Say What?

President Barack Obama said, while on a trip through Asia, that he would have to make some mid-course corrections in the wake of the Republican landslide last Tuesday?

What? Mid-course corrections? He needs to bring that ship back to port and retool it. The American people stately plainly and firmly that they don't want to go where he wants to lead them. They don't want socialism. They don't want problems solved by legislative fiat: ordering people to get something wholly optional, a la health insurance, doesn't address an issue at all. It is nothing more than feel good legislation at best, and downright totalitarian at worst.

Think of it this way. Ordering folks to buy health insurance is just like ordering them to buy a car: since when it is the right of government to command anyone about how to acquire something which is only arguably necessary? No one has to have a car...neither do they have to have health insurance if they want to run the risk of being able to handle their own emergencies. And please set aside any arrogant jealousies about forcing others to help you if you do become seriously ill. Isn't charity still a cardinal virtue? Aren't you supposed to be willing to help those in need, whatever the reason for the need? And why should they pay for your insurance anyway, which is effectively all that any kind of government run health care does.

This isn't to say that individuals are not obliged to do what they can for themselves. But legislating it is a dangerous step, one which must only be used when the issue at hand is beyond what the mere individual ought to want. It's one thing to say that you can't murder. It is quite another to say that you must buy health insurance, which is like saying you must get a job. It simply isn't practical, nor the province of legislative do gooders.