The Division of Change
Cleve Horrocks Nov. 2009
There is more that unites us than divides us, and yet we are quite literally at war with one another. This should not be.
The Health Care Reform debate is just the latest of the discussions that seek to tear us apart, rather than bringing us together. In the views of our Founding Fathers, the purpose of debate over issues was to find a common ground that most could agree would be the best course of action moving forward. The attitude of cordial compromise was an important principle. No Longer.
Today we have devolved to a system of two large parties seeking to take control of every facet of our lives. The true purpose of Government is to remove obstacles from people’s lives that they could not overcome by themselves. To protect us from tyrants and men of violence. To build up infrastructure that allows us to express our lives and our freedoms in marvelous ways. To provide a system of regress for disagreements and criminal activities. Not to rule us and regulate us and tax us to the point where we no longer have the ability to choose for ourselves.
Historically it was considered a form of slavery anytime the taxes a government imposed exceeded a fifth of ones income. And if it got to fifty percent, then it was openly called slavery. Today, we are all together too close to that fifty percent mark. And the proposed health care bill will put us over the top. This cannot be.
Rather than ram-roding an unworkable monstrosity of “change” down our throats, why aren’t we debating real measures of change that would set the precedence of future cooperation? The expansion of personal Health Savings Accounts for example, rather than their elimination? True tort reform, that will enable the health care industry to save billions on lawsuits and malpractice insurance. Making permanent the Bush tax cuts, to improve our competitive advantages and increase the size of our middle class.
Right now the debate should be focused on how we can change things to improve and expand the American middle class. This is the single most important thing for us as a nation. To expand the opportunities for the average man or woman to improve their lot in life. Not to figure out how to reduce us to the same level as those in the rest of the world.
Vali Nasr, a Muslim author and Professor at Tufts University, says in his latest book “Forces of Fortune: The Rise of the New Muslim Middle Class and What It Will Mean for Our World” (Free Press), that in order to reduce terrorism, we should focus our efforts on expanding the middle class in the Muslim world. I believe that we should do the same here at home.
Let us work together to find peace and prosperity, rather than fighting amongst ourselves to the detriment of our society.
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