What's So Great About An Opinion, Anyway?

No funny-ha-ha's here today; I’m about to go all political up in yo’ ass, because I’m salty as hell right now.

Don't say you haven't been warned…

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So, I’m on Facebook this morning (like I am all day, every day), and one of my “friends” starts posting political updates.

Now, I for one believe that Facebook is not the forum to discuss politics. This “friend” has posted political content before – typically aggressive posts slinging mud at the Obama presidency and insulting those who voted for him.

I recall a particular post saying “So, how’s that hopey, changey thing working out for you?” that still makes my blood boil.

But to date, I’ve managed to stay quiet because, again, Facebook is not the appropriate forum for political debate.

Today, for better or for worse, I broke my silence. This guy posted 3 updates within a 30-minute period quoting sections of the Obama healthcare plan in an effort to criticize it.

He posted:

OBAMACARE and You.... • Sect. 163, Pg 58-59 beginning at line 5 of HC Bill - Government will have real-time access to individual’s finances & a National ID Health care card will be issued! • Sect. 163, Pg 59, lines 21-24 of HC Bill—Government will have direct access to your banks accounts for electronic funds transfer

Then:

More OBAMACARE - • Sect. 123, Pg 30 of HC bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE that decides what treatments/benefits you get. • Sect. 142, Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your benefits for you. You have no choice! • Sect. 152, Pg 50-51 in HC bill - HC will be provided to ALL non US citizens, illegal or otherwise

And, last but not least:

Sect. 401.59B, Pg 167, Lines 18-23—ANY individual who does not have acceptable HC, according to Government, will be taxed 2.5% of income. • Sect.59B, Pg 170 Lines, 1—Any NONRESIDENT Alien is exempt from individual taxes. (Americans will pay for alien healthcare.)



Now, it would be easy to point out that A) the government already has direct access to your bank accounts (hello IRS), B) An electronic ID card (with tracking technology) has been in the works for the past 8 years, and C) we already pay for the healthcare of illegal immigrants (and everyone else and their brother who does not have healthcare yet shows up to an emergency room).

In fact, I believe I did point these facts out, for posterity’s sake.

But, as alarmingly ignorant as these posts are, that’s not really the point I'm trying to make.

The point is that I’m willing to bet that this guy knows little-to-nothing about our healthcare system and the problems that are contributing to our current healthcare crisis. Even if he’s done his research (which, judging from his other posts, is probably limited to Fox News), I think it's safe to bet that he's largely uninformed when it comes to this topic.

I say this not to offend him, but because the problems within our healthcare system are so vast and numerous, the average person can’t possibly comprehend all of the factors that play into this conundrum.
Look; I work on the fringe of the healthcare system, and I can barely keep track of a fraction of all of the issues surrounding this debate. My manager, an ex-ER doctor, has a handle on some of the factors, most of which relate directly to practicing medicine. I’m sure people in the medical malpractice, pharmaceutical, and health insurance industries could also come up with a million problems that are contributing to our current healthcare debacle.

In short, our healthcare system is a giant cluster-fuck.

And this guy thinks he has a firm enough grasp on the issue to criticize the current proposed solution?

Give me a break.

As the great Socrates once said, “The only true wisdom is knowing that you know nothing at all.”

And on that note, since when is it such a bad thing to not have an opinion on something?

When Bush was pushing the immigration bill, I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t have the time to fully educate myself on this issue. My life was hectic, and my emotional state was strained to the limit; I simply didn’t have the time, energy, or resources to research the issue on both sides of the fence (no pun intended, but it was totally awesome, none the less)

Therefore, when people wanted to know what my opinion was on the issue, I felt justified in saying that I wasn’t educated enough to have an opinion.

And that was okay.

When it comes to healthcare, I know our current system is a disaster. I also know that if we keep going at this rate, our country will be bankrupt and there will be millions of people who are unable to get basic medical care.

Since I know that this is most decidedly NOT a good thing, I’m in support of a change. Do I think President Obama’s plan is flawless? Certainly not. Do I think that there might be a better solution? It’s entirely possible.

What I DO know is that criticizing the hell out of this plan, without A) fully comprehending it and B) proposing a better solution is ignorant, immature, and entirely asinine.

I feel like the majority people these days would rather jump on somebody else’s bandwagon than create a bandwagon of their own. Lacking the time, initiative, and/or intelligence to research a topic, they’d rather take up the flag of whatever group catches their fancy, thereby circumventing all the work and getting straight to what Americans like to do most: Have an opinion. ANY opinion.

I, for one, will not be judging Obama’s healthcare plan until I have the time and energy to do the research.

Am I a lesser person for failing to have an opinion? Perhaps.

But in my humble opinion, it’s better to know that I know nothing, rather than to pretend that I know something.