Wow. I feel like a lot of people are being hypocritical in regards to "Obamacare". One of the things that drives me crazy about BYU is that you'll find a lot of people who are caught up in the material parts of life but still claim to ascribe to the Mormon rejection of material goods. They reject "socialism", but support the "law of consecration". They say, "Every action has consequences! Why should I help people who put themselves into a certain situation? They have to deal with those consequences!" That attitude makes me so angry I can't even begin to describe how I feel.
With regards to national healthcare:
1. Except for in rare instances, people get sick and need medical attention through no fault of their own.
2. Health should be considered a human right, not a privelege. I could go on about this forever. I don't know when someone decided that a person's health could be determined by the balance of their bank account, but the mindset that it isn't a human right is downright idiotic.
3. Money should not determine how worthy you are to receive healthcare. That's ludicrous.
4. In one of the richest countries in the world, people should:
A. - not be denied the BASIC right of healthcare, and
B. - not have to go bankrupt after receiving treatment
5. Obama's plan isn't even comprehensive. Countries such as Sweden have much more comprehensive plans designated to suit every need of the population.
6. To Mormons - here's what the Book of Mormon has to say:
Mosiah 4: 16-23
16 And also, ye yourselves will succor those that stand in need of your succor;
ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that the beggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.17 Perhaps thou shalt say:
The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer,
for his punishments are just—18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
19 For behold, are we not all beggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind? 20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a remission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his Spirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with joy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another.22 And if ye judge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your condemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life belongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.
23 I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who are rich as pertaining to the things of this world.
This scripture even addresses the argument I mentioned above. And for those who say, well government mandating this law is taking away our agency -- no it isn't. You choose to pay taxes. Yeah, you'll get punished if you don't, but still. You're exercising your agency by paying taxes. I could say BYU takes away my agency because I have to read my scriptures for my Book of Mormon class to get a good grade. Regardless, I am CHOOSING to read my scriptures. I will fail the class if I don't, but I'm still exercising my agency. The thing is, even if it's law, you do it for the right reasons. And that's your own personal problem, not the government's.
I can't handle selfish people. When people talk about how their taxes are going to go up, and how people who don't even
deserve health care are going to get it, it makes me sick. It makes me want to shake them and hope to cause permanent brain damage. It shows me how many people in the world can't see outside of themselves. I know it sucks to have to pay bills. I know it sucks to feel like other people aren't contributing as much as you, aren't working as hard as you, aren't
suffering as much as you are. It sucks! It really does. But our purpose on Earth is to do everything we can to be like Christ -- and as we all know, Christ didn't judge. He didn't compare himself to others. He didn't sit there and whine about how He had all this crappy responsibility to help people who didn't even "deserve" it. He lived with a faith that things would work out. That if he fulfilled his responsibility on Earth, that our Heavenly Father would sort it all out in the end. This is not about you. This is about everyone - we are all children of God. To deny your fellow children of God access to something as basic as healthcare is just plain wrong. The worth of souls is great in the sight of God...we all have worth. I am not worth less than you just because I don't make six figures.
According to the declaration of independence, we all have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The pursuit of happiness can be severely impeded when access to healthcare is denied. On Maslow's hierarchy of needs (the steps to success/self-actualization), health is one of the core needs that must be taken care of before any others. I wish people recognized this real need in our society. I wish people could understand that we're all in this together. Government tries to do things that are for the greater good, and this healthcare bill is one of them. Perspective is an interesting friend.
