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Politics : SI Member Vote 2004/SubjectMarks Only For Bush -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rarebird who wrote (133)	8/8/2004 2:47:47 PM
From: Wildstar	Respond to of 812

The same argument can be applied towards universal healthcare. Ultimately, it is based on love and respect for humanity. I'll let you think it through for yourself. That does not really answer my question. Earlier, you compared a right to healthcare to a right to free speech and freedom of religion. Your right to free speech simply obligates me to leave you alone no matter what words you utter. Similarly, your right to freedom of religion obligates me to leave you alone no matter what God you worship. Neither of these two rights require a positive obligation on my part. Your rights will not be violated if I watch TV in my own house, spend money on a new computer, or simply sleep all the time. The only requirement is a negative obligation - to not infringe on your affairs. In contrast, your right to healthcare entails a positive obligation on my behalf to provide you with healthcare. In other words, no longer is it sufficient to simply leave you alone to respect your rights. Rather, I have to actively labor to provide you with healthcare. If I do not, I am violating your rights. If I sleep all day, I am violating your rights because I am obligated to provide you with healthcare. If I spend money on a new computer, I am violating your rights because I am obligated to spend it instead of your healthcare. If people have a right to health care, then at this very moment, I am violating someone's right to healthcare by using my time and resources to surf the internet instead of providing healthcare to someone who does not have it. Similarly, you are violating someone's right to healthcare because there exist many people in this world who do not have healthcare. As such, they can respond to both of us by defend themselves from their rights violations by forcibly putting us to work on their behalf to meet their healthcare needs.