Free Press Sports Editor
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Let’s face it: The health care reform debate has been as controversial as any legislation in decades. By today, we may know whether the proposal before Congress has passed. But whatever the outcome, this should be only the start of a sustained long-term bipartisan effort to solve a problem that affects the vast majority of Americans, and solve it soon, not 10 years from now.
We shouldn’t even wait until after the election.
That there is some action, and indeed some controversy, is a good sign. That’s often how democracy works. That people, average citizens, are riled up is even better. It’s high time Americans took control or at least heavily influenced their government.
There will be an up or down vote on the current proposal. That’s as it should be. People will know where their representative stands, and they’ll be able to hold them accountable at the ballot box this fall. That many members of Congress are running scared should be seen as a good sign.
Our anger about the process shouldn’t hold us back, however, from becoming informed citizens. There is not much help out there in that respect. Biased news organizations like Fox on the right and CNBC on the left are not helping the American people discern the fact from fiction. More than ever, Americans are on their own, and hopefully not influenced by the pseudo-news that pervades the Internet.
Sources like The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, The New York Times and several solid regional newspapers often provide more in-depth coverage of the issues. Public television does a good job as well. Nonprofits like the Annenberg School of Communication at the University of Pennsylvania with its Factcheck.org also help decipher the lies and half truths elected leaders of both parties seem to have no problem spewing.
Our advice for Americans on this issue: Get as much unbiased information as you can. Read the Congressional Budget Office reports. If you’re watching a news report and it occurs to you the other side is not represented, that probably means that news report is not credible.
Avoid news on the topic where the public’s voices are not allowed to chime in. Last time we checked, Bill O’Reilly (Fox) and Rachel Maddow (CNBC) do not take letters to the editor.
The other advice we have: Listen to your elected leaders. Most have more information than any of us will be able digest in a night. It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t ask tough questions, it means we should respect their position, whatever their political leanings. They are in Washington every day and have access to lots of information and facts. We should remember, however, unless pushed, they will likely give their version of the “facts.”
Finally, we must remember that we are not challenging the system if we don’t have faith in it. Should health care pass, there will be numerous opportunities for us to change it or repeal it or modify it. Whatever the critics say about the reconciliation process or other parliamentary maneuvers, they are still fully legal.
If you want to make a change, get involved, help elect the people you believe will represent you, or help defeat those who don’t. The system has worked for 200-plus years. Now is not the time to be frustrated with defeat. It’s the time to be enthused about the influence everyone can and must have.
