I have a boat and a lawn mower.
The lawn mower is used, but I absolutely need one.
The boat is fairly new. I built it myself. It is optional.
Nobody really gives a damn whether I have a boat, or not.
They really do care that I mow my lawn because,
if I don't, the neighborhood starts to go to hell,
and if that happens, their well-being is at stake.
In our Declaration of Independence, we affirm that there is
a kind of equality among us, that we have certain unquestionable rights,
among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In the Preamble to the Constitution of our nation, we state that
we intend to form a more perfect union, establish justice,
insure domestic tranquility, provide for a common defense,
promote the general welfare of all of us, and secure liberty.
Life. Liberty. A chance for happiness. A common cause. Justice.
A peaceful life. A secure life. Our general well-being. Freedom.
That is what we say our nation is about.
Whether I have a boat or not is optional,
but maintaining the neighborhood is a common cause.
As a nation, we maintain a system of defense,
and police and fire departments. Those aren't options.
They are things we need to do together, or we won't have
what they provide. We provide a system of Courts to insure justice.
We know that our common well-being, and our personal fulfillment,
requires a system in which people can be educated.
We have public schools and universities. We are allowed
to experiment with alternative ways of education, but that
everyone who can be educated is educated, is not an option.
What we have not figured out is that we all need health care.
It is not an option if we are going to stay alive, have a chance
for happiness and security, and participate in the general welfare.
If the swine flu, or WD-40, or whatever it is now called in order not to
humiliate swine, starts to kill people, we all know that our personal health
is tied to other people's health. We don't just say, "Tough!",
because it might kill the rest of us. If our kids are malnourished
and poorly educated, we know that our common welfare is at stake.
But we have a health care system which costs us more
than any other health care system in the world, which is outperformed
by the systems of most other developed nations, as measured by
almost any objective standard one can find, including child mortality,
life expectancy, and availability. We don't get it!
To tell the truth, our schools are not good enough, either.
Measured against other leading nations, we are dismal but,
at least now and then, we recognize that our common well-being,
our chance for a good life, is at stake. We do, at least,
pay lip service to demanding that everyone be educated.
But when it concerns health care, we chicken out!
We let kids die. We let their teeth rot. We let the poor,
who cannot afford to pay a thousand dollars a month
for private health insurance live and die with their diseases.
When it get really bad, we tell them to go to the emergency room,
where it costs the rest of us incredibly more than it would cost
to provide ongoing care, and that does not fix the situation.
It only means a third of the nation gets last-minute emergency
care for what generally is a rotten health condition.
And it is horribly expensive to do it that way!
It makes no sense whatsoever! None!
Because we are short-sighted we punish all of us!
Health care is as essential to our general well-being as education,
as police and fire departments, as a defense system,
as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Build a boat if you want to. Or buy one. Who cares?
But you owe it to your neighbors to mow the lawn.
And we owe each other a chance for good health.
The lawn mower is used, but I absolutely need one.
The boat is fairly new. I built it myself. It is optional.
Nobody really gives a damn whether I have a boat, or not.
They really do care that I mow my lawn because,
if I don't, the neighborhood starts to go to hell,
and if that happens, their well-being is at stake.
In our Declaration of Independence, we affirm that there is
a kind of equality among us, that we have certain unquestionable rights,
among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
In the Preamble to the Constitution of our nation, we state that
we intend to form a more perfect union, establish justice,
insure domestic tranquility, provide for a common defense,
promote the general welfare of all of us, and secure liberty.
Life. Liberty. A chance for happiness. A common cause. Justice.
A peaceful life. A secure life. Our general well-being. Freedom.
That is what we say our nation is about.
Whether I have a boat or not is optional,
but maintaining the neighborhood is a common cause.
As a nation, we maintain a system of defense,
and police and fire departments. Those aren't options.
They are things we need to do together, or we won't have
what they provide. We provide a system of Courts to insure justice.
We know that our common well-being, and our personal fulfillment,
requires a system in which people can be educated.
We have public schools and universities. We are allowed
to experiment with alternative ways of education, but that
everyone who can be educated is educated, is not an option.
What we have not figured out is that we all need health care.
It is not an option if we are going to stay alive, have a chance
for happiness and security, and participate in the general welfare.
If the swine flu, or WD-40, or whatever it is now called in order not to
humiliate swine, starts to kill people, we all know that our personal health
is tied to other people's health. We don't just say, "Tough!",
because it might kill the rest of us. If our kids are malnourished
and poorly educated, we know that our common welfare is at stake.
But we have a health care system which costs us more
than any other health care system in the world, which is outperformed
by the systems of most other developed nations, as measured by
almost any objective standard one can find, including child mortality,
life expectancy, and availability. We don't get it!
To tell the truth, our schools are not good enough, either.
Measured against other leading nations, we are dismal but,
at least now and then, we recognize that our common well-being,
our chance for a good life, is at stake. We do, at least,
pay lip service to demanding that everyone be educated.
But when it concerns health care, we chicken out!
We let kids die. We let their teeth rot. We let the poor,
who cannot afford to pay a thousand dollars a month
for private health insurance live and die with their diseases.
When it get really bad, we tell them to go to the emergency room,
where it costs the rest of us incredibly more than it would cost
to provide ongoing care, and that does not fix the situation.
It only means a third of the nation gets last-minute emergency
care for what generally is a rotten health condition.
And it is horribly expensive to do it that way!
It makes no sense whatsoever! None!
Because we are short-sighted we punish all of us!
Health care is as essential to our general well-being as education,
as police and fire departments, as a defense system,
as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Build a boat if you want to. Or buy one. Who cares?
But you owe it to your neighbors to mow the lawn.
And we owe each other a chance for good health.
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