The sometimes sensible NC Policy Watch has this to say about vetoing Medicaid for the middle class:
You either believe that it is a moral imperative that sick people are cared for…Or you don’t. You either believe that kids having health care is an unavoidable obligation that must be met because it is just, regardless of opposition or difficulty…Or you don’t. There is no middle ground.
Free health insurance for people who clearly can afford it – at your expense and enforced at the butt of a gun (or a visit from the auditor, or both) – a moral imperative? Nice try, but no thanks. False dichotomies are yet another in a litany of fallacies the enemies of freedom will employ to win at all costs.
And remember, when their standards of justice become enforced by the state, you don’t have to actually BEHAVE MORALLY (even if you agree that everyone has moral duties to give to middle class citizens’ healthcare), all you have to do is comply. Their jackboot will absolve you of your sense of obligation.
-Max Borders
I see Max the Gladiator is back from his recent time-out, where apparently he has been playing too much Halo 3. In a debate about healthcare, Max attempts to exploit the reader’s fears with inappropriate and hawkish military imagery.
So Max talks about the butt of a gun, enemies of freedom, and jackboots. Tough talk from Max, who I suspect is nothing more than a fighting keyboardist. I have seen from Max’s pictures that he appears to be young enough to volunteer for the armed services. I’m sure they would appreciate his tough talk, but what they really need are bodies. I wonder why he hasn’t volunteered to fight the real “enemies of freedom” in Afghanistan, or at least lend support to our troops in President Bush’s central front in the war on terror in Iraq. All talk, no action it seems. Max, I have ties to one of North Carolina’s National Guard units…they likely will be deployed to Iraq in the upcoming year for the second time. They are having serious retention issues. If you or any of your colleagues would like me to pass along your contact information, let me know. Otherwise, save the war talk for the professionals. Your inappropriate use of it cheapens their sacrifices.
As to false dichotomies, your link was informative. The first example: “Your either with us, or against us.” Sound familiar?
The morality question I posed regarding healthcare is not a false choice, but it is a question the people fighting S-CHIP would like to avoid. I’ll post later on that.
By the way, my opinions at the Progressive Pulse are my own, and are not necessarily a reflection of NC Policy Watch or their supporting organizations. I am an unpaid, volunteer guest blogger only. I appreciate the forum they provide.
All very cute, Steve. It’s funny how this “volunteer for the service” trope has begun plaguing the minds of your ilk. To suggest that people who support individual freedom from statists like yourself must join the military is, well, inane. There are all kinds of ways people can engage in the battle to protect individual freedom. I choose the arena of ideas.
I see you have joined the ranks of those who use fallacy and personal attacks. A shame. But please explain to me how anyone’s refusal to pay taxes for middle class Medicaid would not be met with force from the state? Actually don’t. I will no longer expect rational debate from you.
Steve,
Your infantile request that Max join the military because he opposes governmnent-run health care is beyond comprehension.
Let’s put you in the spotlight for a moment. You claim to be a “doctor” who wants access to health care for “the children.” Why not put your money where your mouth is and start a free clinic in your community?
Until you devote yourself to providing such “free access” it looks like you are “all talk and no action.”
Read it again, guys. I said exploiting the emotions of war imagery unless you are talking about, well…war… is wrong. It cheapens the sacrifices of the true soldiers. If writers are so gung-ho to exploit it, they ought to experience it. It is why we should all be very careful to avoid talk of Nazi’s and Hitler’s and Neville Chamberlain-like appeasement, etc. It cheapens the horror of war in general and the Holocaust in particular.. That’s why the Anti-Defamation League exists. Consider me your watchdog group.
On a separate issue, Brian, all talk and no action? No. I have donated literally tens of thousands of dollars of my time and money freely to my patients who are unable to pay for their care, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in discounted fees for uninsured working patients. Many doctors provide in this way. So, could I do more? Yeah, probably…I suppose we all could. But I try. Everybody walks the walk in their own way.
Sounds like you are walking pretty slowly.
If you care so much about health care for the poor, open up a clinic in southeast Raleigh and charge nothing.
After all, “You either believe that it is a moral imperative that sick people are cared for…Or you don’t. You either believe that kids having health care is an unavoidable obligation that must be met because it is just, regardless of opposition or difficulty…Or you don’t. There is no middle ground.”
By “donating” only part of your time and resources, you seem to be choosing some middle ground. Lead by example and devote yourself full time to providing free care, or get off your moral high-horse.
Well in your utopia, Steve, we won’t have to “walk the walk in our own way”. We’ll be forced to walk the walk in your way. And that gets to the fundamental point, I think.
I truly am glad that you offer care at a reduced rate to people. But I’m sure you have profited too. As you should. But since your philanthropy is chosen, that makes it moral if any sense can be given to that word. I don’t think there is any such thing as compelled morality. Please think long and hard about that.
Finally, I truly believe we are in a kind of war with the enemies of freedom. And while use of hyperbole sometimes confuses the issue, perhaps you should glance in the mirror — or better criticize your compatriots over at policy watch. They have done more than their fair share. I believe the loss of individual freedom will lead to the jackboot. I believe the accretion of government power is a bad thing, and cannot lead to “the good.” I think people who cooperate in dispersed and decentralized fashion – uncompelled – are the true doers of good. Overreach of government crowds out that sector of ‘social entrepreneurs’ to varying degrees, never mind the people who create opportunity and wealth through entrepreneurship.