I’m going to go over some things that I heard last night in Obama’s speech about healthcare.
“neither illness or accident”
My family has been changed terribly several times by illnesses and accidents. Did we have insurance each time? Almost without exclusion, no we did not. We cannot afford health insurance for any member of our family.
“rose above weight of our politics”
I’m not entirely sure this is true. Yes, within the Democratic Party, differences were resolved in order to bring a majority vote in favor of the bill. Still, no Republicans voted for the bill and that may come back to bite the administration in the near future.
“change comes not from the top down but from the bottom up”
Changes from the top-down often end up leading to problems, but changes from the bottom-up tend to stick around longer.
“answers the prayers of every American who has hoped deeply for something to be done about a healthcare system that works for insurance companies and not the people”
Damn straight. I’ve tried to look at health insurance on my own. In my last post, I discussed the outrageous fees and lack of assistance by health insurance for those with pre-existing conditions. I’m sorry that I have a chronic illness – trust me I didn’t ask for it. Why do I currently have to pay more? I shouldn’t, and this bill should work on that.
“every parent who knows the desperation of trying to cover a child with a chronic illness and being told no over and over again”
It was about this point in the speech when I broke down crying. I remember being so sick when I was little and dealing with all the doctors. We were lucky enough that we lived in Oregon, a state with great insurance programs. I can’t imagine having to go through everything without the assistance of the government.
“it’s a victory for them, it’s a victory for the American people”
I hope that everyone will come to see this in the long run.
“will not fix everything that ails our healthcare system but it moves us decidedly in the right direction”
It is obviously not a quick fix. This isn’t like the system backed by Mitt Romney in Massachusetts, where we can flip a switch and fix everything. It will take time and hard work, but it will be worth it in the end.
“we have a solemn responsibility to do things right”
For ourselves and future generations.