Conservative Attacks Health Care Reform by Saying "Next They'll Want Food"
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the U.N. in 1948, states the following:
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.Apparently, conservatives may not agree. On MSNBC on Wednesday Firedoglake’s Jane Hamsher and Townhall’s Jillian Bandes spoke about health care reform. When Hamsher argued that access to health care should be a human right, Bandes interrupted her and threw up her arm, asking “should food be a basic human right?”
As silly as that Bandes statement might be, it should be noted that the U.S. signed the above declaration.
Also, all this talk about rights and the like from conservatives iks mystifying. This is the same group against abortion because it's murder, right? That said, if they're so concerned about lives, why not take a look at some numbers: compare Canada's lifespan stats and infant mortality before and after they adopted single payer. That should be enough evidence.
Canada does, after all, have a nearly identical lifestyle to the U.S. It's a perfect comparison, therefore. And those concerned about the cost of such a program: isn't a human life priceless?
Finally, the U.S. is the only industrialized nation that does nto have some sort of universal health care. Is that because we are right and everyone else is wrong? Once again, look at statistics. Cuba is right up our *ss in lifespan and they are considered a third world country.
Watch the video:
2 comments:
hmmm..I would like to see how she would survive without FOOD...lol....
stupidest comment ever made...lol...omg..next they will want FOOD....yeah AND?>>>>
In a heated debate like this, it is important to use the proper definition of words. When the United States government speaks of rights, they are speaking of rights with a capital 'R.' As in "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
You notice that the rights referred to by the signers are endowed by a Creator and are unalienable. In other words, they cannot be removed from the human experience. To be human is to have these rights. These rights, which are inherent to being human, are the rights of expression, the right to assemble, the right to own property, the right to worship, to vote, and other rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights.
By the definition and examples provided by the Founders, health care is not a right. It is not an inalienable right endowed by the Creator. It is not inherent to the human existence. It is a commodity that is possessed by some and not by others. Food, likewise, is not a God-given inalienable right. It is imperative to our existence, but is not inalienable.
When I say this, I do not say that all Americans and all humans should not have access to food and health care. I do believe that all of humanity should have access to these essential commodities. But they are not rights. They are commodities. Understanding this fact is essential to the goal of ensuring that universal access is a reality.
Rusty Scalpel
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