I had a lazy moment yesterday and decided to finally watch Michael Moore's documentary, "Sicko". We all know he's a flamin' liberal and drives Washington onto its toes, but the guy makes some good points. Of course I think part of us all always knew that our health system was a little fucked. However, it wasn't until it got to the end of the movie that something really struck me.
In France, the government would never imagine taking away its citizen's free health care because it is afraid of the citizens protesting and revolting. However, in America, just the word "socialism" can drive its citizens to refuse to make the government take care of its own. Why did we choose to privatize health care and let greedy corporations determine what is "necessary medical attention", or fair drug prices, just because the government made it seem "unpatriotic" to choose otherwise? Wasn't democracy created so that the people can have a voice, and yet why do more people seem to choose not to do anything to get heard? Why do we feel that we owe such loyalty to a government which does not look out for its citizen's best interest?
Of course, the easiest way to start finding answers was to look into my own life. Here's just a few things I noticed:
1. I only know the names of four people who were involved in the last general elections (Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, Sarah Palin, and McCain (what is is first name?)) but I cannot tell you what their political views were (but I can tell you who's a Democrat or Republican). Nor could I tell you really what Obama has done in the White House besides pass that one health care bill which continues to let me mooch health insurance from my parents. However, I do know that Taylor Swift has had two tumultuous relationships with John Mayer and one of the Jonas Brothers, that she just came out with a new album centered around those relationships, that she feels that she has learned a lot from these relationships and they greatly inspired her music, and that she's going on tour with a Christian band as her opener. And did I mention I can't stand her music?
2. I do not watch the news. If I do, it's just the highlights. Also, I only read headlines (sometimes) on my daily New York Times subscription. When I'm at my parent's house (5-6 times a year) I will pick up their most recent issue of Time Magazine. I have not even followed Colbert Report for over a year. However, I have read the Harry Potter series many times, I follow the shows Bones and Mad Men (among occasional others), watch on average 1-3 movies a week (Netflix can be addicting), and spend most of the rest of my time reading various comedic websites. I'm pretty sure Obama's still president.
3. I know a lot about loosing weight. I've read up so much on loosing weight, tried many diets, read many articles on nutrition, exercise, and health. I knew what a BMI was before I knew what an IUD was. I know how many calories to burn to lose one pound (3500), and I know how many calories I burn running a mile. I know how many calories are in many foods. I know you should always use weights for best results, in addition to cardio. I, however, have no clue how many delegates there are for California. I do not remember how many people there are in Congress. And there are...9 Justices on the Supreme Court? Yes!!!
I am simplifying, but it does seem that there seem to be gaping holes in my knowledge of the world. And that's not to say that Bones or watching my health or following pop culture is necessarily a bad thing, but shouldn't everybody, for their own sakes, educate themselves on politics and government and current events? These are the things which will often determine the ways we live our lives. Each new federal law will almost always affect us, even if we don't know yet how. As we move down the levels of government, we are affected even more - by our state, our county, our city. If we ever want to truly be free and have choice in the lives we want to lead, we need to be out there telling our government what we want.
And I think right now, we need a universal health care plan which will make healthcare free for all. And not just free cash intake for a few fat CEOs. Imagine all the revenue of insurance companies and hospitals used, instead, to pay the medical bills for all Americans. Imagine all the revenue made by pharmaceutical companies used to pay those scientists who made the discoveries, and to pay for the medications of all Americans. Doesn't that sound more like patriotism? A pledge to each other, the citizens of the country? I'm not talking tear down democracy and become socialists. I'm saying the government is there to take care of its citizens.
I am in a political mood, but I don't see this as a political blog. It may just end up being the musings of a 22-year-old. I guess we'll see.
But right now, I'm going to look up some campaign donation numbers...and look for articles on the psychology of power and loss of empathy and conscience.
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