I advocate President Obama’s Health Care Plan. Given that I want everybody to take personal responsibility, why would I do that? Because responsibility is both collective and individual, that’s why. So are solutions to the problems of society.
As I said, I once taught at a college level—Sociology. My beginning students started out believing that they were personally entirely responsible for the outcomes of everything in their own lives, including the metaphors and language that they used to declare their freedom from the influence of others. Near the end of the class they saw how much the mores of the society governed their actions, so they began to feel like puppets. Neither is entirely true, which is what I hope they got at the end.
I bear personal responsibility for the things America did in Iraq, both good and bad. I bear that responsibility not because I voted for the people who put us there (I did not) but my government did it in my name, though it was without my consent. My degree of responsibility is small, but I never forget my responsibility is real. If you don’t like what your government does, vote. Walk the precincts yourself (buy good walking shoes). Make phone calls for your candidates. We have a perfectly good representative democracy, so use it.
Some things can best be done by collective solutions. Healthcare is one of these. The choice should be made by outcomes, not what looks “rational” to you or fits your model of the political world.
We as a country pay a huge amount, comparatively speaking, for healthcare. We do not get longer or healthier lives as a result. What can we do better?
Most of the countries that have a longer-lived populace have some far more collective version of healthcare. Pick your model- Switzerland, Sweden, Canada-your choice. Regulate health care companies like utilities are regulated. That works, too.
As I said, I once taught at a college level—Sociology. My beginning students started out believing that they were personally entirely responsible for the outcomes of everything in their own lives, including the metaphors and language that they used to declare their freedom from the influence of others. Near the end of the class they saw how much the mores of the society governed their actions, so they began to feel like puppets. Neither is entirely true, which is what I hope they got at the end.
I bear personal responsibility for the things America did in Iraq, both good and bad. I bear that responsibility not because I voted for the people who put us there (I did not) but my government did it in my name, though it was without my consent. My degree of responsibility is small, but I never forget my responsibility is real. If you don’t like what your government does, vote. Walk the precincts yourself (buy good walking shoes). Make phone calls for your candidates. We have a perfectly good representative democracy, so use it.
Some things can best be done by collective solutions. Healthcare is one of these. The choice should be made by outcomes, not what looks “rational” to you or fits your model of the political world.
We as a country pay a huge amount, comparatively speaking, for healthcare. We do not get longer or healthier lives as a result. What can we do better?
Most of the countries that have a longer-lived populace have some far more collective version of healthcare. Pick your model- Switzerland, Sweden, Canada-your choice. Regulate health care companies like utilities are regulated. That works, too.