Eternal Contemplation

Historically, we don't see the persecution of gays until the Late Fourth Century.  Before then, homosexuality was common and marriage was legal for gay couples.  When Christian Emperors took control of Rome, gay marriages became illegal, then the persecution of gays was allowed, finally homosexuality was illegalized.  The trend swept the Europe.

Sometimes, I wonder, what was it like for gays then?  Did they see the storm on the horizon?  Did they see what was coming?  Did they hold each other tenderly as they watched the mobs come for them?  Did they reach out to their community for support and assistance?  Did they have a reprieve from the violence?  I hope so.

If you study science fiction enough, you learn that humanities greatest fears of extra terrestrials, is not that they are warlike or vengeful, but that they are so alien that it precludes out ability to interact, study and learn from one another.

          A few weeks ago, I mailed you about my positive position toward H.R. 1913 and today I received your response.  I would now like to respond to your response. 

          In your letter you place quotation marks around hate crime, like it’s not a real thing.  It makes it seem imaginary or pretend.  You say that all crimes are motivated by hate, but that's simply not true.  Many crimes have nothing to do with hate.  Such as someone stealing for food is a crime of need or someone killing their partner's lover is a crime of passion, but I see what you're saying.  Hate is very ethereal so let’s call it something else.  Let's try Bias Motivated Crime, now that sounds like something more easily defined.  I find it odd that nowhere in your letter do you actually refer to who this bill pertains; gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.  Let me tell you there are lots of Bias Motivated Crimes against these people, thousands are year.  I'd quote you the numbers of glbt people that are beaten, maimed or killed a year, but I'm sure you have those figures.  I’m sure you know the story of the bills namesake.  Many of these Bias Motivated Crimes happen in your state, in your city, to your constituency.  I understand your point of view; why make more crimes when we can just better enforce the ones we have?  I wish it was that simple.  You don't mention that the bill would give Federal authorities the ability to peruse investigations when local authorities choose not to.  Where I grew up, here in Kentucky, beating the crap out of the local faggot was just boys being boys according to the police.  I can think of a few people who would've had a much better life if they could have seen some justice held against the perpetrators.  Maybe a push by the FBI or someone else might have helped with that.  Maybe by Congress passing this resolution it would send a message to those people that wish my kind harm that such actions will not be taken lightly.  Maybe it would just help me sleep better at night knowing the America that I love is a little safer for the people I love.

      I understand your point of view, that you’re an older man with conservative values and a view point that doesn't wonder too far away from the life you've lived, but what I really feel is a slap in the face is the letter you sent me.  I know it’s a form letter sent out to everyone, but I sent you a positive position toward H.R. 1913.  Your response could at least be a little more diplomatic.  You could even send out two form letters, one for the people against the bill and one for the people that were for the bill.  You could have the aide that’s reading this letter right now write the more diplomatic response. 

Thanks.

I haven't had health insurance in six years since I went away to college and my parents divorced.  When I get sick, I either tough it out and hope I don't need antibiotics or I bite the bullet and head to the doctor.  When my glasses wore out three years ago, I had to shell out $300 for a visit to the eye doctor and a new pair of glasses.  $300 dollars is not a small chunk of change to a college student.  My glasses are three years old now and they're showing their age. 

Sadly, I am just one of millions of Americans without health insurance or with health insurance that is inadequate to cover basic needs.  45.7 million Americans have no health insurance at all, nearly 1/6th of us.  I can't get healthcare from either of my parents.  Neither of them works for major companies that offer family insurance and even if they did, I'm too old to be applicable. 

Sometimes, I wonder, what if I get into a car accident?  What if I'm hurt badly?  How will I pay for those bills?  Just to be able to afford to live.  Hospitals are required by law to treat patients with life threatening injuries, but that doesn't mean they can't ruin my credit for the rest of my life.  If they do save my life, I'd still have to pay back the thousand or hundreds of thousands of dollars that it 'cost' to treat me.

Two years ago when visiting my Grandmother in Chicago for Christmas, I slipped on a patch of ice on the top of a set of concrete stairs by her front porch.  I feel down the stairs landing with the final sharp step landing into my lower back.  Since then my lower back hasn't been the same.  Luckily, I had an ex-Professor that was a chiropractor and understood my plight and gave me a discounted rate to help work me through most of the pain.  Others aren't that lucky.

