Evolution of Consciousness

I’d like to elaborate on something I wrote last week: for years, polls have reported that a majority of Americans want National Health Insurance in this country (like Medicare for All). 2009 was supposed to be the year that Washington finally addressed the issue. So what happened? The influence of big money in Washington completely perverted and derailed the effort. We the People are just not being represented in Washington anymore, only money is.

There are some minor exceptions. In the Senate, Bernie Sanders (I-VT) proposed a single-payer bill (S.703). Thus far, no other senator has bothered to cosponsor this bill. On the House side, John Conyers (D-MI) put up H.R.676, which has a total of 86 cosponsors (see thomas.loc.gov for the list). So that’s a total of 87 representatives and one senator on our side, and 99 senators and 348 representatives against us.

What to do? Vote accordingly. Elections are coming up next year. If your congresspeople aren’t behind either of these bills, tell them they will lose your vote. For example, those of us along California’s northern coast will be asked to re-elect Representative Mike Thompson and Senator Barbara Boxer in November of 2010. Both have chosen to represent the insurance industry in this fight. Tell them if they don’t switch sides, pronto, they will lose your vote. 

Then, keep your promise. Don’t be a no show, that doesn’t help. Instead, vote Independent: not republican, not democrat, but for some third party candidate. The time has come to abandon the two major political parties in this country, as they abandoned us a long time ago. It’s time for the people to rise up and take this country back. Vote Independent.

It has been an interesting summer of politics on healthcare reform. We’ve seen and heard plenty of nonsense, with greed and corruption providing the framework, and ignorance and fear filling the air. These human shortcomings are not new, but history also reveals that they can be overcome.

Single-payer national health insurance will eventually prevail in this country, simply because it is the only affordable and sustainable system in the long run. 

Meanwhile, it appears that Obama and this 111th Congress may take some baby steps toward reform, but all indications are it won’t be enough to really stop the bleeding. We’ll all be back to the drawing board soon. The fact is our current for-profit health insurance system is unsustainable, it costs too much and does not work. Until we remove this $400,000,000,000 middleman from the equation, this country will remain sick and in pain.

The good news is that the national conversation on healthcare has begun. More and more Americans are learning some real facts about our common plight. In spite of the massive propaganda campaign directed against us, the truth of the matter is leaking out, little by little, bit by bit. A majority of Americans, a critical mass, will eventually get it. Single payer will eventually win, it is only a matter of time.

So the trick is, in the meantime, remain calm, centered, and patient. Whatever you do, don’t get sick! This is not a good time to require healthcare in America — unless, of course, you’ve reached the magical age of 65, when our national health insurance (Medicare) actually kicks in. Only then can you begin to enjoy the benefits of the single payer system. Before that (0-65) you are merely profit fodder for the health insurance industry.