Published: September 02, 2009 08:51 am      

WE THE PEOPLE: The circus comes to town

And what a circus it was outside the Palace! The secretary of a prominent Cumberland County official carried a sign accusing President Obama of treason (a capital offense), thus subtly licensing violence against the president and his supporters. Another political worker wearing a brown dress and a tri-cornered party hat held a “Don’t Tread on Me” sign. 

A man in white shirt and tie pulled me aside and asked if I wanted to see The Bill. I asked if he meant the health care reform bill, HB3200. Yes, he affirmed, and opened a black folder in which he had a half-dozen or so pages. He pointed to passages calling for forced abortions, euthanasia for seniors and the reduction of Medicare benefits. 

I told him his paper was a fraud (the authentic bill is over 1,000 pages long). “Well, it’s the heart of the bill,” he said. “Another good Christian gave it to me and I trust him.” I challenged him, as a literalist, to read the original (available at http://energycommerce.house.gov/Press_111/20090714/aahca.pdf) instead of trying to pass off insurance company propaganda. He dismissed my suggestion, however, apparently unconcerned about bearing false witness.

A Republican politician from Oak Ridge was there, dressed like an undertaker and carrying a pitchfork. Why would someone come so far to stoke anger at a meeting being hosted by our Congressional representative? Was the pitchfork another veiled threat?

I pointed out that Oak Ridge wasn’t in our Congressional district. The Republican politician rejoined that some people living in the Third District voted in the Fourth. This seemed like a clear admission of voter fraud to me, but I let it pass. “I’m from the Third District, too,” someone in the crowd offered, further confirming the presence of organized, out-of-district interference.

The Pitchfork Politician, when asked about health care, said he thought people should take care of themselves. He, too,  claimed to be a Christian, yet appeared to forget the part about being a "Good Samaritan" or treating the "least of these" as he would treat Christ. He informed us that God didn’t want government directives but wanted us to make choices. I suggested that would make God pro-choice, wouldn’t it? He moved away.

People were being tricked by verbal shell games. Veterans railed against socialized medicine, but the government owns and runs the VA hospitals. Seniors ranted against government health insurance, but that’s what Medicare is!

The private health insurance industry is pouring millions of dollars into an effort to frighten, misinform and confuse the public. Right Wing media talkers are serving as their echo chamber. Leaders in “The Party of No” continue to play their obstructionist role, behaving like sore losers and inflaming unrest instead of responsibly addressing our problems. 

Only a villain would put a gun to your head, demand $1,000 and then pull the trigger if you didn’t (or couldn’t) hand over the cash. In essence, however, this is how our corporate, for-profit healthcare system now operates. “Your money or your life!” is their de-facto motto, and how people who call themselves Christians can oppose reforming such a disgustingly immoral system is beyond me.

P.T. Barnum believed “there’s a sucker born every minute,” but promoting the “general welfare” requires informed deliberation based on accurate information. Will we wake up and reject the flim-flam, or has America entered the decadent imperial era of just enough bread and circuses?