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Relation of the "Right to Health
Care" to being a functional democracy.
"If we're going to have a successful democratic society, we have to have a well educated and healthy citizenry".
- - Thomas Jefferson
In this straightforward way Thomas Jefferson expressed the theme that underlies most of the arguments in this pamphlet and did so very early in our nation's history. We have argued that as societies advance towards greater democracy (civilization?), the rights of their members expand. We argued that the Right to Education is a legitimate model for the Right to Health Care. We have also provided some background about the historical opposition to both the Right to Education and, now, the Right to Health Care and wrote about the broad education and struggle that would be necessary to get the Right to Health Care widely acknowledged - to make it a right which we could all demand and protect. We have not yet explained how it happened that eventually the "Right to Education" won out and received overwhelming support from industry, as well as widespread demand from the populace and thus came to be mandated by the federal government.
Thomas Jefferson -- author of the Declaration of Independence and the
Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom, third president of the United
States, and founder of the University of Virginia -- voiced the aspirations
of a new America as no other individual of his era.
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Born April 13, 1743, Shadwell, VA;
died July 4, 1826, Monticello, VA
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It came to be appreciated that indeed a strong democracy and a strong economy
It As a public official,
historian and philosopher, Jefferson served his country for over
five decades. He realized that a strong democracy and a strong economy
built on innovation and dedication to common ideals (like justice, equality of opportunity) required an educated populace.
This became increasingly clear to industry as America progressed through the later 19th century (the industrial revolution). During their lives workers needed ability to adapt to technical changes both at work and at home in their neighborhoods. This was a need both of advancing industries and of a skilled, adaptable workforce. While the conversion of business interests to this concept was vital to the rapid change in accepting
universal education, this conversion of business would never have proceeded so quickly, had not the ideas already been popularized more broadly through society. The long years of struggle to demonstrate the social advantages in those states accepting "Right to Education" were necessary to win over a critical number of the more far-seeing business interests.
A healthy citizenry will soon become recognized in a way analogous to an educated citizenry as crucial to a functioning democracy, a nation which once again has broad support and the trust of low-income workers as well as the more priveleged and deep pocketed sectors of our nation. The value in having a healthy citizenry will become equated with the "Right to Health Care", just as the value of having an educated citizenry became understood as a "Right to Education" for the populace.
Given that it will be less expensive to have everyone covered for all their medically-indicated health care needs, than is our current patchwork system, and that it will have such tremendous advantage for us socially and in terms of competitive business advantage, we are sure that soon industry will see the light. Automobiles produced in Detroit cost an extra $1500 due to our higher health care costs than do cars produced a few miles north in Windsor Canada (where the taxes paid cover health care for everyone in the country!). How long do you think US industry will be blinded by their fascination with "reserved privilege"?
All men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
- - Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776
One of our rights declared and undersigned in the founding document of our nation is the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In fact, this is the first right ever listed or claimed for the people of our nation. What could the "right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" possibly mean if it doesn't mean being able to fully engage with society and one's local community in a creative way of the individual's choosing. And I don't know how we can consider all individuals allowed such pursuit when we refuse to provide them with the resources to maintain and protect their health - even when such resources can be provided by our society more inexpensively than it is to withhold the same.
Indeed, we need to ask how a society is justified in calling itself a democracy when some of its citizens are kept from exercising their "rights" by virtue of poverty, ethnic background (ethnic minorities being disproportionately uninsured), or by virtue of health circumstances when those are circumstances which we as a society could easily alter to allow full participation? How can we exercise our right to vote, free speech, public assembly and to inform ourselves about current issues in our nation and communities, if only some priveleged group can preserve their good health and so be fully engaged?
What about recognition in the modern era that the "Right to Health
Care" is a necessary feature to functional democracy? Read
on.
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