Fired Up!

Man, I have just become a blogging machine today. I guess I have a lot to say because everyone around me has a lot to say, and it has gotten me thinking and gotten me fired up. I've been thinking about the comments that have been swirling around Emory Law, Facebook, CNN, you name it, everyone's talking. I've heard a lot of intelligent comments, but a lot of ignorant ones too. So I just thought I'd throw out my two sense on this whole debacle, for whatever its worth. Here's my disclaimer, though: I'm not claiming to understand the ins and outs of healthcare reform. My instinct as a Christian says that it is simply that compassionate thing to support healthcare for all, but my understanding of the financial repercussions is basically zero beyond what common sense can tell me, and I don't have time to philosophize over all the possible outcomes. The sliver of knowledge I do have comes strictly from my 1L law classes, and let's face it, even at a top 20 law school, we're the tadpoles in the legal ocean. So seriously, before anyone flips out, these are just my personal naive ramblings and nothing more.

As previously stated, I don't purport to know much about the U.S. Constitution (just more than the average high schooler, really), but I will say that regardless of what side of the universal healthcare issue you stand on, you should be able to see that one could interpret parts of the Constitution to authorize the recent bill. I'm not saying you have to agree, just that any reasonable person should be able to see that it is a possible interpretation of the text.

Please note Article I: Congress shall have power to lay tax... to provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States. Furthermore, we know that the healthcare industry is actively involved in interstate commerce, so any kind of healthcare reform involving regulation of the companies themselves could be seen as explicitly authorized under the commerce clause. Just a thought.

I get it, though. People think that if Congress can now tell people that they have to purchase a certain good or service that Congress is basically claiming limitless power. But I personally don't believe that. The text of the Constitution explicitly reserves certain authority to the Executive, the Judiciary, to the States, and most importantly, to the people. Furthermore, we cannot forget that it is the people who have the power to elect our own representatives. It is not a perfect system. Believe me, I know it is flawed in many ways. But I, for one, am grateful that I have a voice (however small it may be), and that I live in a country where we decide things by a majority vote and where healthcare is something that is available at all. I feel this way because I have been to places where the people have no voice and where people die of stupid diseases because, not only is there no health insurance, there is no medical care at all.

All that to say, I think it is important to remember, as we get all hot and bothered about U.S. politics, that what we have going on here in the U.S.- like or not- is a lot better than what much of the rest of the world is dealing with.