Dingell and National Health Care

In Michigan and across the nation yesterday, thousands protested against the derisively termed Obamacare on the second anniversary of the massive federal intrusion into the lives of average Americans. In the meanwhile, some groups held protests in favor of the act.

Michigan Congressman John Dingell, in one of the counter protests, called health care a right rather than a privilege. Yet that is all nothing but liberal hooey. If they were to amend the point with something like, the ability to pursue adequate health care is a right, there could be no argument. On that level, it's little different from pursuing a job or a home or any other basic need.

So the question then becomes: does the federal government provide our jobs? Does it provide our homes? Does it give us our daily bread? Does it put directly the clothes on our backs or the cars in our driveways? No? So why, then, should it have any direct say in our health care?

Especially with the proposal as it is today, which at the heart of it all really only commands the individual to buy health insurance, who cannot see that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is nothing more than the government trying to solve a problem by legislating about it? If Washington were to simply order everyone to work and eat, there could be no poverty, could there? Yet people would scoff at that, and rightly so.

The fact is that a problem of the scope of health care cannot be solved by mere legislative fiat. There are too many variables involved, and not the least of which is that health care is actually something you only need if you are sick or hurt. Seeing as food, clothes, and housing are needed every day, if simply passing a law to improve the human condition would in fact improve it, well, shouldn't we begin our reforms in those areas? Day in and day out, those things are more important to us than what might happen to us at some undetermined time in the near or far future. We'll be hungry every day. We won't necessarily ever need hospitalization or long term care.

This isn't to say that health care is not or should not be of concern to the person. Of course it should; so much so that it ought to be left up to him. The proper role of government is to create and maintain an environment under which he can do that, exactly as it should be with regard to his pursuit of jobs, housing, and clothes. Anything more is an affront to our freedom and our dignity,

Congressman Dingell is right: health care is a right. So get out of our way and allow us to seek it as best we can, by passing laws which allow for our freedom of choice on the question. After that, kindly leave your demagoguery in Washington.