What is greatness? I find myself asking myself that today as I think about the passing of Ted Kennedy. What is it that makes a man great? Is it the services her performs on behalf of others? Is it the acts he performs in his personal life? Maybe it is a combination of both.
I think there are very few truly great men and women on the Earth. A lot of that is determined by your definition of “greatness”. A lot of people, though misguided, would argue that Bill Clinton is a great man. Even if I thought he was a great President, which I disagree with, does a great man defile the Oral, I mean Oval Office in the way he did? Is a great man someone that cheats repeatedly on his wife?
On the other side of the spectrum, is a man great because he is a loving spouse and father? Is that man great if he goes into work and treats everyone around him like trash? For me, greatness in one area does not mean that one is a great person. People think Obama is great. He is an excellent orator, I will not take that away from him, but I would hardly even consider him a good President at this point.
We use the term “so and so was a great man/woman” far too often. Nowadays, any time someone of any note dies, the press loves to tell us how great they were. Michael Jackson, Ted Kennedy and many others have been called “great”, but is that reality? Kennedy got away with murder. Jackson possibly child molestation if you believe reports and lawsuits. Jacksn was a great artist and Kennedy, some argue, a great Senator. Do their transgressions take their greatness away?
I have been very unsettled by recent political activities, but not in the way I would expect. While I wholeheartedly approve of the arguing at Town Hall meetings all over the country over Obama’s health package, I am troubled by the sight of guns outside these meetings. I am especially disturbed when these people are outside a building where the President is speaking.
Now, I know that people reading this may say “My right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment and it was not illegal for those people to carry weapons”. What I would say to those people is simple, I agree. The problem is, there is absolutely no good reason to be carrying a semi-automatic weapon strapped to your back at a protest over health reform. None. The Second Amendment and health reform have nothing to do with each other, other than one has lead to several people needing healthcare. The problem, as I see it is simple. It can only lead to violence. People will argue against this, but they arguments have no warrants. “Nobody has been shot. Nobody has pulled a gun on someone. Nobody is breaking any laws. The guns are a show of freedom. They are protection”. Protection from whom, the Secret Service guarding the President? Socialist invasions? If you are threatened, what are your plans, taking that gun and shooting people?
Let’s be honest, these weapons are meant to as a scare tactic, plain and simple. There is nobody to protect yourself from at these meetings. People aren’t being robbed, murdered, raped or otherwise assaulted. If someone is murdered, it is going to be you guys with the guns strapped to your backs and thighs that are the cause.
On a better note, I am excited at the return of one of the greatest to pick up the mic.
I was reading a news article today about health care (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32372611/ns/politics-white_house) which I think is worth reading. Myself, I am against Government run health care. While I believe that changes should be made to allow children to get the treatments and basic health services they need, I think a complete overhaul of the current system is a waste of our money and our time.
The Government has proven that it cannot run anything efficiently. We no longer control our own money. We gave that right over to the Federal Reserve. We cannot control the banks who took bilions of our taxes for bailouts, their employees are still flying health; obama; socialism; republican; democrat; education; post office; insurance; msn; bailout; taxprivate jets and getting paid millions in bonuses. Our educational system is a disaster. Our highways and bridges are in ruins. Why should anyone believe that the Government can effectively run out health care? The answer is that you shouldn’t. President Obama has stated that this health plan would not add to the national debt, but that is really not possible, UNLESS he just has the Fed print out more money to cover the bill. When you print out hundreds of billions of dollars, you cause inflation to occur. When inflation happens, the cost of goods rises as our dollars become worthless. This leads us right back into a recession. Nationalized Health Care or a continued recession/depression. OR, he could increase taxes to cover this plan. Wait though, I already pay for my own health care. Now I have to pay into a second plan that I do not want?
I think Obama should leave Nationalized Health Care to Canada. There is a reason that the top Doctors are in the U.S. and not in Canada. It is the money they make. Instead of wasting billions of dollars trying to completely overhaul the system, why not look at other ways we can keep the prices down. How about putting a cap on the amount Doctors and hospitals can be sued for? That would decrease the cost of insurance and the cost to insurers. This would reduce the cost to us. How about spending that money on education. Make us the top educated country in the world. Our citizens will get jobs that provide health care. Plus we will have the added benefit of better educated citizens who become better physicians, scientists, engineers, bankers.
In the article referenced above, the final line sums it up for me. Obama compares his healthcare plan to the government run Post office… “They do it all the time,” he said. “UPS and FedEx are doing just fine. … It’s the Post Office that’s always having problems.” If they cannot solve problems with the Post Office, why should we think that they can solve healthcare.
