My primary issue on this topic has always been the cost. I conceded from the start that we had a moral obligation to provide better care and coverage to Americans, but I really hate indeterminate costs. The President now says health care reform is going to be deficit neutral. And you know, he's probably wrong at the end of the day. Government initiatives are never as cheap as their proponents think they're going to be, whether we're talking about wars or entitlements.
But, then again, my (private) insurance premiums are going up too, along with copays, deductibles, non-covered medical expenses, etc. The CBO's estimates do say they don't see enough fundamental changes in the current bill to drive down medical costs substantially, but of course that was the bill that assumed the public option wouldn't get more than several million customers....I'm betting on another score coming after tonight anyhow. Either way, against the status quo it could be kind of a wash, and the bottom line is we don't have any earthly clue what our budget profile is going to be in ten years. So let's just agree that we also have a moral obligation, if we're going to do this, to do it responsibly, concede that we might be facing a bigger bill at the end of the day, and put that question aside, just for a moment.
This week marks the eighth anniversary of 9/11, the day we were reminded that evil can still be made manifest in the most profoundly threatening ways, even in this post-Enlightenment world we thought we conquered decades ago. Since that awful, awful day, the prevailing and conventional view of government in America has been that its most sacred and verifiable mission was to Keep Us Safe, plain and simple. Everything else was deemed secondary. We weren't always so single-minded; as a people we've long acknowledged other responsibilities, ones related to the unspoken contract that we have with each other, both as citizens and as human beings. Some of us even believe that honoring that contract is a mandate from on high - to be servants to one another in all things. From time to time we've turned to the democratic process to make those commitments real, and there are those who argue that in those moments America was at her very best.
But in the new post-9/11 world, even thinking along those lines, much less doing anything about it, has had to take a back seat. We were angry and we were scared. And so, in an effort to recover a little bit of our 9/10 peace of mind, we let a lot of bad stuff happen. We happily turned over liberty after liberty to the new security state, converted our desire for justice into the havoc of unilateral, global shock and awe, and eviscerated our once-unmatched devotion to laws governed by the People. At the same time, not coincidentally, we doubled down on our faith in undirected markets to keep us prosperous, ratcheting up material consumption to new heights wherever and whenever we could, and fooling ourselves into believing we were creating actual wealth, without producing the commensurate value. We had ups, we had downs, and then we had a really big down when the whole house of cards crashed to earth. But through it all, I would submit that the one thing we really haven't been worrying much about is what we citizens owe each other, just for being citizens. When it comes to everything but safety from terrorism, which we leave in the unchecked hands of government, all we've asked for from our institutions is a nominally fair playing field for a blind market to work. More than ever, the results, material or otherwise - what kind of society our policies left us with - have simply been deemed out of human control, subject only to the whims of the Impartial, Invisible Hand. The most dramatic result of letting such a worldview spin out of control, in my most humble opinion, was a whole American city precipitously falling into the Gulf of Mexico. And we've wondered how could all this happen to a country that claims to lead the world?
After eight years of this, I can't escape the feeling that we simply haven't grown like we should have in that time. We're still angry; maybe we're slightly less scared. Not only that, but as I look around it seems that we're no smarter, healthier, or richer than we were at the beginning of this decade. It's like we're in the same place we were in 2000, except with iPods.
There was a reason the whole world lowered their flags on September 11. There was a reason, with all our imperfections, that having something so abominable befall this particular nation drew a nearly universal outcry of grief and support. Something about us, our government or our people, screamed that we simply didn't deserve it. We responded so bravely on the day it happened; even before we were angry, we were generous and embracing with each other, prouder to be Americans than we had been in years. I can remember vividly, driving home in bumper to bumper traffic at 11AM that morning, listening to a guy on the radio talk about having just maxed out his credit cards that morning, to the tune of about $20K toward the relief efforts. He just figured he'd make it all back someday; for now, other people he didn't even know needed it more than him. That was American heroism, just like the passengers of Flight 93 - and it was everywhere in the days after 9/11. Since the immediate aftermath, it's harder to see. Can we honestly look at ourselves in the mirror and say we've nourished that spirit in the way it deserved, to the best of our ability in the years since 2001? For an instinct so important and so special, has the conviction that we're truly all in this together been at the top of our minds and hearts with the same fervor that vengeance and victory have been? Or did that generosity of spirit merely serve the purpose of that moment, appropriately giving way to a collective American will that's best articulated in bombs and bullets?
After some weeks of reflection, I submit that the health care reform debate is the best chance we've had in some time to take our civic generosity out for a long-overdue spin. It's time to once again put our beliefs to the test, that what makes America great isn't our unmatched military or our powerhouse economy, but rather our centuries-long commitment to share our burdens and join our interests - young and old, rich and poor, immigrant and native alike. We take care of each other here, even at some risk to ourselves - and that, more than anything else, is how we stay strong and safe and free.
I don't know if health care reform is going to raise my net costs or lower them, or by how much. Taking care of myself and my family might end up easier, it might end up harder; I'm willing to admit I don't know. What I do know - what I've always known - is that there are people hurting in this country for want of better health care, and that if we don't do something, things are going to get harder for a lot of them. Maybe it's 5 million, maybe it's 40 - it doesn't matter. We can endeavor to treat more people, prevent more deaths and sicknesses, ease more pain and suffering, and if we go into it with integrity and fearless determination to do good, I don't believe the sky will fall down on us for it. My faith tells me that we're all family; it's high time we started acting like it, and just this one time, bicker a little less about dollars and cents. This is something we can try, at long last, to do for each other, as Americans.
So on those grounds, the President has my support. Obviously this isn't a defense of any specific policy; we'll get there, I'm certain. But I for one am done arguing from self-interest. If you agree, pass this sentiment on, and let's make this a vibrant September, full of vigorous and passionate debate. Let's resolve not to be prejudiced toward inaction, and let's see how we can get the best possible result for all American citizens, not just those in our particular class or income level. And then let's decide what's next, and nail that too.
Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness the energies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, humans will have discovered fire. ---Teilhard de Chardin
God bless America.
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