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Dear Editor,
Opponents of the recent federal overhaul of the U.S. health care industry should not call it “Obamacare.” The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was a long time coming. There are two reasons why we should not refer to it by its colloquial name. One is that it is wrong and the other is that it diverts valid opposition.
First, it was not a result of one man's triumph or (as some would describe) “ramming it down the throats of Americans.” President Obama simply rode a train of personal and party popularity following two wars. However, the Democratic Party has been advocating socialized medical care since at least the 1930s. Incrementally they have steadily increased the role of the federal government control over and responsibility for health care: Roosevelt, Johnson, Clinton and Obama. The greater strides in government control over society are always done at times of leaders' ascending popularity. A public official recently said that a crisis should never be wasted; but the real success comes from not wasting the sudden popularity that a crisis gives. Even the Republican Party greatly increased the federal government's role with the passage of Medicare Part D.
Secondly, this focus on one man as the owner/creator/identification of this massive government grab focuses the attention on the wrong thing. Subconsciously this allows too many persons to think that if Obama was not reelected or after Obama leaves office then all will be OK. They will be mistaken. The focus should be on the government's role in our lives and the idea that we are responsible for others. This idea that “we are responsible for another's health care” really means that “you are responsible for my health care.” If you really oppose this program you can only do it out of one of two principles: 1) That the federal government is trampling on states' rights; or 2) That the federal government is trampling on the individual rights. Focus on the encroaching collectivism, not the fleeting, temporary figurehead of the movement.
Gerald Luhman II
Sarasota, Florida
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