You're a socialist. Admit it!

Just when I thought we had moved past the "better dead than red" mentality that permeated most of the five decades of my life, hardly a day goes by now that I don't hear about the 'dangers' of President Obama's socialist agenda. Right-wing commentators discuss health care reform as if its passage would result in the permanent removal of their spleens, kill grandma and grandpa, and make it impossible for us to receive medical care when we're sick or injured. The only thing that is more ridiculous than the bunk they are feeding us is that America actually seems to believe it.

Do I trust our government? Not much. However, I trust it a hell of a lot more than I trust corporate America. If anyone thinks that our health insurers actually give a damn about our health, you are smoking dope and living in la la land. Corporate America cares about only one thing: earning as much money as possible at our expense. And that means charging us the highest premiums they can possibly charge, providing the lowest level of service they can get away with and denying coverage anytime they're able. That's capitalism in a nutshell. Unless you are a high ranking executive with a health care giant, capitalism does not serve you well when it comes to health care.

Perhaps government will not do a perfect job providing us with health care when we are sick. Perhaps there will be times when we can't see a physician as quickly as we would like. Perhaps there will be illnesses that will be misdiagnosed or treatments that will not be made in a proper and timely manner. Perhaps we won't have enough physicians to meet demand. However, that's happening now. There is little chance that our health care system can get any worse than it already is. American health care ranks below more than 40 other countries. Our life expectancy is near the lowest while we spend the most of any industrialized nation in the world. How can anyone argue in favor of permitting corporate America to maintain its monopoly on health insurance, given these facts? It is simply insane to believe that corporate America will look after our well-being as well as our government.

By the way, do you support public education? Do you believe the government should provide police and fire protection to all, regardless of how much they pay in taxes? Do you believe the government should provide military and homeland security protection for everyone? Do you believe the government should spend a portion of tax revenue on finding cures for cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's and other illnesses? If you do, then congratulations. You have met the definition of a socialist. A socialist believes that it is the role of the government to spend money in a manner that protects and improves the quality of life for everyone. That is exactly what a public option for health insurance would do. Supporting it is no different than supporting any of the other policies or services that I have just mentioned. Don't look now, but I think you may just be more of a socialist than you want to admit, comrade.