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WHAT'S GOING ON: 10.29.09 -- Pelosi unveils $894B bill 10.28.09 -- Bayh may block debate 10.27.09 -- Pelosi promotes "consumer option" 10.27.09 -- Lieberman to support filibuster 10.26.09 -- Reid to include the public option 10.24.09 -- the movement goes online |
| The "Juggernauts" and the "Teapartiers" have had their say. Cynics and detractors and pessimists have made it abundantly clear that they oppose an affordable public health care option for their fellow Americans. That is their right. And now it is the obligation of the rest of us, the 69½-million voters who spoke so clearly last November, to show our support for the initiatives of the people who put in office. The majority of Americans – We the People – were well aware that health-care reform was a chief component of the Democrats' agenda. And our confidence in the Party's ability to pass health-care reform was one of the many reasons we voted for them. Objectors protest that 85% of Americans are satisfied with their insurance. Which means, of course, that 15% of Americans are not. Tens of millions more remain uninsured. A public option will not affect those satisfied with their insurance any more than a new private company would; those satisfied will keep their coverage. The reform that our President and Democrats and 69½-million voters seek to pass is for the benefit of that 15%, and those uninsured millions. Those Americans who are satisfied are not more important than those who are dissatisfied, and the satisfaction of some does not justify the dissatisfaction of others. Nor does it give that 85% the right to deny basic medical care to the remaining 15%. Objectors protest that money taken from one and given to another is "stolen." Yet all of those objectors enjoy public services funded with money that has been taken from some and given to others. This is not theft; it is taxation, and it was established by the Founders of this nation. The United States Constitution authorizes Congress to collect taxes in order to provide for the general welfare of the United States (Article 1, Section 8). In fact, the Constitution was specifically designed to, among other goals, "promote the general welfare" of the American people, as set forth in its Preamble. There is no more fundamental element of the general wellbeing of the American people than their health. People are at their most productive, and are most capable of self-actualization, when they are healthy. And if the government is going to spend tax money on a program, there can be no better investment than one which directly enables its citizens to remain industrious. Because the United States is in many ways one massive cooperative. We are an association of individuals uniting to meet our common economic, social and cultural needs, and governed by a board of administrators elected from its own members. We are all shareholders in this venture called the United States. Objectors also offer a litany of outlandish lies both malicious and misinformed, none of which shall be repeated here, even for the purposes of debunking them. The opposition has spoken; now the advocates of reform must answer. We must not allow the only voices in this conversation to be those of negativity. We must, instead, counterbalance that brash disapproval with an equal and opposite response of endorsement for the efforts of our democratically elected officials. If you agree that access to basic medical care is an essential right of citizenship; that the people are most successful when they are secure in their health; that our nation excels most when its citizens are each able to achieve their greatest potential – then join your fellow Americans in the Million Can March. Clean out as many empty cans as will convey their passion, wrap them with a note reading "Can America afford universal health care? YES WE CAN", and mail them to the Ben Franklin Post Office at 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. 20004. Deserving of some rather special attention at present is Senator Joe Lieberman, who is poised to launch an unprecedented attack on the very Party with which he caucuses by helping the opposition to filibuster majority-leader Harry Reid's health care proposal. Yes-we Cans can be sent directly to Senator Lieberman at his Washington office, 706 Hart Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510, or at his Connecticut office at One Constitution Plaza, 7th Floor, Hartford, CT 06103. Or both, if you feel so compelled. Supporters are encouraged to submit letters and op-ed articles (ours or originals) to local newspapers in order to broaden the reach of the movement. Or to demonstrate your support immediately, simply e-mail letters, including the image above, to your Senators and Representatives to remind them that we still support and appreciate the work they are doing on our behalf. And since health-care reform will help Americans in the future, we also aim to help Americans today; participants are therefore encouraged to visit a local food bank on Saturday, November 21st, and make a donation, can-for-can, to provide for the general welfare of their fellow Americans. We CAN ensure that the wellbeing of every American is provided for, because the United States is a nation fueled by a CAN-DO spirit. |
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