More on Health Care...

Hi everyone,

I'm writing this morning because I have been reading up on the health care debate and found a couple of things I'd like to share with you. Being in Canada, I am spared from most of the propaganda surrounding this debate, both for and against, but I'm assuming that you, my friends and family in the States, aren't so lucky.

It's terrifying to sit outside of our borders and watch as men do harm to my country in the name of their own selfish political interests. Republicans are openly talking about health care as an issue they can "stop the President" on in order to gain favor for the 2012 election. It's appalling to see a man in Maryland opposing health care reform with a sign that reads, "Death to Obama" and, "Death to Michelle and her two stupid kids." That indicates to me that those who are angry don't know what they are angry about... they have simply been whipped up into a frenzy and are out to show it. It's gut-wrenching to see that the "debate" over reform risks being derailed by people whose words have been proven as lies, but who continue to spout them nonetheless. Unfortunately, if you say a lie loud enough and long enough it takes on a "truthiness" of its own. Those who oppose the changes happening in America today have difficulty finding solid ground to stand on and so they have resorted to lies, misinformation, and outright instigation. Do you find it odd that opponents of health care reform aren't actually defending our current system, but instead are instigating Americans to furious levels of rage by making it seem as though someone is attacking their freedoms, their liberties, their right to choose, their essential "American-ness?" How can we fight this? What choices do we have when our voice is so small compared to the Glenn Becks and the Bill O'Reillys of the world? All we can do is know the truth for ourselves and speak truth when confronted by lies. And so it is in this spirit that I present you with two links this morning.

The first is an op-ed piece by President Obama, himself, titled, "Why We Need Health Care Reform." It is the President who is behind this reform and his is, unfortunately, one of the voices of reason being overwhelmed by the mob. If you gave a news anchor 10 minutes of your time this week, hopefully you can also afford 10 minutes to read the President's words without the editing and commentary pasted on by news media.

The second is titled, "Seven Falsehoods about Health Care" from FactCheck.org, a "nonpartisan, nonprofit 'consumer advocate' for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics." I highly encourage you to bookmark and revisit FactCheck.org any time you have a question about something said in the news or a claim made by a friend. It is a quick and easy way to sort through the layers of double-meaning and tricky wording to get to underlying truth. They are not Obama advocates, they are not opponents. They simply analyze claims made by politicians and report on their accuracy and context.

Many of you already have health insurance and don't see this debate as relevant to you. I'm begging you to take at least enough interest in it to be able to have a straight conversation about it. There is a large portion of America that is angry and afraid right now and at the heart of that anger and fear is disinformation. If more people know the truth behind the disinformation, the more people there are to calm those who feel threatened.

Thanks for spending a few minutes reading up on this today. If you learned something useful, pass the sites along to your friends and family. If you have any questions, I'm more than happy to do some research to try to find an answer for you. I hope you are all doing well and have a great week ahead of you.

Cheers,
Michael