The President is Upset

So I was watching FoxNews earlier and I saw a tirade by the President about all this misinformation out there about government health care reform. The president was upset and what he was saying made me upset. So here I am ranting again.

At issue are these Death Panels those idiots that oppose health care reform keep talking about. The president states as a matter of fact that the people perpetuating this claim are the ones who have the most to gain by killing reform. He also states as a matter of fact that any honest read of the health care bill will show that there are no death panels being set up.

So let me tell you why this upsets me. I'm upset because my president doesn't see what I see and has closed himself off to seeing what I see. So let me put it this way: any scenario where the government offers plans (public option) will lead to pushing private health care providers out of the market so that more of the burden will fall upon the government until, eventually, the entire burden of health care is upon the government's shoulders. The money we spend on government health care has to come at someone's expense and, eventually, that expense will be shouldered by the tax-payer. Even then, health care rationing will eventually come into play. I don't care if it's tomorrow, five years from now, or fifty years from now, we are opening the door to that inevitable future. Rationing equals death panel. Rationing eventually leads to asking the question "who is most worthy of the limited dollars we have to put towards health care?" This leads to a devaluing of the lives of those considered to have less to offer society (elderly, handicapped, smokers, obese, etc.). Inevitably this leads to only a few who receive care, healthy persons who have the most to offer society.

It's like the movie "Lifeboat" by Alfred Hitchcock. In this movie an ocean liner is destroyed by a Nazi U-Boat and then the U-Boat is destroyed. There are survivors floating around from both ships in one small lifeboat. What ensues is a battle over who is worthy to lead and who should be thrown overboard because they offer the least value to the ultimate survival of those involved.

Where does it stop? I don't know the answer to that question but I do know where it begins. It begins with a government-run health care system where a third and disinterested party becomes involved in the ultimate decision making process about my health.

I'm an overweight 37 year old minister. How long until they toss me overboard? I may not be the first to go but I assure you I won't be around to the end in the Lifeboat scenario.

But here's what concerns me the most about what the president is saying. I am left to draw one of two conclusions about how he sees this issue: first, he is failing to see the logical end of the road this health care bill is on or, second, he does see it and he's lying to the American people because that's exactly what he wants. If I take the first option I'm left with the conclusion that my president does not have the cognitive faculties required of a president and perhaps it's time we throw him overboard. If I take the second option I'm left with the conclusion that my president is a liar who will say whatever he has to in order to get his way and our only hope is that the American people will see through the facade and deny him his want. Why would he want the American people to become totally dependant on the government? Good question. I don't like the answer and neither should you.

I guess there is a third option: the answer is both one and two.

So, Mr. President, stop calling me an idiot. Stop trying to shove this plan down my throat. I will oppose any option in health care where the government has too much vested interest. The Public Option is not the answer. The government should not be involved in my health care.