“We the People”… Not “We the Governed”
A little over 230 years ago, the “great experiment” of democracy began; a government of the People, by the People, and for the People. The Constitution and subsequent Bill or Rights established a nation that was unique from any other before it or since. Our country was established as a Republic where the fundamental relationship between the government and the governed was turned upside down. The governed was not there to serve the government. Instead, the government existed at the behest of the governed. Political power was not to be centralized in federal covernment, but the focus was shifted to State and local governments. We are the United States of America and the Tenth Ammendment is key to understanding the balance of power between the Federal and State governments.
Up until the birth of our nation, the history of the world was a history of tyranny, where the people’s very existence was subject to the will of the people in position of authority; chiefs, kings, lords, and barons. In any given nation, you will find examples of leadership that led well as well as examples of those that did not. The people where constantly at the mercy of “personalities” in positions of power.
Our Founding Fathers knew firsthand the misery of government tyranny and they took great pains, sacrificing both blood and treasure, to establish a “more perfect union” where centralized government would never be in a position to impose on the liberty of the people. Understanding this is essential to understanding the conservative point of view in the current healthcare debate.
The proposals being forwarded by the Democratic controlled House and Senate will forever change the most fundamental relationship between our government and the people. Any law that puts the government in a position whereby it can dictate to the people what medical procedures will be allowed and what will not is a shift away from liberty and towards tyranny. What we are talking about here is a massive shift in power. Giving the government this authority touches virtually every aspect of lives.
Once the government has both authority and responsibility to manage the finances of the healthcare system then the government is in a position to start dictating behaviors to the people all in the name of saving healthcare costs. For example, in the UK if you smoke you are not eligible for certain heart treatments. Understand, this is not just a denial of payment; it is a denial of service… even if the patient wants to pay for it themselves they cannot get it. I am in no way a proponent of smoking. But frankly, I don’t want my government to be in a position to tell me I can’t smoke if I decide that that is what I want to do.
Now, some say that nothing is stopping private health insurance companies from doing the same thing. That is not true. If I decide I want to smoke and my current health insurance provider puts limits on available treatments as a result, I have the option of 1) opting out of the company and finding another or 2) paying for the treatment myself. However, under a centralized system – whether it’s government run or co-op run with government dictates – there is no choice. What the government dictates is it.
There are ways to solve the problems our current healthcare system faces without shifting the fundamental relationship between “We the People” and our government.