Sicko

Michael Moore’s new flick Sicko , a doc about the absurdity of America being the only industrialized nation not to have national health care, has been making the punditry rounds lately, and one thing I’m tired of fucking hearing are these people shaking their heads “I just don’t trust the government to handle anything.” They shake their heads sadly looking out at us in tv-watching land, and we find ourselves nodding solemnly and before you know it we’re supposed to be suckered into some sort of “us against them” when it comes to the government handling something of importance.

It’s not even that I don’t agree with them sometimes; it’s just that I don’t believe them. In no way are they thinking “how can we make healthcare so universal and affordable it no longer is even an issue, is it even possible?” They’re thinking “how can I turn healthcare into a way to make me and my 5 friends bazillionaires?” So they push this lie, this “gee, if only I could trust the government with this….” Nonsense.

Ironically, these are often the same people that somehow trust the government when it comes to sending troops around to get shot at. No one’s been right for one minute in the last six years, everything has been proven to be a lie, but these people pop a hammy springing up “hold on, wait a minute, let’s give these guys a chance, let’s see what happens!!” Interesting. Blindly accept lie after lie and body parts in Hefty bags coming back, that’s okay, we need to trust the government then. But making it so that I can get a flu shot without blowing a coupla dudes out back, oh no no no, there’s no way we can trust the government then.

What about the fire departments? I know it’s not the federal government, but it’s local government, still publicly funded et al. If one of these people’s house is on fire, do they not call the local fire house? “Oh no don’t call them, I don’t trust the government! Call…Wayne. I guess.” It’s absurd.

The government can be capable of doing great things. We put men on the moon, we reconstructed Europe, we mandated that any woman under 30 has to have a brazillian. Okay, amazing things. I was reading the Bill of Rights and Constitution this weekend (the 2001 World Almanac was in the shitter) and was blown away. These men were brilliant; they had precise vision and astounding foresight. I’m surprised they didn’t come up with an answer to “How to handle Paris going to jail.” Theirs was an ascension to power driven by intellect and compassion; now we’re guided by money and birthright. But it IS possible to find people who can do great things again; to assert that in principle the government cannot handle something is absurd. We’re off-track now because of the boobs we’ve placed in office, but don’t fall for this “gee, I dunno…” bullshit. Demand competence, demand “We can have universal healthcare and ________ can do it; don’t like it get out of the way and get back to your frat parties.” It’s a big fat lie they’re feeding you, quit fucking eating it up with a spoon. And in case you haven't noticed, it's the same people who shake their heads about trusting the government who are the ones who put these fuckwads in power in the first place. Gee. What a mystery.