Thursday, August 13, 2009

AMERICANS SCARED WITLESS OF HEALTH CARE FOR ALL

The media portrays American society as scared witless about installing a health care system that gives access to all. Certainly, Hilary Clinton was soon removed from her husband's administration by the powerful anti-health care lobby. Now it is back on the agenda with the current President - Barack Obama - leading from the front.

The tales of how bad things could be, are accompanied by examples of the UK health system. An American who had positive experiences of British health care, felt people like him were having difficulty being heard.

What is breathtakingly awful is the level that scaremongering has reached, and I wonder if it is at its apex yet? To what depths will scaremongering plumb, what further so-called examples will it illustrate.....................

One tactic has been to say that if Professor Steven Hawkin did not live in America, he would not have the level of care he has. This blatant lie has prompted Professor Hawkin to issue a denial.

First, he states, he lives in The United Kingdom.

Second, he states, he is alive today and living the life we see, BECAUSE OF THE CARE AND SUPPORT OF THE BRITISH HEALTH SERVICE.

This disgusting level of campaigning against basic health care for a society, says much about a swathe of individuals and corporations that have much self-interest and benefits of their own to reap, which they are not inclined to lose or share.

Where are the basic senses of decency, social morals, Christian principles in a society that wears its religion on its sleeves? In my book, caring about ones fellow people is a humanitarian thing to do, and I for one have no compunction about it.

10 comments:

TG said...

The rightwingers and racists use this healthcare reform as a chance to attack the president just to win the election 2012. They will do so, because they hate him for being black and liberal. It's very simple. Because most Americans, who protest, don't know what they are protesting against.

ZACL said...

Hello MKL,

Keeping the level of ignorance alive, that you suggest is extant in the USA is shocking and not worthy of a society that is called a world power.

TG said...

Yea, what scares me most, is those 50+ percent, who elected Obama, being quiet. Where are the counter protests? They should be louder than the rightwing mobs.
There is no world powers anymore... since 1991... and there won't be any of them soon. Many still think they are world powers, while they can't even take care of their own people. Pathetic.

Anonymous said...

It appears that those (read mobs) who shout loudest, drowns out any decency or balanced and relevant discussion.

It is early days for this challenge I wonder if the other interested parties who must care, will counter-protest and will be heard. The media will have a big part to play in what is heard and what is not.

I am sure this subject will be being aired in various blog fora but that is not enought....yet.

TG said...

Media is a tool for ideologues and it's currently playing the role of being sensationalist, have high ratings and spark controversies, spread irrational fears. Every moron, who had his 5min of fame on national TV, gets the chance to be a pundit on Fox news and others. I could never imagine a nonsense of such incredible dimensions taking place in Europe. Not to this extent. Never.

ZACL said...

Sadly, I see the 'nonsense' in the media developing in the UK. Mainland Europe, as yet, is less sensationalist because it is under firm control of those who have the power. That is not good either.

I am deeply concerned at the amount of air time, sensationalism is receiving. The media barons have to keep their finances coming in too, from all quarters, insurance companies, drugs corporations and so on, so they will never be trustworthy.

The lack of humanitarianism is shocking. If you don't have a job that pays the medical care, you have no care. That's so crude.

TG said...

Well, you're right. But on the other hand, I think more and more people use the internet to get various opinions. There's so many good independent online news and blogs so far from sensationalism and media barons. I have online-friends virtually from all over the world. I don't need a reporter to tell me what the people think in a different country. I usually watch CNN international and aside from Larry King, Fareed Zakhariah and Jack Cafferty, there's no other journalst I would trust there. And CNN supposed to be balanced. The rest is more or less trash in my eyes. Ok, maybe not Al Jazeera, but sadly not many watch it. If I watch TV, I usually watch live events, but when he pundits start telling me what we just saw, I most of the time can't believe how different that was from what I saw. As for newspapers, haven't bought one in ages. I really don't mind if they die out, the trees could take a break. And sipping coffee and reading online news has replaced that 1990's coffee+newspaper. Anyway, sorry for my essay. I'm just sayin' :)

ZACL said...

Please don't apologise for what you have written; I am glad you have written. I am rather surprised there are no other commentators.

Even online news is skewed, you have to be healthily critical. The pix we get have been decided upon before they are broadcast, for a whole bunch of reasons.

I agree that there are other media sources, such as CNN and Al Jazeera that are useful for comparison. Nevertheless, what we get is what someone else wants us to hear and see. That should never be forgotten.

There is another blog site I visit where a well-travelled and sparky and educated American lady has started the same debate as I have. It is clear that there are many levels on which the American 'health' issue is being fought; political, corporate and drugs and business interests, being a primary one. The next level, which I find horrible, is the emotional one. The lies, the distortions that are being peddled, and gross selfishness are disgusting. It makes me ask, what kind of society is that?

Humanitarianism is totally lost.

TG said...

Yes, the media thrives on emotions and scare tactics. As I said, when someone from the mobs says something like 'I don't want socialized medicine' the run this on national TV all the time, give the person air time for interviews and stuff. Are you kidding me? This should be discussed by experts, not people with high school education, who think Obama was born in Kenya and that he's a baby-killing nazi. The latest garbage they are now spreading is the 'death panels'. Have you heard about it?

ZACL said...

Indeed, I have heard the banal scare tactics. It is so clearly reminiscent of the third Reich slanders and inflammatory statements about Jews, Blacks, Gypsies and so on.

It is equally disgraceful that the media feeds on all of this without giving fair time and hearing to the other views; they are too educated and sensible, too caring, to count. They won't bring in the $, or the audience ratings.

It does seem that you have a large uneducated sector that is very easily manipulated. Many of those people cannot see, that when they have no pay cheques, they have no health care; they are in denial of the state they are in and the level of unemployment and poverty.

We too have a sector of the population who are very right wing, but there are enough individuals where it matters, to stand up and be counted, who will counter their worst excesses, some of them are in the mainstream media and some of them are in the various mainstream political parties.