<I DEFY you to find a right to health care in the US Constitution>
LOL. Like a true right-winger, you are making the US Constitution sound like some static Holy Grail such as the 10 Commandments! I never said that the U.S. Constitution presently guarantees every citizen the right to health care. And I don't equate Human Rights with the US Constitution either. They both evolve like Life.
In terms of the rights granted to people, the Constitution (prior to the Patriot Act) generally protects them from overreaching government behavior—restrictions on free speech, free press, freedom of religion, etc.—rather than granting them rights to benefits, such as health care, education, a certain standard of living, etc.
However, the government protects the people through universal healthcare just the same way a nation's army does. It is regarded as an integral function of the state -whatever the politics, right or left.
You would be regarded as totally insane if you suggested the USA replaced its standing army with mercenaries, yet you regard the wealth of the nation's health best looked after by another crowd of mercenaries.
Some things are too important to be outside government control. All modern states except the USA have systems to provide universal healthcare through government support. All these systems turn in better results than the US; all these systems are less expensive.
Lazarus, there have been plenty of ammendments to the Constitution over the years. Amendments which explicitly specify new rights for the people have been either controversial, or widely accepted already. [Womens' right to vote (Amendment 19), blacks' right to vote (Amendment 15), and the abolition of slavery (Amendment 13) were highly controversial, and would have been unheard of 100 years before their ratification. Lowering the voting age to 18 (Amendment 26) was widely supported.
A Universal Healthcare Ammendment to the Constitution is coming.
<Then why are you posting on this thread?>
Firstly, when I started posting yesterday, the right wing extremist nut jobs were not on the thread yet. Secondly, my original point(on the thread) was that SI is basically right wing and that to have a poll between Kerry or Bush was bound to produce results heavily slanted towards Bush. So, what was the point of the poll? SI is not indicative of the political spectrum in the USA.
Anyway, I'm a radical liberal. You are a hardcore conservative. I don't give 2 hoots about the profits of healthcare companies like Aetna. I care about the free basic human right to Healthcare.
And by the way, I think your boy, Bush, is toast in November. |
