"The vast possibilities of our great future will become realities only if we make ourselves responsible for those realities." -Gifford Pinchot

Health Care Reform:

Just the words make most people who are generally politically inactive or disinterested cringe. We are still recovering from the 2008 elections and are still being bombarded with left- and right-winged strategy and commentary that leaves many of us clinging to our last thread of attention that can be paid to politics.

Believe me, I understand where you’re coming from. But I challenge you to muster up all the political endurance you have left and take note of what’s being talked about here. Read the Cliff’s Notes if you have to. But it’s important and it will affect all of us.

I’ve hyperlinked the video of President Barack Obama’s speech below, it’s a long one so if you have some time, grab a cup of coffee and watch. But there are some interesting and profound points that should traverse partisanship and reach to the core of national well-being and progress. Sure, the details of the plan are important- stagnating the rising cost of coverage for those who have insurance and creating a “marketplace” for public and private insurance companies to compete for those who don’t- but what I find most compelling is Obama’s quest to shift towards an industry and a nation of accountability.

Within the context of the insurance companies, Obama is demanding that the premiums paid by individuals for their health care coverage are actually going to their own personal care. Currently so much of what is paid in premiums is going to overhead costs and is eaten up elsewhere within the bureaucracy of the company, and not just with the for-profit companies, but for Medicare as well. We will hopefully now see either a reduction in costs or an improvement in coverage for those who are already covered.

The accountability extends further- Obama is holding business owners accountable for their employee coverage by requiring them to offer health care or to assist them with their premiums. His hope is that this will reduce the number of those working who are uninsured. And on the micro level, Obama is holding each individual American responsible for seeking out and obtaining their own health insurance. Between the public option and the private companies’ plans, he claims there is no tolerance for negligence. Because those who are uninsured yet still take advantage of the health care institutions are increasing the costs for those who are paying to utilize these services, the reform of the health care system makes it so “everybody does their part.”

“That large-heartedness- that concern and regard for the plight of others- is not a partisan feeling. It is not a Republican or a Democratic feeling. It, too, is part of the American character. Our ability to stand in other people’s shoes. A recognition that we are all in this together; that when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand.”

This type of talk and this movement towards renewed accountability and responsibility creates a socially conscious people, a people genuinely concerned with the well-being of their neighbors. Vestiges of Christ are seen in American politics after all.

Click here to read a transcript and see a video of Obama's speech on 9/9/09