By Jeff Orvis
What a week we just experienced! Who
would have thought when we began the week that by the end, our
Supreme Court would have the courage to affirm what many of us
already understood as the right thing to do, not once, but twice.
Then our president represented all of us, whether we like it or not,
in mourning the deaths of nine folks who were in a Bible study when
they were gunned down by a young segregationist.
Such important events. So much to
comment on. So many views and I already know that some of my friends
will not share my opinion, but that's what makes this country great.
I don't pretend to understand all of
the ramifications of the Court's decision on the Affordable Care Act.
But it would seem that it at least partly affirms what has been in
effect since the passage of what even the President now fondly calls
“Obamacare.”
I believe that basic health care is a
right, not a privilege. If you want a plastic surgeon to try to take
a few years off your face, you should pay for it. If you are the
victim of a fire and that surgeon works to restore your appearance to
something similar to what you had before your accident, you should
get that care, whether you can afford it or not. If you get cancer
and you are facing drug costs of $100,000 a year to extend your life,
you should have it.
Most of the rest of the modern world
knows this. Why don't we? While this may be an over simplification,
don't you think if we didn't have all those commercials and print ads
touting every drug under the sun, prices would go down? If there were
reasonable limits to malpractice awards for those drug companies and
health care professionals, wouldn't there be less money needed in the
system? If training for those health care workers was free and
malpractice insurance was paid for, their salary structures could
come down to a more reasonable level.
And of course, if we were all issued a
health card by the government, the complicated, bloated health
insurance industry would just fade away.
I've already written enough to make a
lot of folks mad and just maybe more than a few of you are nodding
your head in agreement. But time to move on to my next topic of the
week.
When the Court ruled in favor of gay
marriage, the reaction was immediate and loud. Some devout believers
mourned the ruling. Some candidates who unfortunately use religion as
a prop for their campaign were the most vocal, while they were
secretly smiling because they now had more ammunition to gain
campaign contributions and support.
When I heard the news, when the shock
subsided, I was very happy. I should say here that I am a lifelong
heterosexual. Some of my best friends and were and are female. But I
also have some friends who choose a different lifestyle. Putting
aside the Biblical questions for a moment, I recognize that they find
most comfort with members of their own sex. Not for a moment do I
question their devotion to their partners.
Amid the hundreds of people who
instantly appeared on the steps of the Supreme Court to celebrate the
ruling, a couple of moments made me tear up a bit. One of the men who
sued the state of Ohio to allow his name to be placed on his
partner's death certificate as his immediate next of kin, held up a
picture of his departed partner and tried to explain what this ruling
met to him. The other emotional moment came when an all-male chorus
broke into a splendid spontaneous rendition of “The Star Spangled
Banner.” It was their way of saying they were still proud to be
Americans.
The ruling which seems to say we can
no longer discriminate against people based on their sexual
orientation brought to mind another time in our history. There was a
time when women were not allowed to vote. There was also a time when
people of different races were considered second class citizens in
parts of this country. The Court's ruling blasted another stumbling
block toward equality.
The other major event in this country
this past week was a gathering of more than 5,000 mourners in South
Carolina for the funeral of a young pastor. The funeral was attended
by the president and vice president and their wives, along with
several members of congress and other officials.
The President delivered a very moving
eulogy, capped by his singing of “Amazing Grace.” It was a
fitting tribute to the victim and his family and hopefully a comfort
to a stricken community, state and nation. It also delivered a
message to those misinformed folks who still maintain that our
president is a Muslim. How many Muslims do you know that can sing
that old spiritual with such emotion?
While President Obama may have been
the first president to sing while speaking at a funeral, he is not
our first Mourner in Chief. Unfortunately, wars and other tragedies
have forced our presidents of both parties to be our spokesmen. We
may not agree with their politics, those that I have observed over
the years have represented us well.
We are in the last 18 months of this
administration. This week showed that President Obama has a chance at
a positive legacy. But that can only happen if the opposition will
abandon its smokescreens regarding gay marriage and affordable health
care and concentrate on dealing with the real problems we still face.