When my father was diagnosed with cancer, he was very afraid.  He thought that it would be the end for him.  Luckily, he had COBRA health insurance and after $600,000 dollars, two courses of chemotherapy and one surgery, he was cancer free.  When my brother sprained his ankle, he headed to the local hospital for treatment fearing that it was actually broken.  After an x-ray, they wrapped it in an ACE bandage and sent him home.  Later, when he received the bill, they charge him $40 just for the ACE bandage.  The same one you can buy at Wal-Mart for $5. 

This rampant price inflation is common in the American healthcare system.  In fact, we spend 21% of our tax income per year on Medicare and Medicaid which only serve the elder or disabled while our British counterparts only spend 18% of their tax income on their entire national healthcare system which includes all citizens.  Why is this?  The health care system and pharmaceutical companies in the United States is less regulated than in any other industrial nation.  Not only this, but we spend $7,129 per capita, more than twice as much as any other industrial nation.  United States citizens are bearing the burden for all of this.  Of all industrialized countries, we have the lowest life expectancy and the highest infant mortality rate, as well high rates of smoking, high blood pressure and obesity, specially compared to countries with national healthcare systems.

Many people believe that this will greatly increase taxes, but most estimates show that it will costs as much or less than what were currently spending.  Most people think that a national healthcare system comes directly from taxes, but actually it doesn't.  In countries like Canada, Britain and France, up to 75% of healthcare costs come from the same place as they do now in the United States, the patient's employer.  Just as companies offer insurance plans for their employs now, business of a certain size would have to pay into the national healthcare system covering most of the costs.  The remaining 25% would be covered by taxes and co-pays when seeing the doctor, the same co-pays that you have to pay now.  As well, most insurance companies try to put off expenses like doctor visits till their absolutely needed, but by instituting a preventative healthcare system we could cut costs.  It works by allowing people to work with their doctor to lower their blood pressure to prevent a heart attack which costs much less than actually dealing with the heart attack itself.

One of the main culprits of all of this is for-profit insurance providers.  These insurance providers don't strive to better insure their patients, but rather pad their own pockets at the owner’s expense.  Insurance providers have started producing tactics to deny insured patients expensive medical procedures like calling chemotherapy an "experimental procedure” and therefore not covered under their insurance plan.  Pharmaceutical companies are just as bad.  After a company’s patent for a specific drug expires and a generic drug manufacture gains the license to make it, they will often pay of the generic manufacture to maintain their monopoly.  This is not in keeping with the Free Market economy that many conservatives like to push.  If you’re a high risk patient, beit with HIV, a diabetic, a history of cancer, or even a smoker your ability to get health insurance, that isn't provided by your employer, something that is becoming increasingly rare, dramatically decreases.  Up to 31% of all money spent on healthcare in the United States now goes to administration costs, which includes filing papers, making appoints or processing forms, while if you have Medicare or Medicaid, only 2% goes to administration.  By removing for-profit insurance providers we could cut national healthcare costs by 25%, in fact by adopting a Single Payer Health Insurance it is estimated that we would save $350 billion per year.  In two years, we could repay the Economic Stimulus Package, just by adopting this. 

Why is Congress so slow to act?  Well first of all, it is this nation.  In the US, there is a deep created fear against all things socialist, larger due to the Cold War and the propaganda spread during it.  In reality, we have many effective socialist programs that help Americans every day, Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Federal Grants for College Students (without which I wouldn't have been able to go to college), even our highway system, police and firefighters can be seen as socialist programs.  Do we hate these parts of America?  Secondly, Congress has no need for a better health insurance plan, because they already have national healthcare.  Once you are elected or appointed to any high ranking position in the United States government, you receive the best medical healthcare available to mankind.  They don't even have a co-pay when visiting the doctor.  Thirdly, kick backs.  This isn't an uncommon practice.  Many congress men and women are given large campaign contributions and other gifts such as family trips to luxury hotels in other exotic countries in response to voting the way pharmaceutical companies wish on key legislature. 

All of these are good reason why adopting a national healthcare system is good for America, but in the simplest terms, we are a 'Christian' country.  One of the highest tenants of such religion is charity and to care for our neighbors, but we are deny millions of Americans basic healthcare.  We are one of the worst countries in offering welfare and economic assistance to citizens.  Where’s the charity in that?