Is your access to cheap health care more important than me losing my head?

Or: more important than you losing your head? A few weeks ago, I was having a discussion with a customer. With the election heating up, I mentioned I had some information B would like to email regarding John Kerry saying “we have to take America take from the church going people.” I won’t digress, but that’s the subject for an entirely other post. Anyhow, she told me she was upset with George Bush because he made it so ”we” couldn’t buy cheap drugs from Canada and that her mother-in-law’s Medicare was going to be unaffordable. She went on to tell me how these Circumstances were his fault. I asked if she had called her congressman. She had not. Once more, that could he a rich topic for another post-the failure of the Mark I/ Mod 0 U.S. citizen to understand the responsibilities of the branches of Government. I’d hazard a guess that even naturalized U.S. citizens have a better comprehension of this topic than the “locals.” The point of this article is why is an issue that only affects your pocketbook more important than that of the basic protection of U.S. citizens, wherever they may be? The answer, of course, is far too easy to be considered rhetorical. Pure self-centeredness. We are most certainly in a land where it’s a rare case that someone is turned away from medical care. Yes, it happens, and that is on issue, but we aren’t perfect, and corporate America is in the business to make money. That leads to mere material for posts! Now, if I understand my customer, who does have major issues with John Kerry’s positions, all of those objections are trumped for a dollar amount that could probably be figured using available information. So this leads to the following conclusion: The Global War on Terror, that is a “distraction,” that is in place because of several decades of U.S. military members and civilians being murdered in cold blood, and is a preventative measure against the mass killings from occurring in the future, (sorry, take a breath) and should not get in the way of “affordable” healthcare. Did I get that right? Say we get access to cheap drugs and major medical services. What is the cost of the lost humanity, here and abroad, when the next innocent is butchered for a video camera? It just occurred to me the liberal thinkers of today seem to think that, as Teresa Heinz-Kerry calls them “boys and girls,” being sent overseas to die is an abomination. I submit they are saying the life of the service people (that they treat with such contempt) is more valuable than a U.S. citizen. Now that is truly a revelation! The U.S. citizen, no longer backed by the “diplomatic currency” of military force applied at the enemy’s centers of gravity, are now fair game in the global/international blackmail market (This is great stream of consciousness stuff!) . What other conclusion can you come to, if they keep calling to bring the troops home? That action takes them out of the line of fire and preserves their lives. This clears the way for the U.S. Citizen to become prey, and in this context, expendable. Is this a plan to mallet a greater probability that a competing business person is killed? Sorry, that was too far into the tinfoil hat realm. Seriously, people will be put at risk as a result of pulling back. As a member of the uniformed service for 20 years during the Cold War, I anxiously awaited an opportunity to show you taxpayers that your tax dollars had been well invested in my combat preparation. My plan was to be victorious, and to be able to come back and tell the stories, while fully buying into the reality that I may not come back at all. Within the last few days, analogies to “sheepdogs” have graced some great blogs. I was a sheepdog and proud of it. Presidential hopeful John Kerry want people like me to come home and be safe. That strategy makes no sense (yes, that’s a personal opinion). The logical extension of this discussion point is American citizens I who are not interested in “sitting up.” Are now the prey for those who are perpetual victims land seek to “take it out” on a person who happens to come from this country. Pardon my condescension, but how adult! We all know, from a few years at the playground they do this because they perceive no consequence for their actions are inevitable. If we add up all the savings for cheap drugs and medical care, can I take those dollars and go somewhere and purchase replacement person for everyone killed just because some terrorist thought they deserved it for being an American? And, even if we can compute the number, and could actually go and buy people, would you gladly deposit allot the money you personally saved into the boot of the fireman at the intersection? Would you maybe decide you only had to give a little, and put 50% in , so we could at least put ½ a person back into life with us? Regardless of how you’d like to portray it, the Judeo-Christian foundations of this Nation make us a compassionate people. I have personally witnessed the outpouring of help that came to Charleston, SC and the surrounding communities in the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in late September, 1989. I have firsthand knowledge of how much was given to the areas of Florida hit by Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Anyone reading this most certainly is aware of the money, volunteer help and materials that flowed into New York and Washington, D.C. We donate to Iran after earthquakes, Bangladesh after the monsoons, and to every other recognized formal disaster that affects those on our planet. We see beyond ideologies on a regular basis, as compassion blinds us to the routine things of life that might otherwise separate us. As members of the world community, we value the human well above all else. Why all of sudden is it more important to save money? If you’re reading this and are one trying to balance your medical checkbook in the shadow of this argument, would you take some time and honestly evaluate your position on this issue? Given that “heart and soul” of the regular American, how could we turn our backs on the sanctity of human life, most particularly, our own countryman, just to save a few dollars? Yes, it’s really more than a few I know. Could you agree that however many dollars that comes to, that all of it piled together could never provide enough comfort to a mother, father, sister or brother of someone killed for the sake of someone else’s unhappiness? That leads me to another thought thread: We have pushed to pass “hate crime” laws all over the country, and at the Federal level, yet we seem happy to excuse those who even randomly hate (note: Get new bumper stickers for sale in Fallujah- “Commit random acts of hatred.” ) in the name of almost anything or anyone they can conceive, and we respond in honor. The Muslims are pushing for Sharia haw to become the law of the world. Some have even put forth the proposal to make blaspheming of Mohammed as a crime. Where are all of our ACLU and Gay Rights activists? There sure isn’t any coverage of them in New York in front of the hinted Nations, protesting that there are few, if any hate crime statutes in the rest of the world. I’d guess they are in the laws of the Northern European countries, but there is probably a noticeable absence of them is the Middle East and Africa and the Far East. Russians probably lacking as well. This has been longer than I thought it would be, yet there is more here that is ripe for discussion. Keep in mind this bad enough that you would get your cheap drugs and almost free medical care at the expense of the life of a fellow citizen of the planet Earth. Oh, or at the expense of your own life, when the bomb blast rips the stadium seats apart at Madison Square Gardens while you watch the Nicks play. Will you be willing to count the savings then?