The Reason Why [Big Paper]

From what is presented on the movie SiCKO, it seems that having universal health care in the U.S. would only be an improvement to the country. So why have we not made that transition from HMOs to single payer or socialized health care, even when many of the other Western countries, such as Canada, Great Britain, France and Cuba, are already following this system? The reason why to anything is never clear, nor definitive, however I believe the prevention of this change lies amongst the people of the U.S. It is not because universal health care is a bad system and will lead to the deaths of many people; it is because the people in the U.S. are unwilling to amend to a different system and admit that their own system is not the best one out there, partially because they want to remain “superior” and partially because they do not know that. Regardless, the health care system is still corrupt and the reason why that is remains unclear, but here is an attempt in explaining why we are still following this same system that is leaving many people untreated and dead. And maybe then, we’ll begin to make the attempt to see our problems and move towards a better system, something many of the other Western countries have already done.

Americans are often described as “stupid” and “ignorant,” which is not that far from the truth, judging from what I have seen from others and myself. Many of the people that I met in the past appear to know very little about the things that occur around them, even when they directly affect their own lives. In my most recent interviews about America’s health care system, most of the responses reflect on this ignorance. The common responses to the questions, “Do you think we should use the France or Britain or Canada’s health care systems as a model for the system in America” or “Do you agree or disagree with Obama’s health care plan?”Were, if not pertained to, the phrases such as “which is...,” “I guess…” or “what exactly is Obama planning to do?” People in America are not informed about the current situations with their own country or any other country. This ignorance is partially why we cannot have a revolution in America leading towards universal health care. Without this knowledge, the people cannot differentiate bad systems and better systems. The people do not know enough to see the flaws and the better alternatives, even when it is presented right in front of them.

Our lack of universal health, however, is not solely resulted from our lack of knowledge. Rather, it is also the outcome of our low standards and satisfaction from minor benefits. As long as there’s limited health coverage from some people, those people will be satisfied and follow the current system. When my mother was asked about our current health care situation, she responded by saying that she was happy that the government is willing to pay for her expenses. She added that our government is better than most other countries. It was shocking to hear this from my mother, being that I can recall many times where she was denied of certain doctors because they were not within her network. There were also many times where I have heard her complain about having to pay for some of her expenses. But despite all this, she still support the current health care system in America, which shows us that, in America, if the government provides some aid the people will accept it and ask nothing more of it. Just as it was said in SiCKO, the American people fear the government, and they fear that if they intervene with the government’s plans, then they will lose the aid that they already have. Therefore America would never be able to progress until the people lose this fear and adjust their standards.

Americans are not only controlled by the fear for their government, but also by the fear of transforming into their greatest enemies, communists. In SiCKO, it was referred to as “The Red Nightmare.” Throughout history, the American people have viewed people such as Mao Zhedong, Che Guevera, and Joseph Stalin; people with socialist and communist views, as the villains. And to have socialized healthcare, it would be seem like the country is taking one step towards communism, eliminating everyone’s chance of rising to the top. However this view is created by our values that have been heavily influenced by the government and what they portray in the media. If America were to learn to not intake everything that is given to them, then maybe they will begin to accept the alternative views and consider it.

These characteristics of the American people are not the only reason, but are definitely factors to why America still does not have universal health care. But if we were to begin inform ourselves about our health care situation, and listen to people (from Denmark) rather than making comments such as “the one in the pink looked hot,” begin to have higher demands, such as the people in France and make the government fear people rather than the other way around, and begin to open up our minds to other systems rather than making websites such as this one, then maybe we can move on towards a better way of living. Even then, there are more unknown variables that need to be changed about the American way of life, because 60% of Americans believe that the country needs to follow a different health care system, and yet remain as a country that predominantly follows HMOs. As we continue on, using this health care system, we remain as the country with the highest death rates and one of the countries with lower life expectancy. The people in America obviously needs to begin evaluating their own systems and seeking for better ones, but for now we can only continue to be a nation where 40% of our people are covered by health care, looking up to countries such as France where 99% of the people of covered (assuming that they know that fact). [Link]