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6/16/2009
Burri: We have rights. When is it a right to say no?
We like talking about rights, we Americans. Hey, they’re important. We guard them jealously.
Free speech. The right to bear arms. To worship, or not. Those are specifically named, and with good reason. Others aren’t: the right to privacy, for example, doesn’t appear in the Constitution, but we all tend to recognize it anyway.
One could write a book about any and all of these – indeed, many have – but today, I’m looking at two things.
One: there are responsibilities that go along with rights. You have the right to free speech, but not to yell “fire” in a crowded theater. Or to fire your rifle randomly into the air. Or to sacrifice virgins to appease an angry God.
That observation leads directly to my second point: your exercise of your rights requires nothing from me.
You can say what you like without contribution, or reaction, or input from me. I don’t even have to listen. I have to contribute exactly nothing to your religion. That you own a single handgun or a thousand-piece collection can go entirely unnoticed by me.
All I have to do in order for you to enjoy your rights is: nothing. Just don’t interfere. That’s it.
Pretty cool.
But wait: we have still more rights – or, I should say, we have what we like to call rights. The right to health care. That's a big one. People have a right to see a doctor, to receive medical care. To retire, and live comfortably once they’re too old to work.
We could come up with others, of course, but you know what I mean. These are important and valued. We can’t really do without them. Anybody who gets sick or hurt has to have health care. Someday, God willing, we’ll all be too old to work. Continuing to live with some independence, with some dignity, requires that we continue to have income; that we have decent health care.
Thus: Rights.
But. These rights differ significantly. For one thing, we can’t exercise them as individuals. They require the effort of others.
If no one wants to listen to you, that has no bearing on your freedom of speech. But if no one wants to – is available to, is able to – treat your medical condition, that has a lot of bearing on your right to health care.
What if nobody wants to treat you? Kind of a silly question, I know. Hypothetical. Unlikely. So, okay, what if they want to be paid, and all you’ve got is five bucks?
Well, health care is a right, so…I guess they just have to do it anyway. Whether they get paid or not. To do otherwise – to refuse someone their rights – would be the same as gagging them. Outlawing their church.
Sorry, doctors and nurses. You’ve got no choice.
Well, okay, here’s what we’ll do: we’ll make somebody else pay. Spread the cost around to everybody…well, not to everybody, but to a whole bunch of people.
Exercising your right to free speech and worship doesn’t infringe on me. Exercising your right to health care does. It has to.
More: While responsibility goes hand-in-hand with free speech rights, etc., the opposite is true for these others. Making them rights, thus making it mandatory that we – somebody – provide them, degrades responsibility. Because no matter what you do – no matter how irresponsible you are – somebody else will always have to provide for you.
Even if they don't want to. Even if it makes their lives harder. Even if they think you don't deserve it.
The right to say no – there's one right we'll never have again.
Lance Burri is a contributor to the Badger Blog Alliance and The TrogloPundit.
COMMENTS
Thanks, Mr. Burri. Another brilliant Hollandaise. Maybe if we incentivized doctors, with a dollar-for-dollar income tax deduction to provide the $5 care you mentioned, we could get to universal health care with a tax cut instead of a tax hike.
timbeaux (Tue Jun 16 07:31:19 2009)
Well, actually Lance, there are a number of "rights" that we'll probably never see again. Right off the top I can think of a couple that were set aside for us from the start: The 9th and 10th ammendments to the Constitution that forbids the federal government from doing things like Social Security and nationalized health care.
Unfortunately the FEDERAL judiciary, in several rulings since the 1880s, told the FEDERAL legislature, by a number of decisions in the interim, that they and the FEDERAL executive, like The ONE, can do just about anything, notwithstanding the Bill of Rights.
And now there's some more rights - more choices and more responsibilities - we'll never have again.
Duke (Tue Jun 16 07:42:38 2009)
So that's interesting. We recognize the unwritten right to privacy but not the right to health care. Nor are "responsibilities" listed. And we have "free speech" as it applies to bribing our politician, but aside from that bribery is illegal.
Sounds to me that when certain "rights" are convenient, we apply them. If they are only convenient to others we holler foul.
But if I bribe my politician to pass legislation that takes taxes from you, is that okay or not? I'm confused.
And there is no specific constitutional right to health care. It's written nowhere.
It is, however, a common good like fire and police protection. It would be the smartest thing this congress could do to fix our nation's economy and allow our companies to compete with foreign product. It'd reduce outsourcing and save US jobs.
But another right stands in the way. It's called $46 million in "free speech" by the insurance industry.
Go figure.
Jack Lohman
http://SinglePayer.info
Jack Lohman (Tue Jun 16 08:28:04 2009)
Actually, when a true "single-payer" system gets in, we in the ER MAY actually be able to kick out the people who don't belong there, as happens in Britain. Like the ones who come for a "free pregnancy test", courtesy of taxpayers, or the ones who "ran out of their meds", even though Walmart has their med for only $4. But, they "had to buy their cigarettes", so they "don't HAVE any money" to get medication.
Actually, in Britain, ERs kick out even people who DO belong there; like a friend of a friend, who was sent home whilst having a heart attack...he died at home.
Oh, yes, when the govt is paying, they WILL make you wait. How about 3 YEARS to see a specialist for suspected cancer; then another 18 monthsa to 2 years to get treament, by which time you'll be dying, so they'll just save their money and have you get hospice care, instead.
Or you might find yourself in an ambulance, riding around for FIVE HOURS, trying to find an ER that literally will let you be unloaded. No EMTALA in Britain, to force hospitals to let you in!
Yes, these are all personal examples; I used to live in the UK, and of course, we keep in touch with folks there, so these examples are up-to-date.
Just be careful for what you wish...you might get it!
emily matthews (Tue Jun 16 09:13:47 2009)
You are correct, Emily. When poor people can get health care elsewhere, they will quit clogging the ERs. Importantly, the hospital industry must get behind a Medicare-for-all system; it is the only thing that will save healthcare. Otherwise it is eventually going the way of Motorola, Kohls and etc, and hospitals are going to find themselves negotiating with hundreds of thousands of payers (corporations), rather than the current thousands and preferred ONE (Medicare). And if you think Medicare is bad, think about a CEO whose salary and bonuses are dependent on profits.
Jack Lohman (Wed Jun 17 10:05:15 2009)
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