I’m tired of all the grousing about Obamacare, all the
insistence on gun owners’ rights under the Second Amendment, all the right-wing
nastiness in general. What has happened in this country to common sense and
compassion?
Those who object to contributing to health care that doesn’t
immediately benefit them are simply deluding themselves. Do they not realize that at any
moment they may be diagnosed with a serious disease, or be in a traffic
accident requiring major surgery? If that happens, they will need a great deal
of money—far more than most people
have available—to pay the medical bills. That is what insurance is for.
For many years, I paid for health insurance that included
obstetrical benefits, though I was unable to have children. Was that fair? Of
course it was; when I have occasionally required medical care for other reasons,
the health insurance that others pay into has helped me pay for that care.
Similarly, for a long period when my late husband was young and very healthy, he
paid into the system. When he later had the heart disease and diabetes that
required a sextuple bypass and the amputation of his leg, the bills were partly
paid by insurance.
This sharing of responsibility extends to other social
obligations, such as everyone’s paying for schools and police protection. Such sharing is part of the social
contract that makes a civilized society possible.
Unfortunately, it sometimes seems doubtful that our society is civilized. A year after the massacre of small
children in Newtown, there is little progress in limiting the availability of
guns and ammunition. Instead, many states have actually weakened restrictions
on them.
Even John Boehner has spoken out about how the far right has
hampered normal government operations.
Perhaps if Boehner and other Republicans can rein in the Tea
Party-backed representatives, there is a chance that Congress will recover its
sanity. I am not very hopeful, but it’s possible.
