Excellent column from Nicholas Kristof at the New York Times today about whether the United States can really claim the best health care in the world. Did you know a woman in America is eleven times more likely to die in childbirth than a woman in Ireland? But if you manage to survive till you're Medicare-age, your life expectancy goes through the roof.
On the other side of the coin,
we have protesters in Washington shouting "kill the bill", despite the fact that many of them are of the age where they are either covered by Medicare or soon will be. The comments they make indicate that most of them really don't know what they're talking about -- they whine about government interference and then out of the other side of their mouths they bitch that Medicare doesn't cover enough.
Most sadly for me, apparently a large number of these people announced they were Christian. I guess they missed all the verses about caring for the sick and needy. People like this are why some of the best people I know recoil when I tell them I'm a Christian.
Frankly, this whole healthcare thing has pretty much destroyed any faith I had left in either America or human kindness. I watched V the other night, and the big reveal that the aliens were evil was the phrase "universal health care." What's so bad about giving everyone a chance for proper health care, not just those who were born into privilege? The article didn't say, but I'm betting there weren't that many people of color in the crowd. And I'll bet you that crowd thinks everything they have they earned, when so much of life is just plain luck (and expect to have more of it if you're white and rich).
Opt-out option? Right now I'd like to opt out of the human race.
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