ACA-Obamacare- taking a step back

10/16/2013


"A house divided against itself can not stand" is a concept first spoken by Mathew and Mark and later by Lincoln as our country was roiling in the tension between advocates of slavery and abolitionists.  Its latest version was expressed as a real fear of our current constitutional based house of lawful comity collapsing.   This was not by a seer or an orator but by one who for a third of century had intimate knowledge of all the pressing dangers against our country.  It was in a a recent 60 minutes interview with the retired deputy director of the CIA, Mike Morell,  who had given daily briefing on these dangers to the last four presidents.

"What really keeps me up at night is the inability of our government to make decisions that will push our economy and our society forward. And one of the things I learned looking at the world is that a country's national security, any country's national security is more dependent on the strength of its economy and on the strength of its society than anything else....."

What divided our national house before the civil war were the existence of human beings as a lower caste, so low that those who espoused slavery considered then closer to livestock who had as much rights as their cattle or oxen.  Recent revelations of the writings of Thomas Jefferson, indicate that such a view was not abhorrent to him (see article in American History) which explains his conviction that after national abolition those who had been chattel could never coexist with those who had been their owners.  While slaves are the ultimate extreme of human castes, there are versions of this, the proletariat who are described as wage slaves in a capitalist system, and in this country in the 21st century, that large group whose children are always a few days away from hunger while the wealthy bid up among themselves Warhol paintings into nine figures.

Obamacare can be viewed in this metaphor of a house divided by ideology that has no language that does not arouse such passion, fear and hatred, to such a degree that real engagement is impossible.  Realities such as medical care being at the margin of innovation inherently a limited supply of skilled providers and therapeutics are never addressed.  Rather we are regaled with an idealized universal availability of every treatment for all at no cost. Senator Obama's speech at the 2004 Democratic convention made the assertion, "We are not a nation of red states or blue states, but we are all red white and blue."  It got great applause, and launched him to the presidency.  Yet, it was an illusion, a hope, which was to be the byword of his first campaign.  And his signature law was also a hope,  so much so that it was sold as such, such as placebos.  These promised cures for diseases must be simplified, testimonials from those who were saved without any warning of adverse side effects.

There was never an informed discussion based on the actual choices to be made, and so it passed, based on both illusion for the masses and deals with powerful interests in the medical therapeutic complex.  And this was all leavened by something else that is actually two sides of the same coin, hope to believers and cynicism to adversaries.  As this bill became known, and took on the name of the "signature legislation" of President Obama, the actual legislation became a proxy for the ancient battle of haves and have nots, the Greek Hoi Polloi who were dismissed by Hoi Oligoi, a timeless battle that takes a different form in every era.  

I will reference two articles that as of the time of this writing have not been in the public media.  President Obama is currently on the ropes trying to find a way to retroactively repair his repeated statement that no one will lose their existing insurance. It was not a mis-statement, but like the two other issues below, were in the nature of a marketing any product to the public where the truth is stretched as far as possible, often elucidated deep in the small print of the actual sales contract. 

The first is actually an misconception that is still held by a majority of citizens that is so misleading as to be as inexcusable. "Being sick won't keep you from getting health coverage" Fact or Fiction.  The second may even be more detrimental to our government, as it has the effect of legitimizing tax evasion, ACA, Debasement of federal Internal Revenue function:  ACA, Debasement of federal Internal Revenue function:  What makes this particular deal so incongruous is that all assistance to the indigent, from food stamps to housing, depends broad acceptance of our income tax which will be diminished by this provision

At this point I will close this essay, with a separate extended discussion (in process) on historical sociological aspects.  Those who see President Obama as leading the battle for the losers of society, including those who are the spiritual and often biological descendents of actual, rather than "wage" slaves, will still admire his efforts, even if they have been rocky during the last month since the disastrous rollout.. If Obamacare is seen as the first step towards a more egalitarian, communitarian red,white and blue country, then Barack Obama will be seen as a champion of a worthy cause, whether or not it succeeds.  

In reality, we are a house divided, and probably always will be.  Can it still stand and provide something that continues to function, even if not ideally. What are the options?  I would say that making the effort to sustain our constitutional is a worthy cause.  The more we learn about other countries, other civilizations, the more we understand that forces of dissolution, both domestic and foreign, always exist. 

It has been said that the Chinese have an ancient curse, "May you live in interesting times."  Curse, challenge or opportunity, we shall see.