How Will We Be Judged?
By Rob Minton & John Mazzara
The passage of the Health Reform Bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on Sunday March 21 got me thinking about a quote I've heard a few times. A wise man once said "Every society is judged by how it treats its least fortunate amongst them."
You have to think this is one of the things that spurred lawmakers to cast votes in favor of the bill; it paves the way for 32 million Americans who don't have health insurance to get it. Some would argue that if a society is going to be judged by how it treats its least fortunate, one of the things it might do is provide them with access to health care.
Of course, Americans are deeply divided on the issue. And 25, 50, maybe 100 years from now, history books will support one of the two sides. They'll either say "Some people were actually opposed to this great thing," or they'll say "What were they thinking?"
Hindsight is always 20/20, of course, but as historic as the reform bill was -- and as desperate as the president and his party want it to be their legacy -- it won't be the sole thing our society is judged upon.
It's going to shape history, sure, but so are a lot of things that we as a society are doing right now.
America is fighting two wars. It's fighting a horrifically high unemployment rate. It's fighting the perception that the Wall St. bankers who fueled this recession were undeservedly rescued by the government, which in this case might be judged by how it treated the MOST fortunate amongst them.
We're living in a time when obesity and diet-related health issues are a real problem and are not adequately addressed by the same government that just passed a trillion-dollar measure aimed at helping poor people get healthier.
We have an aging population that will continue to need our care. We have homeowners facing the prospect of losing their homes. We have a mountain of debt, both as individuals and as a nation. We have school systems that can't afford to provide a high standard of education for our children.
Look around, and sometimes it's difficult to determine who exactly are the "least fortunate."
Access to health care for the poor is certainly a noble goal. If we can raise millions of dollars for Haiti relief in a matter of weeks, we should be able to show compassion for those right here among us that have it worse than we do.
But it's hard to look at how passionate the politicians were over this issue and not wonder why they can't be as passionate or as driven about the other things that will shape U.S. history at this critical juncture in time.
This bill will provide health care to about 15 percent of the population that currently doesn't have it. It was passed despite polls that showed more than half of Americans were against it. It took commitment, drive and a ton of energy to get it passed.
What if politicians showed that kind of commitment, drive and energy on things that would help EVERYONE prosper?
Prosperity for everyone -- now THAT would be something a society could be proud to be judged upon.
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