In 1776, Thomas Jefferson and our other forefathers produced the Declaration of Independence, the foundation of our country, our freedom, and our Choice. As a free nation, we declared certain truths to be self-evident and of the natural order, that we have the inalienable Choice of our life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
This Choice is what defines American freedom. The Choice of the People is above the choice of any government. The American Government was created to “provide new Guards for [our Choices’] future security.” The existence of a government is to solely provide this security, the Choice of the individual People.
It is our Bill of Rights which spells out in detail this right to Choice. The rights of the People guaranteed, apart from the responsibilities given the Government in the rest of the Constitution. This Bill of Rights guarantees us the choice to our faith, the choice to our speech, the choice to press and publication. The People are given the right of choice to bear arms, so that we may provide our own protection to our Life and our Liberty. This freedom of Choice is to be free from hindrance of our Government, so we are guaranteed due process and protection against unreasonable searches and self-incrimination. And the rights not specifically given to our national Government are reserved for our States and our People.
These freedoms are Choices. We have the freedom to speak, but we are not required to do so. We have the freedom to arm ourselves, but we are not required to carry a gun. Our Government provides protection for these choices through our many laws. The idea is that these Choices will be protected, except where they may infringe upon the Choices of other People. The freedom to choose is of the Natural Law. It is self-evident regardless of political persuasion or religious ideals.
It is these Choices that we the People wish to protect. It is when these choices are disregarded or diminished that we, the People, become most angry.
It is widely accepted that the American health care system needs quite a bit of work. But the causes, extent of the problems, and how to address these problems make for extremely polarizing debate. Most Americans welcome the benefits of the reform that is currently being debated. Provide a way to insure those with pre-existing conditions. Prevent insurance companies from dropping coverage at will. Limit health expenses and reduce costs. Provide easier, more affordable ways to get health insurance. Change the medical environment that encourages cost explosion. Who wouldn’t want these things? Why are half of Americans against these changes for their own benefit?
In our current system, we do not have a lot of choice over our own health care. It is the insurance companies’ choice if we get coverage and how much we get. It is the health providers’ choice how much it will cost. It is our government’s choice how the insurance companies and the health providers operate and in which States. These are the things which we reject. These are the things that must change. Choice must be returned to the People.
With the plan presented by the Congress, this choice has been reduced, ignored, even trampled upon. Politicians are having a hard time giving benefits away, and many do not understand why. We the People demand the Choice, it is our right and our freedom. For anyone else, including (or especially) the Government to take the choice away from the health care system, only to give it to themselves instead of the People, is a violation of our Declaration of Independence and our Bill of Rights. When the Government is ready to return the Choice to the People, they will have my full support, and the support of many others.
Note: For those who thought that this would be an article about abortion, I want to address the confusion about abortion and choice. Let me be clear. Abortion is the complete negative, the opposite of choice. For 92% of women who have abortions, it was their choices which led to their pregnancy. The science that a baby not yet born is in fact a living, unique person, with their own DNA, is indisputable. For the other 8% of women who were victims of rape, incest, or health conditions, it was not their choice to be in their position. That choice was removed from them and it is a grievous evil. It was also not their child’s choice to be created, that opportunity is not provided to any of us. But to remove the choice of life from a living child is also a wrong, against the Natural Law, which cannot make up for any other wrong. For this reason it is important that all of us do whatever we can to help those women around us who are in desperate need. These are not problems which can be solved by laws or governments, but by People.
