Does America possess the capacity to act before a crisis occurs? The current debate over health care reform has strong implications regarding whether or not we as a nation can offset a problem before disaster strikes.
When confronted with a crisis, America is quick to put aside political differences/considerations in favor of the common good. Unfortunately, such cooperation is short lived. The status quo of extreme partisanship is quick to reassert itself. The mindset on capitol hill seems to favor the notion that what’s good for me (or my party) is what’s good for America. And if one believes that, then it would mean that what’s bad for me (or my party) is bad for America.
Such beliefs are making it practically impossible to hold a serious debate on the merits of health care. Instead, one party seems hellbent on derailing any progress so that they may reap the rewards of failure. Even worse is the method with which they have chosen to carry out their plans, by spreading lies and blatant exaggerations.
Such fear-mongering has whipped a certain segment of the population into apoplexies of rage at the thought of reform. So far, this strategy appears be working as the media, smelling blood, zeroes in on instances of public outrage.
It’s impossible to hold an intelligent debate, unfortunately, when one side has zero inclination to participate in a meaningful capacity. In fact that’s the exact opposite of what certain politicians want. If both sides were to discuss the issue civilly, it’s possible they could come to agreement, and if that happened all the people who’ve placed their political future on failure would look awfully cynical.
