Reflections On SiCKO

Sicko Poster @ Michigan Theatre
Originally uploaded by millermz

To kick off this week's theme of health care here at the Liberal Lobby, or the lack thereof, I'd like to bring up the obvious. That's right, Michael Moore's latest film, Sicko. Now, as this is probably already repition for some, I understand why some may turn away from this post more quickly then others; however, while a movie may become old, the topic is fresh, and should remain fresh until we can ensure better treatment for all Americans.

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Love him, or even hate him, Michael Moore's Sicko has to touch you in some way. Even if you don't believe Moore's statements about the French health care system, the Canadian system, or Cuba's system, you have to feel something when you see families going bankrupt because of medical bills, or families being torn apart by preventable deaths, all because an insurance company said no to an operation or treatment of some kind.

Sure someone like me who likes Moore will agree with much more of the movie, while I, as all should, investigate facts myself, I can't help but agree that there's something wrong when we as a country don't care enough to help those in need. Particularly scary is the moment near the end of the movie when we see patients being dropped off on the street, some not even completely treated. Decency alone should tell someone that's not right.

Here in America though, we take individualism to be our livelihood, and are often quire proud to do so, and often should be rightfully proud; however, what we need is to form some sort of societal trust, because it seems no one is willing to help anyone financially more than anything, because far too many people think their money's going to be misused.

While I can't promise that won't happen to some degree, I also know that I'm willing to sacrifice a little to get a lot for our country, and as a democracy we should have control over how that money's spent, and we should take care to watch the funds. What happens instead though is people use democracy to keep more of their money, yes rightfully earned, so as to help our own needs. For many though, especially lower class, one can protect only so much, until they realize that their medical bills are too much, and that's where a system such as national insurance should come in.

Moore makes a good point, since we already pay for police and fire protection, why can't we help pay for some health protection too? I don't know, but I'd like to think that we'll all know soon, and we'll all join in soon so as to protect our fellow citizens health, as Americans should.