Conversation with a Republican

MONEY OBTAINED!!!!!!!!!

And HOPEFULLY that's all I say about that for like... the next month at LEAST!

In other news, when I was at work, I had to go to the other SED building for some books. Since I was there, I decided to stop by and visit my old boss. She was lovely of course. Asked how I was doing. I mentioned that I'm taking a heath care sociology class and that I've gotten so nervous about health care that I had a nightmare about it. I also told her that right after the nightmare, I wrote my congressmen to say I wanted health reform (I got a response from Sestak today. That probably inspired this conversation).

WEEEELL... right as it was coming out of my mouth... seriously... the MOMENT I finished saying it, I remembered something unfortunate.

My old boss is a republican.

Shit.

Now, I'm a huge wimp, ESPECIALLY with authority figures, and I'm DEFINITELY not confrontational. What I'm saying is that I didn't tell her a single other opinion. So while she talked to me about the "hoodlums" in the senate for LITERALLY 45 minutes, I listened and nodded until she apparently ACTUALLY forgot why were discussing this in the first place. She attributed the beginning of our conversation to the fact that I was going to graduate this year. I'm THAT good at wimpiness.

Now, I hardly ever encounter republicans. And when I do, it's really a beautiful and enlightening thing because it reminds me about other opinions that can be or are equally valid. It reminds me that to stubbornly defend my opinions is hypocritical and useless. I can learn just as much, if not more, from people with opposite views.

That being said, I must say I was RELIEVED when she stated some clear fallacies (this taking into consideration that you never REALLY know anything...). I WANT to be open-minded... but I REALLY want health care reform and... it would hurt to have everything I know come crashing down (I know that I'm basically saying that I DON'T want to be open-minded... but... well it's a conflict of self interest--that's what I'm trying to admit). Anyway, these were my red flags:

1. She said that they were going to fund universal health care with the money from medicare. Well... Obama SPECIFICALLY said that they would NOT use that money. I mean... medicare doesn't even HAVE money. Plus... if we went into a single payer system or a public option, wouldn't that essentially mean that all health care was the same as medicare? It would mean everyone is covered, not just old people.

2. She said that she didn't want to give up her current doctor and coverage.

Obama, again, SPECIFICALLY stated that if you like your current plan, you will absolutely not have to change it. Although, I can see how there could be some contention. I imagine that the insurance companies will have trouble competing with a public option... assuming the public option will be able to really get young people to join. That being said, a doctor isn't going to stop being a doctor. If you see a general practitioner, a public option would just mean that a different sort of insurance would be paying the doctor.

3. She said that we already cover everyone with the use of hospitals.

Two things are ... narrow-minded about this, according to what I've learned.

A) People with insurance pay for those people. What happens is that when someone comes in to the hospital with a big emergency like a heart attack or they are in labor, the hospital has to take them. However, the hospital can't pay for them and they end up "cost shifting" (sounds illegal to me, but it's true) to everyone else. So everyone with insurance essentially pays part of the poor person's bill. But... it doesn't matter to them because the insurance is paying. But the insurance companies lose more money on that (obvs) and it eventually leads to higher premiums for everyone else.

B) A lot of emergencies can be prevented with regular check ups and that is much less expensive... not to mention much better physically and emotionally for the person. Basically, doctors, I THINK, aren't just there for when you're about to die. That's why we have check ups... catch that cancer.

4. She also said that she's a firm Catholic and she doesn't want abortions to be funded with her money. She said that the senators don't read the 1000 page bill and who knows what's going to be in it. I agree that the senators don't seem to have really read the bill. But I DO know that Obama SPECIFICALLY said that the money will not fund abortions.

5. This part is the part that I can't argue really. She's from Italy and she says that the people from Italy don't think their socialized health care is good. She said that most of their hospitals aren't open at night, so if they have an emergency, they have to travel really far. She also said that the Canadians don't like their system. I can't say anything about that as I am neither Italian nor Canadian. She finished off this thought by saying that our health care is the best there is, even if it has some problems.

I asked her if she watched Obama's joint congress address and she said yes. Although, not to be an ass, don't think she watched it that carefully because a LOT of her contentions were things that Obama addressed specifically as not being true.

So like I said, I really feel like I SHOULD be open-minded. I am 21-years-old and have little to no life experience. I am in a pool of liberals with EXTREME liberal information thrown at me all the time... which I know is propaganda in itself. In fact, even when I'm in my health care class, I look at all the statistics and I think of how easily statistics can be either false or incredibly manipulative. It seems like a lot of the reason that I believe my professor is because I WANT to believe her. That said, after this conversation with a 60-ish year old "independent" (with obvious republican leanings) while at least being AWARE that I should have an open mind and TRYING to see her side of the matter(which seems like the best that I can do), I still fully believe that health reform is absolutely necessary.