ONLY IN AMERICA

The question concerns health care reform. The answer, if one exists, is indecipherable, lost in the milieu of information, misinformation, preconceived notions, fears, ignorance and, oh yes, POLITICS. Well, I too am possessed of information, no doubt some misinformation, a few preconceived notions, a bit of fear and more than enough ignorance. But fortunately, no politics.

On the surface it would seem that eliminating politics from the list would provide an advantage, one less factor to muddy the waters. But in fact, it has the opposite effect. Those influenced by the politics of the issue need not be overly concerned with the other factors. Rather, they can simply saddle up with the right (no reform will ever pass on Obama's watch) or the left (reform at any cost) and then, unfortunately, both sides can resort to the information, misinformation and preconceived notions enabling them to act on our fear and ignorance, in the end resulting in ineffective or detrimental legislation.

This much I can tell you. In the past year I've been able to reduce my auto insurance by 22 percent. My homeowner insurance was increased by a mere 7 percent. My Medicare supplemental premium payments, however, have gone up 190 percent. During that time, all of the influencing factors -- the is, my car and driving record, my house and my health status -- have not changed. Comparing these factors is probably an example of my ignorance; one who better understands these things may well tell me they are meaningless, an apples to oranges comparisons. Maybe. But when I project the 190 percent increase into the future, I'm stricken by that fear factor and regret that my family did not emigrate to Scandinavia when I was six. Then I'd be living amongst those lazy, overtaxed, underachieving, socially dependent folks who somehow happen to have better health care, less expensive health care, a higher standard of living, greater longevity and, most even say, a happier existence.

Nonetheless, as I see it, the American Dream is still alive and well here in "The Greatest Nation on Earth". That is, while dreaming of winning the lottery, the reality of our political arrogance drives us steadily down an ever-degrading world status, and keeps us naively supporting our unsustainable system.