On June 28, 2012 the United States Supreme Court upheld President Obama’s health care insurance plan. The plan, in which the federal judges voted 5 to 4 in support of the oval office’s heath care overall, has created a political storm from conservative Americans. Members and supporters of the Tea Party and ultra-conservative groups argue that the president is bankrupting the system, while creating an entitlement class of Americans and shoving socialism down the throats of the American people. The problem is that critics of the health plan illustrate a reactionary view of the United States as being a sensitive and benign community to its less fortunate citizens.
In the course of various waves of immigrants to the United States the first image or item that they saw was the Statue of Liberty in New York City. The lady guardian of our nation welcomed newcomers with the following words: “Give me your tired, you’re poor; your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . . . Send these, the homeless, tempest-tots to me.” Well, we have at least 60 million of these lost souls that we call Americans who are uninsured and unable to get basic health care due to financial hardships in the most affluent nation in the world. Millions of our neighbors are suffering from diseases and illnesses that can be treated by our professional medical community, but don’t have the money nor the insurance to hire these benefactors. But, why is there so much resistance to providing health insurance to individuals who can’t afford it? Well, we have a group of Americans who are bent on keeping a class structure that radically divides Americans into two major sectors – the powerful and wealthy, and the poor and weak. The issue is also rooted in the historical antagonism between powerful interest groups to negate real Fair Deal policies to help America’s underclass, for example, the attacks on President Harry S. Truman’s health care incentives.
The problems that are facing President Obama and the nation are very similar to the issues that confronted President Truman and the United States in 1945. In the mid-1940s over 48% of the American people had no access to medical services. That is, there were a lack of hospitals, clinics, physicians and other medical professionals. In addition, like today, a large segment of the population did not have life insurance. Truman, the Fair Deal activist, who is better known for ordering the atomic bomb to be dropped on Japan, stated in reference to health care and the American people: “The health of American[s] . . . should be recognized as a definite public responsibility.”
Truman understood that the federal government is an active agency in bettering the lives of its citizens. Thus, it is not a passive institution that stands on the sideline and watches the citizenry stagnate and regress into an existence of poverty, starvation and health deprivation. However, organizations like the American Medical Association fought furiously against Truman’s health care program and his goal to create a national insurance program in the United States. Quickly, the AMA branded Truman as a socialist and a covert ally to the Soviet Union – the open enemy to America’s way of life.
Sadly, the forces that dogged the Truman administration are the same culprits who are attempting to undermine the quest for America’s poor to have equal health care and protection. The question is why? We have a large segment of our population who enjoys the concept of class division and the separation of labor and management. Simply put, they are the ones who long to feel superior to others, who believe in a concept of group supremacy and who deep down feel that certain people because of their education, race, religion, and ethnicity are not worthy of enjoying the full fruits and benefits of our society.
Hopefully, the Supreme Court’s endorsement of President Obama’s health care plan will usher in an egalitarian society that will afford all Americans “real” health care benefits.
The Truth Terrorist
Dr. Vibert White
