This Ain't No Disco. This Ain't No Debate.

Some things do not require debate.
To provide the opposite of the truth is to state a lie.
A lie does not deserve the same respect as the truth.
Here are some things I will not debate:
The grass is typically green.
The sky is typically blue.
Our health care system in this nation is a mess.
Americans need health care reform now.

A long time ago, in a land, far, far away.....okay, it was Chicagoland, but when you live in the middle of nowhere Georgia, Chicagoland does seem far, far away, I worked for a little membership organization called the American Association of Retired Persons. You might know them as AARP, but please don't call the arp.

Now, I had the good fortune to have worked there in the salad days of deeeee-centralization, staffing the federal legislative department, serving as field secretary for the Regional Representative. A jolly fellow who often slept away his afternoons, snoring so loudly that I had to close his office door to cover his large ass. I liked him and wanted him to keep his job.

Anyway, back then in some insignificant year of, oh say 1993, when this nation was previously considering, and alternatively scoffing at, health care reform, AARP became embroiled in the discussion when there appeared to be some sort of endorsement of what was then called "The Clinton Health Plan." And, no, that plan did not include therapeutic blow jobs, no matter what Newt Gingrich tries to say now, as he performs his usual historical revisionism. What a douchebag Newt is.

But I digress.

Anyway - the phones at the Midwest Regional Office of AARP lit up with irate members who felt that the plan sucked ass (some even used that phrase, I'm sure of it) or who were seriously ticked off that AARP, a non-partisan organization, would endorse what they believed to be a partisan plan. (For those not in the know - a partisan plan means the other side of the political spectrum. When it's your own side - it's a good plan.)

I was lucky enough to field some of the calls. Lucky can be such a subjective term, you know?

One call went something like this. Watch for the irony, okay?

The caller, an angry female in her 80s: "Blah, blah, blah!!!! AND I don't think the gubmint should be involved in health care!" (she was from Southern Ohio or Indiana and actually used the word gubmint.)

A Much-Younger, More Insolent Me: So then you want to stop receiving Medicare?
The caller, really displeased with that question: Uh. NO. It's not the same thing!

Me: Um, yeah, it is. Medicare is a government-administered health insurance program.

My colleague, the one who used to narrate her whole fucking day, turned and gaped at me. Then she actually laughed out loud, started holding her sides, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes and finished by falling out of her chair and onto the floor where she rolled around laughing until her ass fell off.

The point is - well, people are really stupid when it comes to this issue and I'm fucking tired of it. Yep. Fucking tired of it. Like when my kids ask me fifty different ways if they can set fire to something or order things online. Neither side is going to be happy until they win.

Last night, I posted on my Facebook about this because I am soooo tired of this "conversation." It's ridiculous. Health care is a human rights issue. I asked the question: If you weren't in a position of having insurance right now - would you oppose reform? Because I honestly do believe that it's easy to oppose change when you are comfortable. One of my commenters there linked to this article that demonstrates, that even when you are insured, you are not guaranteed coverage. The insurance companies hold all the cards.

Well, here's the thing I say to those opposed:

We've heard your side and we've tried it your way. For years. The insurance companies get rich. People die waiting for health care. Or go broke. And bankrupt. Mine and Mathman's first money troubles started as a result of a huge dental bill. I myself, can't do anything that requires quick movements like running, throwing or jumping because when I do, I pee myself because carrying and birthing three babies wrecked me. Even with our insurance, I cannot afford the co-pay for the surgery to get my pee place fixed. Not life threatening, but damned inconvenient and annoying. I mean, what if I needed to run for my life? It's bad enough that I run like a girl, but a girl with wet drawers? Come on now! You've heard me refer to the sneeze and squeeze, yes?

TMI? Well, this is a health care post. You'll live.

There is no more need to debate this issue another second because the opposed will not be convinced. So let's do this - let's try something new and radical like universal, single-payer health care. If in three years, people hate it, then they can go back to the mess we have now.

My guess is that we'll be happy enough with the new and radical, but we're going to have to drag some Americans' asses along. That's how it always is, you know. I mean, just ask MathMan. Back in 1987, when he tried to get me to use his brand, spanking-new hotrod of a Tandy 1000 personal computer to write a paper for some college class, I looked him dead in the eye and uttered these words...."No thanks, I'll stick with the typewriter."