In August, the US was ranked as 42nd in terms of life expectancy for its citizens.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/08/13/life.expectancy.ap/index.html
Whether the statistic is used to blame US citizens for obesity, laziness, or failure to have screenings or sufficient insurance, the facts are the facts and while we distract ourselves with blaming the citizenry for getting sick and dying, we are number 42. NOT in the top 10, not some super-power example of how fabulous life is here, FORTY TWO.
The same report cited above notes that "A baby born in the United States in 2004 will live an average of 77.9 years. That life expectancy ranks 42nd, down from 11th two decades earlier.."
So when people give the pep talk about us being the greatest nation in the world, that every person has a chance in America, let's encourage them to use that patriotism towards something meaningful, what are you doing to maintain that status for our country? Using it as an excuse to dismiss those who are slipping through the American dream? Using it as an excuse to advocate that we continue wars or using it as an excuse to make fun of those who are noting that there are issues in the US that must be addressed?
It's not unpatriotic to note that our health care system is broken, it's not laziness nor is it self-centeredness--it's reality and arguing that it is the citizens' fault that we die younger than those in 41 other countries is unpatriotic. No insurance company can persuade this patriot that our citizens are lazier than citizens of other countries, no government can argue that any of our citizens is less deserving of health care than citizens of other countries, and no special interest should be able to argue that we are best if we are Darwinian and support a system that only supports the survival of the fittest.
National health insurance is the acknowledgement that OUR government exists because of its citizens and it is responsible to and for each of them.
