Health Care Harmony

“No one should be afraid to go to the doctor because they can't afford it; no one should go broke because they get sick; and no one should die because they could not afford care.”

This quote floated around Facebook the other day. I posted it in solidarity with all my like minded people. We all love preaching to the choir, but it’s also great to know we have a community of voices that resonate with a harmony that takes so many notes to create one perfect tone.

I’ve listened to some of the dissenting voices also. The ones that project the end of our nation as we know it if the government tries to help anyone in need. I’ll go on record right here and now declaring I don’t know what the answer is. Unless I’m working on the committees, crunching the numbers myself, and listening to the suggested solutions across the tables I can’t claim to understand what would be the course for the good of the nation. So when they come up with an offer, like the Health Care Reform Bill  currently being introduced it is my responsibility to actually read it if I want to have an opinion on it.

I think it’s time we stop entertaining the reality T.V. news hosts that are there to stir up our emotions. They are professionals in their acting careers. If they can create an emotional reaction in their audience they have succeeded, and what better feeling to use to elicit an immediate mood than fear. What better mood to use to mold and control the thoughts of people tuning into the media than those of doom and devastation. Well, of course we’ll keep tuning in for the next segment. Like any good soup opera, we can’t possibly miss what’s going to happen next! For God’s sake, we might DIE!

And that brings us back to the point, Health Care. My friend Jennifer Tucker responded to the many Facebook posts with this:

“I have friends who have traveled in, or are natives of Canada, the UK, and Australia/New Zealand. Frankly, they are amazed that a country as progressive as the U.S. is so backward in this area of health care. A Canadian friend has never waited any longer than 20 minutes for ER care, and no more than 5-7 days for non-emergency appointments. For care requiring follow-up therapy, also no delays. This is far better than wait times I have experienced with HMO as well as PPO in the past 10 years. I believe a lot of the information going around is political fear tactics and partisan in nature; just what we don't need. Doubt seems to go on no matter what party is in office. I'm so fed up with it.”

But getting angry doesn’t seem like the right reaction either. Isn’t that the first seed planted in war? If we are to sing in harmony we have to use all the instruments of the voice, like the Tibetan Monks pouring out multiple tones at one time. We are all capable of reaching inside ourselves and pulling out several different sounds. Even the oddest of those can find a place in a choir.

The solution for me is to do this reaching in without flat faces on a screen or scratchy voices out of a box trying to influence me. We all have our own voices capable of forming our own notes.

What would the world look like if we all just met face to face and listened to the other’s heart?

I believe it would be symphonic.

Humming a few bars,

Kathy