The response to the latest attempt at healthcare reform has been pretty disturbing to me. People with guns outside of townhall meetings, people getting really worked up and yelling at congresswomen and men, comparing Obama to Hitler, rhetoric that could really incite people to violence... it's disturbing. Just watch Rachel Maddow or Jon Stewart and they will provide a nice summary of all the madness.
I think it's great when US Americans get involved and actually show some concern for what Congress is doing, because usually we have NO idea. However, the level of vitriol is...disturbing. It's the only word I can think of right now--it's just too appropriate. One man held a sign outside a townhall meeting with the same slogan that Timothy McVeigh had on his shirt on April 19, 1995. I am beginning to fear that something bad could happen to Obama or others, and the conservative politicians who incited these folks will just innocently hold up their hands. Combining intense anger, our history of racism, and a pro-gun culture is a dangerous recipe.
I have two thoughts about conservatives' reaction to healthcare reform. First, it seems extremely manipulative and exploitative of conservative politicians to spread half-truths about the Democrats' proposals. These citizens will not be the majority, but they will be the loudest and the most attention-grabbing, which may help derail much-needed reform. It seems like a lot of middle class, middle aged white people are getting scared and manipulated by politicians, and a lot of these people rely on soundbites rather than actually reading the proposed bills themselves.
Second, I am growing more and more disgusted because people are displaying this kind of reaction to opposing healthcare reform, while nobody did a damn thing when the Bush administration invaded another country, lied about why they invaded, and authorized torture. I exaggerate, but I have not seen this level of anger in a while, and I'm sad that it is directed against reform and not against human rights violations.
We do need reform of the status quo of our current health insurance system. Fifty million people--or more--are without health insurance, and we are the richest country in the world. I am beginning to despise the conservative political view of the world, where each person fends for herself, you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and help yourself. The conservatives' main complaint is that the government is not capable of providing quality health insurance, and that our government should be smaller. I think everyone with that view should not be allowed to receive the H1N1 vaccination, drive on interstate highways, eat food that has been inspected before it crossed into our borders, and enjoy the protection of the most powerful military in the world. The list could go on and on.
Why couldn't moderates and liberals whip up this kind of anger (not violent, though) when the Bush regime was in power??? And why can't they round up some of counter-reaction (again, non-violent) to the current craziness? The amount of money spent on Iraq and Afghanistan could have paid for universal healthcare. I'm doing my best to dispel the rumors and by trying to educate myself, but I keep losing more and more respect for the Dems...
On a side note, I created a new tag for my posts, called "The Stupid." Streak has used this phrase a lot lately and I wanted to steal it for myself!
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