The Government Relationship

This thought has been percolating in my head all day. I don't know if I have enough of it to put out a long, nicely-reasoned post, but I would like to get it out there for you anyways. It's been a long day with a tired baby, so if I get short and incomprehensible, please leave me a comment and I'll fix it!

Conservatives are starting to bring up things that Obama and other Democrats have said in the past regarding taxpayer-funded, single-payer healthcare. Most of it has gone along the lines of "We won't be able to do it to them right away because they'd never accept it, but be sure that we're starting a process if we regain Congress and the White House!" Meanwhile, liberals are complaining mightily that it doesn't conclusively prove anything. That last part, about conclusively proving, is the point.

See, the Scientific Method and the criminal court system are very good and useful in their place. However, they can be overused and often are in modern society. You have to prove your religious beliefs by the Scientific Method or they're invalid. You have to prove your political stance by the Innocent-Until-Proven-Guilty method... only when you're going up against the liberal Democrats, of course. However, you shouldn't need to go that far to oppose new legislation. After all, our government was built in such a way as to make it difficult to pass a new law.

As a woman, I have a certain frame of reference that I use when considering liberal Democrat promises about the health care plan. (This is, by the way, a government-run health care plan meant to fix a private medical insurance issue, not a "public health care option" or a medical insurance fix to a medical insurance issue. Anyways.) My frame of reference is that of a woman seeking to avoid becoming a victim of domestic abuse.

You learn quickly, or you end up learning by experience. You can't try too hard to prove conclusively and without a shadow of a doubt that the guy is going to hit you. You can't analyze him through the scientific method or put him on trial to deliver a guilty verdict only if you are convinced beyond all reasonable doubt. You have to be on your guard, and you have to keep your eyes open.

See, if you confront him directly, you bet he'll say, "Oh no, baby, I would never hurt you." But if he's been rough and physical, pushed you around a little, if he's told his friends he'd smack around any woman of his who didn't get his dinner on time, if he's been known to hit previous girlfriends... you had better start making tracks now. Don't move in with him. For heaven's sake don't have sex with him.

When I view the evidence presented that the liberals are taking us on a trip towards a truly socialist system, that this is just the first step and groundwork is being laid for more, I can't take for granted their claims that it just isn't so. I can't assume that they won't use a power that their bill is giving them just because they said they won't use it. After all, Obama said that he didn't want to run auto companies, and see where that's taken us.

I don't need the proof of the scientific method, or the guilty verdict in a criminal case, to hesitate at handing over the power of my health and life to the government. All I need is about the same level of suspicion that would prompt me to back away from a potentially abusive boyfriend.