The following is a follow-up to a comment that was made on the last post. and these are just thoughts and opinions of a girl who falls short of HIS glory daily, but has been saved by his Amazing Grace.
I completely understand and appreciate everyone's right to their own opinion. And, despite my usual conservative beliefs, this is one situation where I fall on the other side of the aisle.
I think this bill is a major step towards a change to our healthcare system that is vital to its success. The excess that has developed in the area is unfathomable and some change has to be made. I think part of the conservative issue lies in the fact that it was a democrat who actually got it to go further than anyone before. The first president to actually try to pass some sort of healthcare reform legislation was President Richard Nixon. Today, if it had been a republican of his stature and tenure trying to pass new healthcare legislation, I have no doubt that that the uproar would have been much less, especially from the conservative right.
As for uninsurable and being able to afford insurance for those who cant get group insurance (through jobs or otherwise), that's a whole nother ball game. While my parents and one of my best friends are deemed uninsurable because of their histories with cancer, I am not in that ball park. I have no prexisiting conditions. However, I know personally as some one who has left the security of my parent's insurance and have my own, it is incredibly expensive. My insurance in the year I took off and worked (full time in a good job that I was able to get insurance through but because of their policy of working a certain amount of time before you can get insurance, I had a window where I had to have my own for 9 months) between undergrad and graduate school, I paid $575-$585 dollars a MONTH for health insurance. It was basic insurance, but as a "woman of child bearing years" my premium (and any other young female) were through the roof. And given the state of our economy where finding a job is more and more difficult, that window where you are potentially uninsured (and even unemployed) is growing, meaning a major cost and factor to be taken into consideration, which is too much for many. Even for me as an intern architect starting in the field at a very competitive pay for the market, I would NOT have been able to afford the insurance I was able to find and get if it were not for my parents paying it. Now, once I graduate from graduate school, it is very unlikely that I will find a job in my field, much less with benefits. This healthcare plan could be the difference between me being insured and not. I have plenty of friends who have graduated with me who are uninsured. (since close to 30 of the people who have graduated from Clemson's Master's program in Architecture in the past two years are unemployed) It is very possible that you and many of your friends and fellow graduates this year will be in the same boat-- fully prepared and qualified, educated, and ready to work but no jobs that can or will hire you.
I would agree that the bipartisanship has been a complete joke on this issue and most issues because the focus has been on what the republican party wants or what the democratic party wants, NOT on what the people want. However, I think that when Americans vote in elections, we are doing one of the most American and most patriotic duties most Americans have. I also think it is fair to say that "We The People" spoke in November when Obama was elected and the democrats gained control on Capitol Hill. The people you and I voted for may or may not have won their elections, but the people of the US spoke, and in this case, the majority of the people who took the time to do their civic duty to vote, elected officials who the conservative right-wing do not agree with. (and its the same thing the democrats felt for the 8 years prior under Bush's presidency.) In that same vein, Elections have consequences... they have to be taken seriously and votes must be cast. Healthcare reform was a platform for many of the candidates campaigns in the last election cycle. People knew it was coming down the pipe and they still voted for them in majority and that is all that our country stands for. Giving people the rights to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. The majority used their liberty to vote as they see fit for the person they thought would do the best job. That's the America we can celebrate- the one where each and everyone of us can have a differing opinion, religion, voting preference, etc. To say "7 vote difference...that's all it took to destroy everything this country stands for" is a very sad statement and I would go far as to say wrong thing when all that happened yesterday was the American Government doing what it was designed to... it was the US people voting for a president, vice president, senate and house members who they felt would do the best job, and then those government officials moving forward and doing what is believed to be best for the country. Like I said before, I do not know enough about any of this legislation to know whether or not I support the bill or not. I do know, though, that this is a needed first step towards a system that will truly help many, many people in our country. I don't know if you have ever seen the movie The American President, but this whole healthcare debate both here and on facebook... and across the board reminds me of a quote from that movie. In the movie, the President of the US is giving a speech countering the man who is running against him in his re-election campaign. The president says in his speech "America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free"." I would say that's exactly what is happening in this debate and in the passing of this legislation-- one side is claiming something that makes the other side's blood boil while they are advocating for the opposite. That is exactly what our country is founded and and is ALL that our country stands for- a country where "all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," and when combined with the civil rights that we all benefit from, it seems that all that our country stands for (maybe not what you would chose) were carried out yesterday through the passing of the healthcare legislation.
As for the whole Christian debate-- Name calling and the things that are said from one side of the aisle to the other are ridiculous and inappropriate. Much if it is just to stir the pot with little or no power behind it and is not something that you or any other Christian would if say Jesus was standing right next to you. Another of my issues with the Christian right-wing conservatives really lies in the fact that one minute they will preach about their Christian values and then immediately turn around and do or say something that goes completely against their beliefs and all that the Bible says. Its the pot calling the kettle black and a huge reason why so many people think the Christian faith is a joke and full of hypocrites and liars. I also find great frustration in the fact that the Bible makes it very, very clear that we should take care of the orphans, the meek, the poor, the hurting and yet, the conservatives would rather take care of the rich than offer the social services that would help take care of those in need the most. The conservatives want to control abortion, but don't want to provide the social services those children will need. They want to patrol morality through the government instead of showing the love of Christ through their actions and truths. Somehow that all seems backwards. To a certain extent I think that if the body of Christ through HIS church would serve body the way we are called to do (Eph 4:12, 1 Cor 12:12, 1 Corinthians 12:27-28) many of these issues would be irrelevant. BUT since the church (as a whole) does not hold up their end of the deal of the body serving the body... the government has to pick up the social services that the church refuses to take care of.
Last night on twitter, a worship pastor from Atlanta tweeted "Time 2 C how Christian America reacts 2 ths moment. I'm scared 2 read the tweets & blogs 2morrow. Please let me B wrong" right after the vote occurred. An hour later after what I assume were some not-so-nice direct messages and tweets from others, he tweeted "Christians.If U disagree.Disagree LOUDLY!The world is watching.Dnt disagree w/venom.Disagree showin Christ." He says it well.... stand for what you believe in not by venom but by showing Christ.
