Okay, that's not quite the way the religious Lefties put it when
they rallied recently on behalf of socialized health care.
But that might as well be their message.
Reports
Rebekah Sharpe for the Institute on Religion and Democracy:
Inspired by a meeting with Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA)'s office
in early April, liberal religious leaders banded together into
the "Believe Together: Health Care for All" advocacy network
comprised of more than 40 faith groups who are "encouraging our
nation's leaders to pass comprehensive and compassionate health
care reform legislation this year." The central component of
their advocacy was the June 24th "Interfaith Service
of Witness and Prayer for Health Care for All."
The healthcare coalition wants the federal government to
socialize America's health care system. President Obama
and many congressional Democrats are advocating a new federal
health insurance program that would compete with private
insurance. Critics allege this program ultimately would
drive private insurance out of business. Liberal church
groups largely prefer a "single payer" plan that would
eliminate private health insurance in favor of federal control.
Leaders at the June 24 rally/service emphasized that this was a
critical time for people of faith to coordinate their efforts
with Congress. Neera Tandan, a Senior Adviser in the Department
of Health and Human Services, told the religious activists:
"Your united voice is critical... We are, in the next two
months, at the most critical time of trying to get [healthcare]
legislation passed." Tandan encouraged, "Hopefully, we are
months, not years away from the day we cover all
Americans."
An estimated 850 to 1100 Religious Left activists sat in the
afternoon heat for two hours in Freedom Plaza in the nation's
capital as leaders of their churches, mosques, synagogues, and
temples prayed and spoke in favor of a socialized medical
system that they insisted must be "inclusive, accessible,
affordable, and accountable."
You'd think those purporting to represent the poor would
advocate a system which expanded individual choice and people's
access to medical care. But while the religious
Left says it wants "inclusive, accessible, affordable,
and accountable" health care," that is the opposite of what would
occur in a government-run system.
Look at nationalized systems around the world. Accountable
they most certainly are not. Inclusive and accessible they
are only in the sense that you are promised a long wait in a long
line for services most Americans take for granted. And the
systems are affordable only by rationing care and denying the
best life-saving treatments to most people, especially the
elderly.
I'll admit that God hasn't yet told me what kind of health care
system he wants America to have. But I'm skeptical that he
views socialized medicine as a means of inaugurating his kingdom
on earth. A better approach to affirm human life and
dignity would seem to be to increase the choices available to
patients, allowing them to make more decisions about their own
treatment.
