Listening or Leading: The Health Care Debate

Most of us are familiar with the health care debate going on in the country. The House of Representatives presented last week one of the bills soon to be discussed by Congress. The bill is 2000 pages in length, and 19 pounds heavy. To read it all in one week would be like reading a different novel each day for seven days.


While some Americans support the bill, many others do not. And that is where the debate stands. Americans understand that health care is not a right, but a privilege. But most Americans also understand that we cannot jeopardize the quality of our health care system by raising the taxes to include those who are uninsured at the moment, taking money away from a Medicare system that is bankrupt, and allowing the government to run the system.


Americans simply do not want to end up like many European countries, where the socialized health care systems are dysfunctional. I do not want to see that happening here. Today, thousands of Americans rallied to protest the health care bill in the nation’s capital.


All Americans should have access to health care. However, we should listen to the people—to the opinion of the majority—that is how the founding fathers intended the republic function. Currently, the opinion of the majority does not stand against health care reform, rather against low quality health care.


If most Americans do not want the health care bill proposed by the House of Representatives to pass, our government should listen and act accordingly.


However, if it was for the opinion of the majority, we would still have slaves, and civil/ political inequality in the United States.


To what extend should a law or policy reflect public attitude? To what extend should a law or policy lead public attitude?

Now remember, whichever side of the debate you are on, there are 365 sides to an argument.

Just thinking…