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Nearly a year ago, the American people were promised an enlightened debate on the state of health care coverage in this nation.
We’re still waiting.
The issues seem to have been stripped entirely from this debate, replaced by name-calling and misrepresentations. This was sadly apparent Monday when U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., conducted a town hall meeting in Grubbs Hall at Pittsburg State University.
Tiahrt responded to a question about how to reach young people with the conservative mission by using the terms “communism” and “socialism” when describing the Democratic Party.
He said that Democrats wanted to get people “into a life of dependency” from “cradle to the grave.”
“That didn’t work in Russia,” Tiahrt said. “And it didn’t work in Germany.”
How did we get to this point?
Health care reform has been a major issue since before most of us were born. Republican President Theodore Roosevelt is believed to be the first national figure to make it an issue during his final run for the White House in 1912, and it has been addressed in the national political arena several times since. It remains on the agenda because it is a major problem that must be addressed. Premiums continue to skyrocket and, according to the United Nations, the life expectancy of Americans is No. 38 worldwide — behind Cuba and slightly higher than Portugal.
Health care is, without question, a very important issue and many people have valid concerns. This makes it all the more important that we tone down the rhetoric and have a serious debate on the issues. A belief that the government should help share the health care burden — as it already does for Americans age 65 and older — does not communism make. Comparisons to Nazi Germany are equally ridiculous, not to mention insulting to those who lost their lives during the Holocaust.
It is time for our leaders to stop calling each other names and start debating this matter with the seriousness of purpose it deserves.
We call on our leaders in Kansas to be the first to step up to the plate and set an example for the rest of the nation.
Jacob W. Brower, for The Morning Sun
Nearly a year ago, the American people were promised an enlightened debate on the state of health care coverage in this nation.
We’re still waiting.
The issues seem to have been stripped entirely from this debate, replaced by name-calling and misrepresentations. This was sadly apparent Monday when U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt, R-Kan., conducted a town hall meeting in Grubbs Hall at Pittsburg State University.
Tiahrt responded to a question about how to reach young people with the conservative mission by using the terms “communism” and “socialism” when describing the Democratic Party.
He said that Democrats wanted to get people “into a life of dependency” from “cradle to the grave.”
“That didn’t work in Russia,” Tiahrt said. “And it didn’t work in Germany.”
How did we get to this point?
Health care reform has been a major issue since before most of us were born. Republican President Theodore Roosevelt is believed to be the first national figure to make it an issue during his final run for the White House in 1912, and it has been addressed in the national political arena several times since. It remains on the agenda because it is a major problem that must be addressed. Premiums continue to skyrocket and, according to the United Nations, the life expectancy of Americans is No. 38 worldwide — behind Cuba and slightly higher than Portugal.
Health care is, without question, a very important issue and many people have valid concerns. This makes it all the more important that we tone down the rhetoric and have a serious debate on the issues. A belief that the government should help share the health care burden — as it already does for Americans age 65 and older — does not communism make. Comparisons to Nazi Germany are equally ridiculous, not to mention insulting to those who lost their lives during the Holocaust.
It is time for our leaders to stop calling each other names and start debating this matter with the seriousness of purpose it deserves.
We call on our leaders in Kansas to be the first to step up to the plate and set an example for the rest of the nation.
Jacob W. Brower, for The Morning Sun
