The End of Camelot

It is not my nature to be terribly moved by the passing of public figures and perhaps especially politicians. As a student of history I often try to take an objective look at their impact on the world and try to make a guess about who might still know who they are in a couple of centuries.

The death of Ted Kennedy this week seems to be an exception for me. I found myself experiencing a profound sense of lose. While I, of course, knew of his record, I would be hard pressed to say I was a big "fan" as it were. I think after reflecting on this for a couple of days, I have begun to realize what it was i was feeling.

Philsophically, Ted Kennedy were kindred sprits but that was not it either. For those of us who grew up in the sixties the Kennedy family has a unique place in our exprience. I remember that day when John Kennedy was shot and while not as vivid I can still envisions the images in the hotel in California when Bobby fell. These deaths along with that of Martin Luther King in many ways shaped who we would become. I know this true for me.

I think what was truly amazing about the Kennedys was that they could have done what ever they wanted in life. They were fabulously wealthy, well educated and charismatic. They really did dedicate their lives to public service. Never mind all stuff about the affairs and such. This was a family that used it power, wealth and energies to help the common man not the rich. One would be hard pressed to find another family that had so much of that drive across its breadth and I suspect it would be impossible to find another in recent history. One might have to reach back to the Grachii of the Roman Republic to find a valid comparision.

So in simple terms I mourn the passing of a generation of great men and perhaps much of the promise they brought to the American spirit. The era of Camelot has passed and we can only hope that leaders like the Kennedys are out there. Certainly, I see much of that attitude in Obama and in others. Only time will tell for sure but I am confident that in hundreds of years and perhaps even thousands of years the Kennedy family will be seen as majot architects of the world that emerged at the end of the 20th century.

I somehow believe that even now Teddy is being told by his brothers, "Good job, little brother."


I do want to add one footnote: Please God, can we please pass quality heath care reform in Ted Kenedy's honor. It would be a fitting legacy.

Health care debate?

Ok, lets be honest. There is very little debating of facts going on out there. We have lots of people trying to make it as emotional as possible and a symbol of their anger at a world that is not what they want it to be.

Well news flash: "Leave it to Beaver" went off the air almost 50 years ago and the image of the America it conveyed was mostly myth then. And by the way the majority of Americans, even at that time, thought we needed to improve health care.

If the administration was suprised to see such viscious outbursts, it is more a function of underestimating corporate propagada machines rather than understandinding what the average American wants. I mean we find out about these people coming from other countries to take advantage of the great medical facilities here. All this says is rich foriegners can get the same care rich Americans can. It does not speak for the millions of Americans who can not afford basic care let alone the more advanced treatment being described in those examples.

We, as Americans, tend to expect we are the best at everything. It is a noble goal for which to strive but in many areas we are lacking. Unfortunately we fall way down the line in almost every catagory except cost per capita when it comes to health care. So who could possibly be opposed to reforming this nightmare. Well the key word here is costs. The profits of this industry are with the insurance companies and the large medical companies. (I'll address drug companies in another rant.)

It is not very hard to reach out and plant seeds of fear by presenting patent lies in the media and fanning the flames among those who are already unhappy. Is there a deep vein of rascism in these demonstrations? Of course there is. The tone and type of arguments are the voice of the rascism and isolationism. I love the commentators who say "This is not the America I grew up in." Well, DUH. That America was not the same as the one their parents grew up in. You could say change is as American as apple pie made with Chilean apples and Costa Rican sugar.

Face it America today is a lot browner than it was a generation ago and it will continue to move in that direction unless some "Un-American" actions are taken to prevent it. The President is black. Get over it. We are going to have Hispanics on the Supremem Court and in our government. Get over it. Our wives will never stay home and vacuum the house in pearls. Get over it.

Ironicly, Obama is called a socialist for his health care proposals. Frankly I think he is being a conservative. I have no problem with essentally nationalizing the insurance companies. Ultimately a "for profit" entity always owes its first allegience to its stock holders and it is only the government that owes its first allegience to its citizens. Now I am pragmatic enough to realize this is probably not practical but by providing a single payer option and reigning in the insurance companies we can make a big difference. I would even be receptive to a little tort reform but not so much limits as better definitions of what constitutes malpractice. Again we have created a haven for insurance companies to rake in obscene profits. The rates they charge can not be based on the type of medicine the doctor practices but rather on the doctors "mistakes." Lets be frank, if a doctor is getting sued a lot more than his peers, someone needs to ask why.

Well if the cost of health care and insurance are brought under control, I have no problem with paying a little more in taxes to make sure we are a healther nation. Maybe we could put additional taxes on fast food, beer, soft drinks, high fat content foods and other consumables that add to the health problems which might further reduce health care costs.

But perhaps most importantly lets not let a small group of radicals dictate the laws to us. The American public spoke up clearly last November when they said they wanted change. If some of the people can not accept that they will need to convince us with ideas and solutions not walls.

PS thanks to all those pesky editors in my family and friends who are trying to keep my typos to a minimum.

Some issues I hope to address here.

I will admit to lacking expertise in some areas on which I hope to offer opinions. I do not say I have the right answeer but I believe that any person who has recieved an education and has made it a point to stay general informed can use common sense to make some judgements. If this is not true, and sometimes I am concerned it might not be, then our democracy is doomed.
When I do have more expertise I will try to share it.

So, what issues do I feel strongly about? I will for this post just list a few and address each in future blogs. This new for me so I will only promise to give this a good effort. Time will tell how faithful I remain to it.

Causes My position briefly
Health care reform This should be a no brainer. Should I
trust my decisions to an
Insurance beauracrat who gets bonuses for
not paying or to a government beauracrat
who is encouraged toadvocate for me?

Drug Companies Does a drug company make more for
creating a drug to manage a disease for
life or cure it? What will they spend
their money on?

The War on Drugs Drug addiction is a disease not a crime

Racism Look around at the "health care"
protests, racism is alive and still
virulent in the US

Education Educating our children is our most
important responsibility not the cause of
the week.