Let's Fight for the Medicare Option

As a French teacher, I must confess that I don't know the German language, but I believe that "liebe" means "love." (The song, "Liebestraum," comes to mind -- "Love Song.") So I would not refer to the healthcare recommendations of Joe Lieberman as "Liebercare." It might be more appropriately described as "Hate-NoCare" because his program is "hateful."

I think your Progressive suggestions, Bob, are exactly what we need to be doing. And...I do believe they're realistically "do-able." Where we have a major problem is in our lack of adequate time in our daily lives to do what needs to be done. Apparently the RadCons have lots of time on their hands to do their hateful activism while most of us on the Progressive side are busy working, trying to get our jobs done every day...taking care of our children and ourselves to the best of our ability. We don't have as much time as we need to do the "heavy lifting" that must be done to achieve your recommended actions. However, we (I) will do as much as I can and that will be done principally by phone or by writing (LTEs, messages to "electeds" and friends, etc.).

Very solid thinking in there Bob, I just question whether we can effect change in time before the House and Senate bills are resolved. Expanding medicare is certainly a good idea. Let's not forget the states rights issue of giving states the opportunity for devising their own health care systems. I know Maine has been discussing a plan to copy the Canadian system.

In the case that we fail to achieve our aims, all of the ideas you mention move into strategy planning for the next opportunity to reform healthcare, whether at the state level or, ultimately again, the national level. In the meantime and always, the most significant line in your piece was the following, ".. the broad progressive movement must work a bit harder to unite."

I often refer to the symbolism of the flag pole as being "the central organizing principle around which we agree to unite." I contend that principle is social justice and propose that we would have an easier time uniting if we couch our thinking and discussion in that principle. Labor, health care, education, the environment, global trade, prison reform,..etc. ; these are all social justice issues. We can rally around the flagpole of social justice. The laundry list of social justice issues is long and overwhelming, the important thing to our unity is that we all agree on one thing, social justice itself as motivating our unity.

World Citizen above made an important point, that citizens don't have the time to be as fully informed as necessary and to act upon their eternal vigilance. Also relevant is the willingness, the interest, in being involved. Many, many citizens have the time, but not the interest. Hopefully that is slowly changing. If we were more civilized our citizens would have more time off, the 40 hour week should go to a 35 hour week. But citizens would have to realize that they would have to exert citizen power to make that shift. Citizens won't have power unless they take action to get it. The single most empowering action I am familiar with can be found at www.vote.org

The concepts which we forge into our united effort must be of such universal value that the unity of mankind can be sustained into the distant future.

No global social justice, no peace.

Geo Rip