Healthcare Email RAGE! Part 3

It is only fair that after posting Pat's words verbatim, I should do the same for myself. My proudest moment? Certainly not. I am quite sick of these type of people, so I let loose...

My dearest Pat,

You end your last email discussing the notion of truth. Perhaps the biggest difference between you and I is that I spend most of my time searching for the truth while you spend most of your breath assuming it. Allow me to explain.

I present to you the following statistics; each is a vital measure of a society's overall quality of health and health care system (I refer you to the excellent text by Koop, Pearson, and Schwarz, "Critical Issues in Global Health"):
Maternal death rate, US: 1 in 4800 (42nd overall for all countries surveyed.)
Infant mortality rate, US: 7 in 1000 (tied for 47th overall.)
Life Expectancy, US: 78 (tied fo 34th overall.)
Data collected from PRB.org.

In each case, the countries of the United Kingdom, Sweden, China, and Canada are far ahead of the United States. These are countries with nationalized health care systems. I am good friends with persons from each of these countries (an easy feat at Los Alamos, where foreign nationals are in great supply), and each is surprised and frustrated with the cost and quality of the U.S. system despite the health plans provided to lab employees of which they are entitled. Also note that often the U.S. is surpassed by countries considered to be underdeveloped compared to the United States (e.g. Cuba, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, etc.) A strong contributor to this trend is the prohibitive cost of health care and the castration of health care professionals by insurance providers. Both of these symptoms effect not only the 13% you condemn but also a large proportion of the remaining 87%, whose "insurance" is a poor excuse for health care.

As we both come from the fine state of Michigan, I shouldn't need to expound on the effects of the cost of health care on the economy. Look across the river to Canada, where factory workers are paid nearly as well as Americans, but it is far cheaper for manufacturers to hire workers there because benefits cost so much less.

And what, good sir, is your position? You do not want to have less money, and someone else has told you that a public option will take away your money. In both of your emails, you do nothing to substantiate this point yet gloat over your "common sense." Ah, yes! Do compare our ages! Do bleat on about naivety and experience! So long as you do nothing else to substantiate your case, why should I believe what you say?

Furthermore, the only thing more ridiculous than your statement of "if it's not broke, don't fix it" is ending your email by quoting Edmund Burke concerning "good men doing nothing" after DIRECTLY urging others to go to the town hall meetings and ENSURE that good men indeed do nothing.

I now turn to the thick hypocrisy of your more recent email. While I could speculate on why you find yourself in direct opposition to educated people, I will ignore that point at current. Rather, I wonder aloud how you can assert that people with whom you disagree "can't extend a sensitivity to others." I would love to hear you expound upon this point after doing your best to ensure that 13% of Americans (that would be 40 million people, as I'm sure you are aware) do not deserve health care because it would cost everyone a lot of money (again, a point you merely assert without backing it up with even a hint of critical analysis.) If it was you who was denied care because of lack of insurance, would it still be common sense? If your family was escorted out of the hospital, still ailing and without a hint of medical attention, is it the wisdom of experience then? As your children are repeatedly denied coverage, would you take solace knowing that 87% should not suffer the yolk of a tax increase? Certainly you would explain to them that their "Life" should not interfere with others' "pursuit of happiness" and their tears would vanish.

I now extend two challenges to you:
1) Respond to this and back up your position with facts and critical analysis. By all means, verify the truth granted unto you by common sense. I invite you to substantiate your point and prove me wrong. I warn you, however, that ridiculousness will be met with ridicule (as it should in such matters.)

2) Find someone without health insurance. Ask them about their experiences. Then, look them in the eye and read your first email verbatim. If you are indeed the man you describe in your most recent message, I doubt you will find this difficult.

I sincerely look forward to your response.

-spacecataz

Pat responded, and believe me when I say it's a doozy. I just sent a response to that response, which I'm sure will also entertain.