For years I’ve been thinking about this health care debate in the US and while I’m pretty conservative on most issues I believe we have an obligation to do something to repair the screwed up, expensive system we have. I don’t agree with Obama’s desire to rush some health care plan into action which will almost insure a complete mess but I do believe that something needs do be done to see that everyone is able to receive health care just as we long ago instituted the public school system to see that everyone has a basic education regardless of their economic situation and just as we put in place unemployment insurance for those who lose their jobs. We maintain a standing military to provide safety against foreign powers and I think we have just as much of an obligation to keep our nation strong by protecting it’s health as well. Besides the impact of their health problems alone, how many people are on the edge of financial ruin or have already added to the number of bankruptcies and foreclosures because they became ill or were injured which caused them to be financially crippled as well? Hardly a week goes by here in my little part of the world when there isn’t a fund raiser or two for someone who has been smacked down by an accident or illness that they cannot afford to deal with. I despise government regulations and intervention but there are times when it is necessary for the well being of the nation. There is no easy answer to this health care problem, certainly not the quick answer that Obama is so stuck on and will be our ruination, but there must be a way to reform this system to keep our nation physically strong just as we keep it militarily strong. We just marked the 40th anniversary of landing the first men on the moon and if we as a nation could start pretty much from scratch and do that in a decade then why in the world can’t we develop a way to keep our citizens healthy so that they can be physically and economically productive? Isn’t ill health just as much an enemy of the people as foreign powers can be, a bacterial or viral invader as repugnant and deserving of defeat as a foreign invader? Just because this reform will be hard doesn’t mean it can’t or shouldn’t be done and just because it will impact everyone doesn’t mean it’s communism any more than public education is. I for one cannot turn my back on someone who is ill and needs help and I would hope that no one would do that to me.