A (Healthy) Cry in the Wilderness

It was beginning to be one-sided with all the screaming about health care reform (or lately, health insurance reform). Sometimes the most influential voices in any debate are either the loudest, or the ones who speak last. For sure, there have been some loud, and at times rude and obnoxious, screeches at the so-called Town Hall meetings. Most of those were opposed to what they thought was being proposed as ObamaCare (ironically, Obama has not written one word of the current bills in play).

Now, there is finally a sleeping giant aroused in the name of a non- (or multi-) denominational religious group called Sojourners and Jim Wallis. He writes a calm statement about the misinformation and fear mongering going on now. So much of what is said and written is pure hyperbole - a widely irresponsible and inflated view of the bills as written so far.

Proposed end-of-life counseling, which could put many older folk at ease about how their lives might end, has been twisted into "death panels" by Sarah Palin and others. Now with so much mis-information, even the good parts of such legislation have been removed to take away some of the fuel from the fire. The sad thing is that, as it was written, the voluntary (not mandatory) counseling was to be paid for by whatever health plan that was crafted. Folks near the end of life could have felt comfortable talking with their own doctors and others about advanced directives, the same things we are counseled on each time we are in the hospital.

Dialogue is a good thing and it helps to clear the air and quash rumors and reveal falsehoods. The problem has been that the public discourse has often been monologues - the views of one side screamed over the voices of others. That is not productive, not fair, and certainly not democratic.

Health Care Reform Discussion Getting Uncivil

The health care reform debate is a hot one, but unlike formal debates, the rules seem to have been tossed aside. Town Hall meetings, which can show democracy at its best, are deteriorating into rude and crude yelling sessions, often with one side screaming to block others freedom to speak their views. Hardly democratic and disrespectful of the freedom of speech tenet, some people are choosing to figuratively cover their ears and say "La la la la" to avoid hearing what the other side might be saying. Only it is not quite that nice.

When one side organizes to create such a ruckus so as to keep others from expressing their views, it is not what our forefathers had in mind when they sought to assure open dialogue, no matter the issue.

The sad thing is that most of the loud mouths do not have the whole story, and seem to be parroting the words of others, namely talk show hosts. Certain buzzwords appear in their yelling, on their signs, and in the media reports. They'd rather spew the drivel of radio entertainers then think for themselves and actually read some of the proposed legislation.

To be sure, there is a long way to go before any agreement is reached on this issue. All the more reason to have cordial, civil, and respectful dialogue to talk out this extremely important topic which will effect every one of us. But to promulgate hyperbole, extrapolating to the point of ridiculous is of no possible help.

Both sides need to tame the rhetoric, and both sides need to allow others, not of their persuasion, to speak their piece....in full sentences, and without getting hoarse. I am not so optimistic that we will get to that point because there are many whose agenda is to stifle other's rights. They could not stand still for someone having the floor for even a few minutes without tossing rude epithets, or worse, threats, to the speakers. Let's continue to pray for peace, but now for peace within our own borders. Another Civil Was is fomenting.