Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Monday, July 02, 2007
Health Care Reform | Governance | Law | The Golden Rule
Charlie Green, in his web log, Trusted Advisor, has invited comments concerning health care and trust. As I like Charlie, and respect the insights he shares - not to mention, the good work he puts into the topic of trust in general - I've become a faithful reader of late.
Here's where you'll find Lark's latest comment - a rant really - which I posted in response to all the chatter related to our sick health care system and its need for reform.
I suspect Charlie likes my sometimes off-the-wall remarks, and I'm grateful he puts up with me. Likewise, I appreciate his digging deep into matters of trust, since I consider it one of the most worthwhile topics in the blogosphere.
And all of us have a voice in this debate regarding health care reform - beginning with that inner voice inside.
What follows is my response to Charlie's response to my rant - that I strike him as "a walking anti-ideologue" - one label I'll proudly wear as a badge of honor.
~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~|~~~~~
As it concerns governance and the rule of law we must be mindful of our individual concepts of free will and the needs of society as a whole.
This is, of course, quite a deft balancing act for mere mortals to achieve - in one lifetime, or from one generation to the next.
In law we have only universal, scientific and man-made laws to consider... followed by moral and ethical codes of behavior.
Reason dictates we employ critical thinking and basic logic to the best of our abilities, and strive to get along.
When any of these conflict with one another we must logically infer we have a problem demanding a more proper solution.
I grew up believing, rightly or wrongly, in The Golden Rule. In fact it's the only thing, in my view, worth remembering about the whole discussion surrounding religion.
We were born into this world naked and without language. Thus, most all knowledge defined in language is borne from false beliefs - lies and factual distortions - or via indoctrination, otherwise informed by authoritarian constructs, which are often little more than lies and distortions built upon other lies and distortions.
And since our knowledge about law is generally derived from empirical evidence, based upon the facts on the ground before us, and our common consensus of learned opinion, we enact man-made rules-of-the-road for all of us to follow.
The framers of our Constitution were painfully aware that men were not created equal - though they bravely deemed it so - and our fortunes as free men were tied to an economic order which presumably rewarded hard work and fair play.
This is precisely where everything begins to unravel. Our assumptions about "the way it is" should always be logically subject to change - as change, for all intents and purposes, is a constant condition within man, nature and the universe.
One wrong turn which discounts natural, universal or scientific law - or ignores The Golden Rule - and man-made law becomes suspect... as just another authoritarian construct... which, sooner or later, will only compel us to enact forcible change... for the benefit of the larger society.
What must also be given a voice in the halls of government... is the air we breathe, the nourishment we take, the water we drink, and the ground we walk on. These things, after all, are as basic to our survival as they are to all other living things.
Healthcare, medicine and law, and those we entrust to administer it, is just as important to our survival as any of these.
Tyranny, as brought about by cognitive dissonance, our common attention deficit trait – even a kind of tyranny-of-words – is anathema to social order, our supposed right to happiness, and our very survival as free-thinking human beings living in a healthful environment.
As social beings cognizant that certain inviolate laws do exist which supersede others... we Americans assume man-made laws will sustain a social and economic order… envisioned by those who crafted the words... in our Declaration of Independence, the Preamble to the Constitution, the Constitution itself, and the Bill of Rights.
Therefore, I grew up believing - again, rightly or wrongly - in the Hippocratic Oath; and the vision of our nation's founders; and my right to agree or disagree with whomever or whatever I encounter… which seeks to enslave me or force me against my will… or seeks my cooperation in a collaborative scheme or arrangement.
I'm not so hard to fathom really. I simply hate tyranny and injustice. And I love pleasure... and the plain and simple truth... wherever and whenever I'm privileged to marvel at its beauty.
Like you and everybody else… my everyday wish is to experience life on reasoned practical terms... which doesn’t harm others.
And God help those who’d refuse to help themselves – as the old saying goes – and anyone who would deign it in their power to rule over me.
I stand for truth and justice – and not much of anything else – which is why I enjoy listening to what you have to say, man!
Though none of us can claim to own the truth entirely, we can at least trust that good common sense and wiser heads seeking of justice will prevail in the end.
As for tolerance... one can only be guided accordingly...
... Because sometimes, without speaking truth to power, we risk leaving it to others to decide our fates.
Tags:
Subscribe to:
Comment Feed (RSS)
