Free Speech and Health Care –
Son,
Distortions abound! Michael Reagan – son of a noble man, is grasping at straws. His latest weekly column is a feeble attempt to compare rights with ethics. Mr. Reagan uses distorted logic to compare the ‘right to health care’ to the ‘right to free speech.’ All of this in the interest of blasting the Democratic front runner – Hillary Clinton.
Mr. Reagan states, “…Hillary goes on to assure Americans that health care is a right and not a privilege. Ignoring the fact that rights have no price tag attached – you don’t have to pay to exercise the right of free speech, for example…”
This is a free blog – we have a potential world-wide audience at no cost. We write anything that strikes us as worthwhile, entertaining, or just strikes us. We only had to buy a $1,000 computer and pay for internet service. But hey – everyone has a computer anyway, right? A better example of no-cost freedom of speech is the amount of money required to run for political office in this country. This is the central issue around Campaign Finance Reform. A good and worthy debate.
Health care is a different issue – as Mr. Reagan notes. Freedom of Speech is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, health care is only alluded to in the Preamble of the Constitution. Here quoted:
“We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”
My notion is that health care for Americans falls under several categories: Establish Justice…Insure Domestic Tranquility…Promote the General Welfare…secure the blessings of liberty…
Mr. Reagan is correct – it is not about ‘rights’ – the Preamble of the Constitution alludes to the basic moral and ethical values underlying the establishment of this great country. The logistics are defined in the Articles – but never discount the ethics and purpose of these Articles!
The noble lineage of Mr. Reagan does not give him license to discredit the basic values and ethics on which this country was founded.
Dad
Pingback by Health » Free Speech and Health Care - on 22 September 2007:
[…] Daniel B. Wood, Christian Science Monitor wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptHillary goes on to assure Americans that health care is a right and not a privilege. Ignoring the fact that rights have no price tag attached – you don’t have to pay to exercise the right of free speech, for example…” … […]