State of the Union

Of course, there is no way I could let something like the State of the Union go past without adding my own pepper to it.

I like Obama. I think he is charismatic (and after Bush, having a president who at least sounds intelligent is hugely refreshing). He looks like a leader. He comes across like a man who knows where he is going, and who knows what he wants. Even if I don't always agree with him, at least I feel comfortable with him at the helm.

He gave a fantastic speech. Full of potent sound-bites, tough and firm on his issues, and admitting to some mistakes. He even was inspiring, motivational and energizing; things that SoU speeches rarely manage to be.

But it was not the speech itself that I found most telling. I kept my eyes on the ladies and gentlemen sitting in the audience, wearing their expensive suits and dresses, paid for by you and me. I could not help but notice the powerful physical display of partisan division in our government. At regular intervals, the speech was interrupted by thunderous applause and standing ovations. Some of those ovations came from the whole combined house, but more of that applause came from only half. There were times when only one half clapped at all, while the other sat in clear disapproval, not even gracing the president with so much as a clap.

That is precisely what is broken with our country. There is no way that those educated, intelligent individuals are truly ideologically that divided. I don't buy it. It is artificial, and that artifice goes both ways. Not all of the Dems are vociferous supporters of Obama. And not all of the Republicans are fervent opponents. But they all cave to the pressure of their party. When the party shouts "hooray," all the members are compelled to shout along, whether they feel to or not. And when the party says "boo," only the career suicidal will go against the grain.

This is clear evidence of one of my major complaints about our country: we are not represented by our representatives. Rather, they are cowed, pushed, bribed, pressured into representing their party. Only statements that are clearly popular (like "America does not quit") get the approval of all. I don't buy it. I feel cheated by it. And so should you. If you voted for someone who now follows the dictates of a party, then you have been robbed of your vote.

Anyway, that is one issue. Another thing I loved was that he called out the Supreme Court for their moronic decision from last week about campaign finance. They deserve to have some serious negative heat focused their way. It was great to see them eat a little crow, seated there in the position of greatest honor in the crowd.

The last thing I will only touch on actually came from the Republican response, and I can't talk about it for too long or my computer will melt. In general, I felt that the response was pathetic. Clearly written well in advance of the speech, the response reflected more of the president's points than it refuted or challenged. It was weak sauce. But there was one statement that made my blood boil: when what's-his-face the Governor of Virginia claimed that America has "the best health care system in the world" and that people don't want the Federal Government to run it.

OK, this is nothing more than evidence that this guy has not a single clue as to what he is talking about. America has the best health care system in the world? Where the hell did he get that information? Our health care is the most broken in the developed world! How often have you heard of people coming to America for medical tourism? Never. Instead, Americans go to places like Columbia to have life-saving surgeries BECAUSE THEY CAN'T AFFORD AMERICAN HEALTH CARE and the Colombian surgeons are just as good as ours. Look it up - Americans spend hundreds of millions of dollars a year getting health care elsewhere, precisely because our health system is NOT better, just more expensive. Now, I will admit that our hospitals are very good. For those fortunate enough to be able to afford good health insurance, American health coverage just might be the best in the world. However, so many people simply can't afford this care, that America does not even have the best average health care in the world. That honor goes to Sweden, with their (gasp) socialized heath care. Yup, the Swedes are the healthiest people in the world, and have the highest standard of living, and their health care is entirely run by their government. So, that leaves us looking at what can only be referred to as luxury health care, available only to the wealthy. So America has the world's best luxury health care.

But I don't think health care should be a luxury, given only to those who can afford it. I compare it to a steak house with the world's best steak. As long as I don't have enough money to afford that steak, this world's best steak house might as well be the very worse as far as I am concerned. I can't afford it either way. Only if I have the means of accessing the system does the quality of that system even apply to me. So no, we do not have the best health care system in the world. And I know what I am talking about. I work with the Severely and Persistently Mentally Ill, traditionally the most under served health care population for myriad reasons. These people are constantly denied coverage, shuffled from one care giver to another, and generally mistreated. Why? Because they can't afford good care. Since they don't have money they have no power. They can't demand good care because they can't pay out of pocket, and can't afford insurance. So they tend to go untreated, and when they do have a crisis and need treatment, that treatment must be paid for by anemic system that cannot support them. There must be a better way. In America, there MUST be a better way.