The Verbiage Looks Nice, But...

My article on bill submission (See: What are his Constitutional Duties?) arose out of a Facebook post where I linked to The Obama Plan - a bulleted list of the health care plan proposed by our President. (It's here, if you're interested.)

It's a quick summary that is easy to understand. I posted the link to assist those who complained that President Obama had been vague about his proposal, and to reassure those who have been confused by the scare tactics permeating the internet and the airwaves. (See Health Care Howls for a discussion of this.)

The response to my post graphically illustrated why we have the current confusion-driven uproar over health care reform. The first reply was: The verbiage looks nice ... but ... where, in reality, is it, other than words on that web page? He's not turned in any legislation to Congress.

Not ONE of the responses I received discussed the merits of the Obama Plan. Instead, the conversation was sidetracked onto issues of WHO had actually written the bills currently under consideration, and WHY the president didn't write one, and WHEN would he start doing things the way they've always been done, etc.

It was such a human response. If we can't find fault with the package, let's find fault with the delivery or the messenger or the crack in the sidewalk. Let's run down a rat hole at all costs, to avoid sitting down at the table and confronting our own fears and prejudices. We ALL - left, middle, right - have this tendency, whether we're talking politics or religion or taxes or anything else that might make us lose sleep in the night.

It's an argument born out of fear. But fear prevents informed thinking. An ignorance-driven decision process is no process at all. We must quit fanning the flames of our - and our opponent's - fears. We need to sit down, in compassion and civility, and talk about the ISSUES.