[Oe List ...] What do we mean by a right? To Jim, Dave, et.al. re: Conservativism

[David Dunn]

Colleagues.

I listed what I thought were the implications of what Susan was  
asserting, among them:
> • caring about people is the purview of civil society and not of the  
> public sector

To which Susan replied:
> Yes, but not entirely.  Certainly I think the government has a role  
> in caring for its citizens, but not as the grand public teat that  
> eliminates all motivation to provide for yourself because everything  
> is taken care of.

In the clear light of Friday morning, it seems to me that the much  
more helpful contribution I can make is to tell a story.

The job my daughter Ruah was slated to begin at Home Depot in Atlanta  
fell through without explanation. The economy has dried up the in-home  
child care that has been her fall-back "plan b" in the past. She  
continues to diligently seek employment.

She has a life-threatening condition that requires surgery. $100 a  
month in child support makes her ineligible for Medicaid. The hospital  
to which she was referred by a social worker was unable to attend to  
her, let alone help her. Now, both her emotional wellbeing and her  
body are at risk. And her father is writing an email to a listserv  
when he should be working.

An energetic 38-year-old single mom is now medically indigent because  
of a series of unfortunate events beyond her control: the collapse of  
the Detroit economy; the migration to Georgia in search of greater  
employment opportunity; a recession and an Atlanta economy that has  
also "gone south."

Because she does not have access to health care, she and her children  
are without hope for health. All of this, in a society that professes  
belief in "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," but is unable  
to formulate a workable consensus plan to provide for the first, and  
most basic need: the lives of its citizens.

What's wrong with this picture?

Neither shouting about socialism, government coercion, or destroying  
our society (at this summer's town hall meetings), nor the concern  
about a public teat that destroys motivation and individual  
responsibility (in the present dialog), speak the two most important  
questions in my life today:

1. How is my daughter going to get the surgery she needs?

2. How can I add something useful, grounded in concrete, innocent  
human suffering, that would make a difference in my daughter's  
prospects for a healthy, happy life?

I do not have the answer to either question. I acknowledge that  
posturing about liberal this and conservative that does nothing to  
move us closer to the answers.

I wonder how many others have stories to tell about family members or  
friends who are without health care.

David

---
David Dunn
dmdunn1 at gmail.com




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