On Sunday, March 21, 2010, President Obama signed historic health-care legislation ending a 100-year effort, started by Teddy
Roosevelt, to bring some sort of universal health care to The United States. The
effort, through the years, was bipartisan, consisting of desires by both
Republican and Democratic presidents.
The momentous achievement was met by
some of our citizens with anger, which promoted violent attacks against Congressmen
and women who voted for the bill. Office windows have been broken, a gas line
to a home was severed and both telephone and e-mail death threats are frightening.
Why are these people so angry? Is it the prospect of 30
million more people receiving health-care insurance, or do they want insurance companies to continue rejecting people with pre-conditions? I don't
think any of these reasons are in play, and I believe it is the culmination of a
movement and a state of mind that has grown in this country since Ronald Reagan
uttered his famous words, "Government is not the solution, government is the
problem."
The Republicans opposed to the bill adopted the slogan, "A government
takeover of health care." They didn't have to explain anything. Those words
were enough. Your mean spirited, unscrupulous, inefficient government is so
ingrained that no explanation was necessary.
Why in the world did these people run for office in the government that they loathe?
Recently, I began to hear about the extensive plans in the works to celebrate the 100th birthday of our country's second worst president. Needless to say, Reagan held the undisputed title until the arrival of George W. Bush. We need a truth revelation before we are drowned in praise of the man who started this country on this path to government mistrust, criminal deregulation, greed and an uncharitable view of our needy. Does that sound like 2010? If so, you can thank "the great communicator."
Starting during Teddy Roosevelt's administration there was a
movement in this country to bring about social justice and a progressive era.
The objective was to apply strong government regulation to business on behalf
of labor and farmers and to provide them with security, opportunity and social
benefits.
The government's role in the lives of the common citizens of The
United States increased dramatically for the first 64 years of the 20th
century. Roosevelt's New Deal, Truman's Fair Deal and Kennedy's New Frontier were milestones on the road to progressivism.
Perhaps the most progressive president of that time was Lyndon Johnson. His contribution has been muted by the debacle of the Vietnam War. However, he should also be remembered for his efforts on behalf of all Americans. His Great Society had the most impact on the progressive movement in the century. Medicare and Medicaid; the Voting Rights Act; immigration laws; pollution control and other social legislation awoke the sleeping Conservative giants.
It seemed as if, with the exception of universal health care, everything was accomplished. We were at the top of the mountain and the only road left was down. It is often said that Reagan started his political career as a New Deal, liberal Democrat. He may have, but it did not take much to change his stripes. As President of The Actors Guild he developed suspicions that Communists were among the Hollywood moguls and the Guild itself. It seems strange that he drew this conclusion when both groups consisted of people who had benefited greatly from a capitalist society. And then he became spokesperson for GE and convinced himself that the conservative approach of his employer was something to be admired and adopted.
In 1964, while Goldwater demonstrated his angry, mean-spirited attitude, Reagan made a supportive speech that demonstrated the ingratiating
style that we would come to know in the years ahead. It was little noted during
the Goldwater disaster except for a group of Californians who were plotting the
emergence of a new conservatism dedicated to privatizing the government as much
as possible and concentrating wealth in the hands of the privileged few.
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