Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Let's march off to Washington.
I hear lots of disenchantment with Washington. With the federal government. Especially from political conservatives. Opposed to big government. They want the private sector to run just about everything. Well, as a liberal, I tend to like government involvement. Because the private sector is out to make big profits. Off health care, for instance. Little wonder that polls generally show that two-thirds to three-fourths of Americans favor a public option. But we may not get it. Because the same federal government that conservatives rail against will stop it. Will deny what most Americans want. That ain't my kind of democracy. It's giving the minority what they want. And they'll get it. Because the majority of us just sit on our hands. When we should be taking to the streets. And marching off to Washington. To seize control. --Jim Broede
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I suspect that most Americans feel they don't have much of a voice in decisions made in Washington. We each have a single vote. But that vote really doesn't count much. Not nearly as much as money. From rich people. From corporations. Seems to me most of us elected the likes of Obama and the Democrats because they promised health care reform that includes a public option. To compete with privte insurance. That's exactly what most people want, the polls show. But we ain't gonna get it because the big insurance companies have the money to defeat it. Yes, the people we elected value money more than our votes. Because it's money that finances their campaigns that get them elected. Yes, we're gullible. Too many of us believe the crap in their campaign ads. --Jim Broede
Polls also generally show that the wording of the poll question, its locale, the ethnicity of the respondents, the economical status of the respondents-all these, and more-affect the outcome of the poll. Polls usually favor the leanings of the poll sponsors, because these factors are considered, to give the desired results. You can state 3 polls that favour public option, while another can show 3 polls that disapprove of it. Personally, I do not have much confidence in public opinion polls. Now, if every citizen were polled, that would be different-but impossible.
True, we each have a single vote but, we also have votes for representatives at local and state levels. We have email, telephones, cell phones, "snail" mail, access to visit the offices of elected officials. I do not have the same pessimism as you, in regards to our votes not mattering. It is not huge task, to bring to light the voting practices and financial dealings of public officials nowadays, and therefore either have them recalled, impeached, or simply not re-elected.
My personal observation is that not one citizen clearly knows the contents of the bills before Congress, and so are not clearly informed as to what they are actually supporting or denouncing. how can the average citizen absorb thousands of pages of information?
Most opposition seems to be against the Parties, themselves, and/or the individuals, not the wording of the bills. You reveal a prime example, in your "Broodings", of this discrimination of officials, based solely on their Party affiliation, or because of their difference of opinion than yours.
For instance, the original bill clearly stated that all private insurance plans must equal the Government plans, within 5 years. What better way to force citizens to change to the lower cost plan? It also contained a clause that citizens were unable to change their current insurance coverage. If you wanted to keep your current, private coverage, it must remain as is. Also, illegal immigrants were not denied coverage under the Government plan, but it provided no steps for providing proof of citizenship, to claim benefits.
I think you may have missed the coverage of citizens who ARE marching...off to Washington, as well as to their local seats of Government, as well as to their local streets, to voice their opinions.
One final note: the Government did not run the "Cash For Clunkers" program efficiently. The Government seems unable, or unwilling to fix the loopholes and abuses of the current systems, including Medicaid and Medicare. Remove BC/BS's "non-profit" status. Healthy, fair competition is what keeps costs to consumers down. That is what would make insurance affordable.
Reformation should be a key consideration. If it IS broke, fix it. Fiscally, that would be prudent. Legislators-on both sides- seem much more concerned with getting bills with their name on them passed.
Too bad a strong third-party does not surface.
Anon2
You and I have virtually no impact on the trends and currents in the world, Anon2. We are mere grains of sand on the beach. Wouldn’t make any difference, really, whether we were there or not. Life will go on the same with or without us. Our influence is on the grains immediately around us. Maybe on 4 or 5, or 20 grains. We have the opportunity to affect them. And they, us. I fell in love with one of those grains. Jeanne. And that affected our two lives. Immensely. Now I’m in love with another grain. She’s from another country. We met by happenstance. And we have great affect, great influence on each other. We make a significant difference in each other’s lives. We live in our own little world. Really, remote in many ways, from the rest of the world. We exist in it. But we don’t wield much impact on the social and political and economic fabric of the world. What will happen in the regard, will happen. Whether we, as two individuals, exist or not. Doesn’t make any difference if we write to our congressman or prime minister. Or if we vote or don’t vote at the next election. We have to accept the world pretty much as it is. I’m really not complaining about that. I’m just accepting reality as it is. And trying to make the best of it. I find happiness and fulfillment by associating with the relative little handful of grains I come in contact with. And yes, I do vote and write letters and a blog, but knowing full well it’s little more than outlets to express myself. To get things off my chest. Maybe I’m speaking to god. I don’t know. I just bellow out in the forest. And if there’s nobody to hear me, maybe it amounts to silence. Like the tree that falls. Noiselessly. Because there’s no one to hear. No one to pick up the vibrations. –Jim Broede
I'm glad there are so many, many others who do not feel as you do. One person CAN make a difference. One vote CAN swing an election.
As for the tree...it makes just as big a noise, whether one is there to hear it or not.
Anon2
I'll give you credit for an upbeat, positive attitude. Good for you. And I agree. We need more people like you. And fewer political pessimists like me. --Jim
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