Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Not ObamaCare, Not TrumpCare, But AmeriCare

"We have been assured, Sir, in the Sacred Writings that except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. I firmly believe this; and I also believe that without His concurring aid, we shall succeed in this political building no better than the builders of Babel."
Benjamin Franklin

I’ve seen it in the news, but it was a social media discussion that caused me to reflect, once again, upon what the American experience is supposed to be. There are many who worry about what the Trump administration, and those who support him, means by repeal and replace of ObamaCare. Already we have seen the phrase coined, TrumpCare to reflect what that could mean. ObamaCare is a disaster based on government control, which many people dislike and disagree with. But what happens when the government attempts to fix an ill thought through socialist program that people have come to depend on and expect to take care of them? You might rename it with the opposing parties’ idea of that government repair and it might possibly improve. But a wound inflicted by team aggression is not effectively tended to by the other team, no matter the good intentions, while still playing the game.

So what do I mean by AmeriCare? It’s a philosophical concept based on the foundations that America was originally built on. It shouldn’t take a lot to explain but the concept has been distorted, displaced and damaged by ignorance, ill will (often based in ignorance) and path detours devised by those who don’t agree with the American experiment. It’s probable that Donald Trump has become president because of this AmeriCare attitude. We can hope it’s not only by Trumps strong character. This AmeriCare thinking can be found in the study of our founding fathers.

Everyone should start with getting a grasp of GeorgeWashington’s Farewell Address of 1796. This is the first of many presidential speeches but most accurately reflects the intentions and original path for America. Washington was the first to apply all that the new republic had set up, only nine years earlier.

"Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports."
George Washington

Our republic (not to be confused with a democracy) works best when executed under the faith our country was built on. This does not mean you need to be a Christian to live here (there was a very diverse degree of faith in our founders). But all our laws, declarations, cultural standards, relationships and civil discourse are guided by principals of Christianity. This alone makes it possible for people of all faiths, belief systems or viewpoints to succeed if its basic moral principles are followed.

Thus, AmeriCare. We have many issues to resolve in our nation, healthcare being just one. Government instituted Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) was destined to fail because it didn’t follow the republic model, as Abraham Lincoln warned.

“We the people are the rightful masters of both Congress and the courts, not to overthrow the Constitution but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution.”
Abraham Lincoln

Under our republic it takes a while for the will of the people to settle out in accordance with the ethics of our Constitution and Bill of Rights. It takes longer when an uninformed people of a republic begins to realize that it’s loosing freedoms only achieved and maintained by its principles.

“Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
Ronald Reagan

Our stumble, to this point in time, is the result of lost focus, incorrect understanding and lack of training about what America is. Maybe people are waking up; learning what is needed to keep our country on course and turn to our foundation. We can hope Thomas Jefferson’s wisdom is ours.

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, it expects what never was and never can be.”
Thomas Jefferson

ObamaCare cannot work, TrumpCare (if you wish to call it that) will not, alone, fix it. But AmeriCare, using our founding ideologies along with the many who have great ideas for healthcare, unyoked from an aggressive government, can move us in the right direction, if given time and the focus to apply our nation’s philosophy.

A great resource to learn about our republic is Hillsdale College

“Hence it is that democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention; have ever been found incompatible with personal security or the rights of property; and in general have been as short in their lives as they have been violent in their deaths … A republic, by which I mean a government in which a scheme of representation takes place, opens a different prospect and promises the cure for which we are seeking.”
James Madison, Federalist Papers No. 10.