Posts Tagged tobacco

When you think of the health care debate, think of Ronald Reagan and how he fought the original Medicare bill, calling it “socialized medicine” (circa 1960).

Now, think of those who today use that phrase.

Tobacco profits were enormous in the last century, so it became important to hide the truth as to how effectively it killed. The tobacco industry spent plenty lobbying to hide the truth, and it worked. Industry was protected, the citizens suffered. You could smoke, but if you got cancer, it wasn’t anyone’s fault but yours. You paid for your own treatment or you died, usually both. That was the American way. Any other solution was “socialized medicine”.

The same party that brought you Ronald Reagan wants desperately to save you from “socialized medicine” (whatever that means). We have “socialized police”, “socialized military”, and “socialized” book lending repositories called libraries, among other “socialized” entities. We recently had “socialized banks” (both to protect bankers from themselves and to protect citizens’ assets}. It would seem, then, that “socialized medicine” would be a good thing, right?

Not convinced? Sing along with this stirring theme and remind yourself how much you were buffaloed way back when.

Can we not change “the American way”?

“God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray”.

Cheers, all!