Monday, March 22, 2010

big things, big people

Yesterday, healthcare reform finally passed the House. I'm excited for it, happy for those people who don't have to worry about losing their insurance, happy for parents with sick kids who can get those kids insured, ecstatic for the millions who have a fighting chance now.

That's where my mind goes when I hear, from the conservative side, that "healthcare is a privilege, not a right." I won't even get into all of the absurdity behind that kind of "reasoning" but I will say this. People who can so casually dismiss the needs of others, who wonder why they have to pay for something bad that happens to someone else...those people are monstrous. I cannot fathom this kind of "fuck you" attitude and I certainly can't respect it or lend any sort of credence to it. I like my money and hate my taxes just as much as anyone, but surely, SURELY, the necessity, the MORAL necessity of these things should be at least somewhat clear?

I fear I'm too earnest sometimes when it comes to these sorts of issues. I disagree with a fair amount that's in the bill myself. I don't think it goes far enough in many arenas, I don't like the split abortion billing that lends itself to the possibility that insurances will stop covering abortions due to billing difficulties, I don't like some of the fee schedule that will be enacted (I work in healthcare and it will affect those patients. I'd elaborate, but I shouldn't, so I won't.). But overall, I am glad that we have this first step, which will hopefully lead to a long path in healthcare reform. (I hope you liked that amazing metaphor. I'm an English graduate.)

On a different note, R and I watched The Straight Story tonight, the 1999 Lynch film. It was a very quiet movie--quietly sad, quietly humorous and quietly respectful. I really enjoyed it. I found it strangely fitting that Richard Farnsworth ended his life after making a movie that dealt so heavily with how a life is lived and how a legacy is created.

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