Geshundeit!

(Oh boy. Here we go). I was talking to my mom today, and the health care bill came up. It's like one of those big alien ships in Independence Day- you can try and go about your life like normal, but eventually this thing is going to come up, and it's going to blast the crap out of your infrastructure with beams of green energy. And it's impervious to mankind and it's weapons because it has superior technology- hence the city-sized flying saucers. Oh wait...I'm sorry. I completely stopped talking about the health care bill and started actually talking about Independence Day. That's what I get for trying to use a simile.

Your mileage may vary, but in the circles I run with, this bill has been polarizing to say the least. People love it...or hate it. They raise the roof...or cry that the sky is falling. Only I, and I alone, stand in the middle, with arms outstretched to each sid....who am I kidding. I'm not the only one in the middle, and I am shooting spitballs at the people that don't agree with me.

There is so much to say, so many places to take a blog like this- but I'm going to focus on one aspect that, in my opinion, has doomed the chances of civilized debate before it even got started-Gemeinschaft. And gesellschaft.

Geme-who? Gesel-what? Ah ha! Here is where I break out my mad vocab skills and wow and impress you. I'm like the David Blaine of big words! But with a little less charisma than David. And certainly less facial hair.


Gemeinschaft, according to dictionary.com, basically is a German word that refers to a society where there is a "strong sense of common identity". Gesellschaft (also a German word) is, as you might have guessed (or maybe you didn't), a society that is characterized by impersonal relationships and formal organizations. Vocab lesson over. Want to impress your friends? Break out these words in casual conversation. Want to really impress your friends? Wait until they've had a couple drinks, then break out these words in casual conversation.

How does this pertain to health care? Well, these two concepts become deeply ingrained in us, depending on where we are born. Is all about the group- or is it all about me? All for one? Or one for all? Well, America rocks gesellschaft the way many Asian countries sport gemeinschaft.

All the talk I see is about what the bill is going to do, how much it's going to cost, and who is going to benefit/get the shaft. And not that those are bad things to talk about- they are certainly relevant. However, in order to be a little more relevant and less like white noise, I'm trying to look at a different angle- why we care about certain parts of the health care bill more than others.

Like I said, I was talking to my mom today, who told me that she had talked to her doctor (against the new legislation BTW), who said that if my dad (I apologize if this is starting to feel a little bit like Clueless) needed angioplasty, that the government would decide whether or not to give the procedure to my dad, based on different factors. The idea of rationing care freaks many people out, and that makes sense. Nobody wants to be the person that is told that they have to die or endure a chronically debilitating disease because the government won't front the cash. But I have some thoughts on this, and thusly I shall jump in here and hold on, like that leech in Stand By Me.

You didn't think I would do it, did you? You thought, "No way he finds a pic. And even if he finds a pic, no way he would go there. He just wouldn't. IT'S SO WRONG!!!". Well, guess what friends? I did and I did. What up now, dawg?

Let me preface this by saying I'm not advocating for this. I'm not saying this is right, and you are wrong. I'm the guy that lights the other side of the street. Come to a fork in the road? Pick your side- and I'll pick the other. If you still believe that every situation is black and white, then hopefully you get a little uncomfortable when you read my stuff. Because I want you to be uncomfortable with that idea. It's preposterous to think that every situation is either/or, yes/no, truth/lie. There's more behind-the-scene stuff going on than Wizard of Oz.

See, the idea of universal health care is foreign to our capitalist, business-like approach we have to health care (and life, in general). We believe very strongly in the market, and have faith that the market is always right- even if it has to crash in order to get itself there. A sense of rugged individualism is mixed with an intense distrust of government. Our health care system is constantly evolving, pushing the envelope, tackling new frontiers- regardless of the benefit of those actions. We're Americans, damnit! We want it all- because it's our destiny. It is what it is. And if you aren't on the train? Just try not to get run over.

(I'm really trying to A) keep this simple, and B) stay on topic- it's really hard though! I have Systems Theory running through my brain. AAAAHHHH!!!)

So when someone comes along and presents us an idea that is foreign to this concept (getting what we want, individualism, resignation of medical status), well of course that's going to piss us off- because that just isn't how it is! Or is it?

Think about the gazelle. No, not her, you pervert- the gazelle. Lions eat gazelles. But they usually don't get to take down a nice, healthy, young gazelle- they generally get the sick, old, or lame gazelles. Because that's what they can catch. This principle does not just apply to gazelles in nature- I probably picked them because of a subconscious desire to link to a pick of this hottie.

Now I'm not saying that we should cart the sick/old/lame out to an island to die. What I am saying is that there is a scarcity of resources. We don't have access to everything all the time, because things eventually run out. Animals know this- if a food source runs out (or a habitat is destroyed) then they have to move on- or die.

To cultures that are raised with a more group-focused approach, this is probably not as controversial to think about, because the self exists for the sake of the group. The old gazelle runs when he's being chased- I mean after all, he wants to live- but he doesn't trip the stud buck so that he can get ahead of him.

But in America, we have a difficult time coming to terms with the idea that there are real-life limits. That there are only a certain amount of resources. We don't want to hear that.

You know what though? There is good news.

This is America! If you have money, you can have what you want! I admit my ignorance to the exact wording in the policy, but I can't imagine that there aren't going to be private insurance companies or hospitals out there that wouldn't gladly take your money for whatever procedure that you need.

To sum, you can look at the arguments against the health care bill and see very clearly that there is a lot of ideology behind them. I'm not saying the ideology is wrong...or right. It just is. I hope I didn't paint a scary, worst-case scenario. If I did, blame my mom. I just laid down the bread crumbs. It's up to each of us to follow the path on our own and make up our own mind. We can't blindly follow the politicians or television talking heads.

Pics- David Blaine- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/DavidBlaineSeptember.jpg/424px-DavidBlaineSeptember.jpg
Stand by me- http://standbymemovie.webs.com/Stand-By-Me-stand-by-me-5093175-852-480.jpg