s proposal is on the table. If you oppose it, the implication is you do not care about people like Sophie and her parents because, if you did, urgency would drive you to action. It is a powerful rhetorical device, as Senator Coborn acknowledges. “Here’s an emotional story of a very difficult situation.” Opponents of government-run health care find themselves hard-pressed to answer testimony like the O’Reillys’ with a sound-byte as effective as “reform now!” It is a political problem that, despite dwindling support for Obama’s health care plan, requires an effective solution. Folks like the O’Reillys seem convinced that Obama’s proposed government take over of health care will solve their problem. At the very least, Stephen O’Reilly states, “I’ve gone through my adult life feeling pretty apolitical. And this is the first time where I’ve been like, ‘Wow, this could really, really, actually impact my life.’” Indeed, it could. The question is how.

[Walter Scott Hudson]

An interesting exchange from RightNation.us in the thread for this blog entry:

Severian:
Bravo, excellent observations. Unfortunately, two groups conspire to make us all servants of the government, those who wish to dominate and control us (whether just for their power lust or because they delude themselves that they know better than we do how we should live) and those lazy, unambitious, and immature people who either don’t want the freedom that comes with fending for themselves, or are terrified of it. Together they make a powerful opponent, especially when we let the government and leftists control education for decades while conservative voices are shut out of schools, which breeds more and more of the unambitious and immature “adults” who are willing to accept servitude as opposed to true freedom.

I was like you, I couldn’t wait to leave home and fend for myself. Not because my home life was particularly onerous, my parents were loving, caring people and I love them deeply and respect them. No, it was that one word, freedom. Freedom to walk around in my underwear, to listen to music loudly, to control my own comings and goings without having to account to anyone, to have unimpeded privacy. And to feel like I was my own man, reliant on no one but myself for my decisions and welfare. And neither of my parents wanted me to stay at home either, they wanted me to grow up and move along and be an adult. When I went to buy my first house, I had a gap between when the house was ready and when my apartment lease expired of several months (which kept getting extended as the house got delayed). I moved back in with my folks, they were happy to have me, I was happy to have the support to cover the housing gap, but there is no way I could have done it long term. It was an effort living under their roof again and having their rules, which while they weren’t onerous or unreasonable, still were a cramp after being on your own. And there was no way they would have wanted me to do it long term.

Seems like fewer and fewer people these days have that attitude, especially where government is concerned, they long for the security that comes from not having to make their own decisions.

My response:
You nailed it. This is the model I feel should guide us in developing true “social safety nets.” On principle, I am opposed to all entitlement. But it’s impractical to think we will ever get rid of all of it. And some people are truly indigent and require help beyond what mere charity can provide. This I acknowledge. I’m sick and tired, however, of having that reality used as a wedge to justify ever-expanding and eventually all-encompassing entitlement, such as Obama’s proposed health care reform.

My writing process is not terribly organized. I often have no idea what I’m going to end up with when I start, or think I’m about to write a short blurb which turns into an essay. Such was the case here. The analogy of adult children living with mom and dad occurred to me as I went and put everything into perspective, because that really is the model some have in mind for us. If we demean ourselves for a moment and entertain the notion that the government does serve, in some capacity, as a parental figure in our lives, your story demonstrates two aspects of a healthy parent/adult -child relationship which our relationship with the current government lacks. 1) You turned to your parents for help which was both truly necessary and known to be temporary, and 2) their help was gladly provided with the expectation that its intent was to get you back out on your own as soon as possible. These are the qualities which should be pursued in entitlement reform.