Discussion of health care is all the rage in the media, and like most of you, I watch and read with delight, learning much about my fellow Americans.  My self-perception was that I was reasonably well-informed, but I’ve come to learn that my certainty that health care reform was needed, but nagging doubts about whether the proposals on the table were adequate, reflect my ignorance. 

The media has been bending over backwards to try to show sentiment from all sides of the debate.  It seems that mine isn’t shared by many.  Most people are either quite certain that the Democrats’ plans are the spawn of the devil or that they are Utopian dreams.  And Sarah Palin insists that we’ll have death panels, no matter what anybody says, so that her quitting government won’t be in vain.

Here are some of the things I learned:

An altacacca informed me that she won’t tolerate government messing with her medicare, and government better keep its mitts out of healthcare.

A men from Georgia, who I believe is a baseball player for the team “John Deere” based upon his cap, though his weight belies his athleticism, informed me that 85% of Americans already have healthcare and are doing just fine, so why screw it all up for the 15% who are too lazy to get a job.

A morbidly obese woman, who seemed very nice and cuddly, informed me that the government is violating her constitutional rights by making her pay for someone else’s healthcare.

A man in Pennsylvania informed me that Arlen Specter is evil and will have to stand before God one day for judgment. 

Utah Senator Orrin Hatch informed me that it is wrong to characterize people expressing their concerns by screaming stupid stuff in public at government officials as unAmerican.  I bet Henry Gates will be happy to hear this.

I’ve come to realize that anyone who has healthcare coverage that they don’t have to pay for themselves is very happy with the current system, and that as much as they don’t want anyone denied coverage (except people who speak Spanish), they aren’t about to jeopardize their own situation to help them.

I’ve come to realize that there are a lot of people who just hate paying taxes, and anything that holds the potential to raise taxes is evil.  This doesn’t apply to bombs and weapons systems, which are needed to protect freedom.  Freedom isn’t free.

I’ve come to realize that the Constitution protects Americans, and that each and every American gets to interpret it in whatever way best suits their pocketbook.  While I’ve long believed that the Constitution is a flexible document, I never realized it was that flexible.

I’ve come to realize that healthcare is an individual right.  Individual in the sense that only that one individual has a right to it, and all the other individuals can go screw themselves.

I’ve come to realize that very few, maybe even no one, shares my concerns over whether a subject as sensitive and critical as healthcare can be entrusted to a new bureaucracy comprised of official women will fulfill the needs of Americans who are currently paying exorbitant premiums or have no access to care aside from emergency rooms today.  While carriers and managed care providers have done a less than spectacular job of demonstrating an intelligent approach, I remain concerned that government could be as bad if not worse at it. 

I similarly worry that the monies siphoned out of the system in salaries, bonuses and profits of private insurers, drug companies, doctors with their own CAT scans convincing seniors who use their offices as social centers to have every booboo tested, resulting in the exorbitant premiums paid by those of us who don’t have an employer to cover our costs, will be lost to government officials whose assistants, undersecretaries, deputies, assistant deputies and their 75,000 employees in 96 regional centers instead.

I worry that the conference committee will design a camel to race with thoroughbreds, in order to appease every special interest group  needed to be on board with reform.

And I worry about the people who live amongst us and don’t have affordable health care.  They are perfectly nice people.  They have cute kids.  They could use access to health care too.  I know that it could cost me some more money, though I still can’t figure out where all the money I pay in premiums is going since my family only uses about 1% of what we pay in premiums for our medical needs.  But my American can afford to make sure no one lacks medical care.  Or starves to death.  I’m prepared to give up a few bunker busters to pay for it, and maybe a F-whatever bomber or two.

But then, I don’t know nearly as much about healthcare as others.  Or so I’m informed.