Health-Care Controversy in the United States.

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By Professor Dr. Emmanuel Omoh Esiemokhai
Published September 14th, 2009

The problem in the health-care debate is that none of the parties is ready to consider the fine points of the other party’s argument.

Consequently, race relations in the United States have become tense as a result of class and group interests that cause conflict between the people. If this continues to escalate, unintended consequences may result.

The more fundamental issue in the health-care debate is how government can resolve the balancing of competing interests in modern American society, in a fair and equitable manner.

The obligation to cater for the majority, does not exclude a responsibility to consider the helpless. The extent of this responsibility is open to debate. That is what a just and egalitarian society is all about.

While President Barack Obama seeks for solutions that could confer maximal benefits for each person, some nervous Republicans and right-wing elements are advocating social harm for the helpless., through some “public be damned” activities, some of which constitute criminal conspiracies.

The ethical issue is what is a fair-health care policy for the United States? The human rights answer is located in Obama’s health-care plan.

The raiders have not been asking the right questions and so, do not have the right answers. So, they heckle, they curse, they insult, they spit fire and appeal to hate sentiments, without making it obvious.

Dedicated professionals, Senators and Congressmen seem to understand Obama’s position. Hecklers will not look and will not see. They keep churning, twisting and flipping. These political practices stain Republican reputation and undermine public confidence in the party.

They now scare the American people that Obama wants to introduce socialism to America. As a result of the literature that emanated from the propaganda of the Cold War years, Americans, who have been brain-washed about socialism, through films and mass culture hits, cannot be blamed for being apprehensive.

However, to those, who have looked at the evidence, the analogy between Obama’s fairness argument and socialist transformation is severely flawed.

People must acknowledge that there has been hidden structural damage in the US societal arrangement that will not yield to a quick-fix solution.

To expect President Obama to solve all outstanding problems or hold him responsible for apparent failures, is to call him bad name, in order to discredit him. The American people were not pressing on President George W. Bush.

By their own admission, Americans say that their society had reeled under a drug culture, stained by high profile fraud and neglect of the helpless. Such a society will one day discover that its strength will be found in its national conscience.

I see a small revolution in matters of etiquette, in the treatment of President Obama, the messenger of the Era of the Gentiles, Atonement and the Brotherhood of Man. Tolerance and fewer protests will level things up. All the recessionary tendencies will soon abate.

A most shameful episode was observed in US Congress last week, when an obscure Congressman, Joe Wilson, hungry for recognition, interrupted the President by shouting, “YOU LIE”, a behaviour reminiscent of the “Shoe thrower of Baghdad “He is now said to be richer by one million dollars

The characteristics of an American Congressman, is that he is suave, sophisticated, polished, well-educated, nearly always well-dressed, well-spoken and culturally thorough-bred.

Wild Joe Wilson has not proffered any solution nor contributed to the health-care debate in a profound or minimal way. His behaviour does not seem wedged upon good upbringing. He was overheard making piffle, pig-ignorant arguments on health-care.

His limitations lie in incomplete knowledge of health-care problems in America, bounded rationality and lack of knowledge of the contingencies in the health-care debate of relevance to the Obama Plan.

Wilson, as a Congressional lie-detector apparently suffers from inherent limitations in his cognitive abilities, which often obfuscates his analytic efforts and confuses his understanding of the difference between proposals and definite resolutions. His pscho-galvanic reflexes are impaired by prejudice and the result is to heckle people he disagrees with.

I notice that the social psychology of some American citizens and their attitudes are becoming militarized and there is pungency during political dialogue, during which no-one listens to the other.

There are manifestations of class struggles and class relations now supersede race relations. Also, socio-pathic behaviour is becoming discernible among political mal-contents. Socio-political confrontations, too, are taking on sinister dimensions.

Watch it America!


Professor Dr. Emmanuel Omoh Esiemokhai is the Academic Chancellor, BOSAS INTERNATIONAL LAW Bureau, Abuja, FCT, Nigeria.
 

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