The Constitution allowed for slavery, as well. There was also no such thing as heath insurance at the time of the early colonies. The founding fathers simply could not think of everything. But, instead consider the intent of the Constitution. "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness..." To deny adequate health care to is deny all of that.
Consider for a moment, patriot, that the first few words of the Constitution are: "We the people, in order to form a more perfect union..."
Try to imagine what "We the People" implies. At the time, the colonies were breaking from their motherland and the bond they were forming is apparent in their carefully chosen language.
At some point, we are going to have to "Ask not, what your Country can do for you, but what we can do for our Country." To be a real patriot is to create a union of strength & prosperity. By neglecting our obligation toward our fellowman we are showing unbelievable weakness and selfishness. It is very UN-patriotic to care less for your neighbor's life and wellness.
And this is besides the larger point that the current policies are allowing these private companies to engage in price gouging and murder! In what other industry is that acceptable, today? When then SHOULD the government regulators get involved?
You will feel different the day they try to turn down a life-saving operation or medication for you or your child. They will rouse your anger that day, when you should had your conscience roused today.
We have a socialist Army, a socialist Policy and Fire Departments, etc... You need to consider deeply what should be the role of good government.
Slavery was addressed at the time only to deal with states rights. Should the federal government have regulated slavery ? ( Wouldn't the free market have doomed slavery anyway ? )
Healthcare has been a concern since the founding of the republic, and has always been addressed privately. There was opportunity to shove in everything that was "happiness", but the founders intentionally left it out, as well as most other things the government does today.
The constitution provides
freedoms, not obligations, you are set free by our union to have life, liberty and property ( and pursue happiness if you want ) These are what you still have as your inalienable rights that the government can never take away. Once the government provides those, they are no longer rights. They will give and they will take.
"We the people.." is clear to me. The people give the government a limited role to keep them free. Just like us, our founders could see tyranny all over and government out of control. They were rebelling against oppressive government, not creating a perfect socialist state.
I have done more for this country and my fellow man than I care to explain, but
I did it. It was
my choice. It was
my sacrifice.
Selfishness is my right. Charity is my choice.
"And so, my fellow Americans : ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country.
My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man" -- JFK
This quote illustrates exactly what I'm talking about.
It tells me that personal sacrifice is preferable to any government program. If the intent is to be a patriot by service or sacrifice, that is an individual's choice as well.
Again, it is not the government's responsibility to alter the free market for any reason other than non-capitalistic practices, such as monopolies and price-fixing. People dying does not mean murder, and it's worse to have a monolithic organization determining who can live or die, vs. the free market. Basically who do you want giving you choices regarding your life, an accountant or a bureaucrat. You don't like your insurance, get another. You don't like your bureaucrat, fly your plane into their building.
I'm not worried about paying for some emergency care, you pay or you can't. It's better to be alive and in debt.. It is much more likely that with socialized medicine, that the life-saving operation or medication just won't be available. And, getting sick is like playing the lottery, someone might make a mistake and you ( and your lawyer ) get the big payout. I would be quite wealthy if I had followed lawyers' advice in this regard. My
choice was to do the honorable thing, and not exploit the system and therefore, "We the people", for personal gain.
Besides that : I am responsible for myself, I don't expect a hand-out from the government. I will die first, that is my patriotic duty not to burden my socialist countrymen, right ? However, I will not deny the gift of life willingly given by another.
I have a clear idea of good government, it is as little as possible. It has been shown that having basic protective services is critical to the functioning of society. These functions are best suited to an authoritarian model, that is why socialism works for them. I will not have this type of system to live by as a free man.
The fact that this time it's healthcare is irrelevant, this is an issue of freedom and rights : The federal government has no authority over this.