Idiot’s Delight

Well, folks, stupidity and ignorance continue unabated. Let’s look at CNBC, the financial TV channel. This channel represents Wall St. Maria Bartiromo is a financial news anchor on this show. She analyzes investments for her viewers. She was interviewing a Democratic legislator about health care reform. He was well informed. She, on the other hand, was attacking government managed health care in the US because it would, in her opinion, lower the quality of medical care. The legislator pointed out that we already have government managed health care and it is called Medicare. Anyone who has Medicare coverage will testify that the quality of medical care is excellent and that they are very well satisfied with the program. Her reply was, “If it is so great, why don’t you have it? I don’t see you using that plan.” The Congressman answered that he was not old enough. He said that he was only 44 and the eligibility age is 65. She laughed disbelievingly and commented, “Yeah…c’mon." Now here is an American working in the center of the main stream media and who should be well informed but does not know or believe that Medicare is for 65 year olds. Is this a tragic joke, or what?

Now let’s take a look at a Town Hall meeting. This man is afraid that the government is going to take away his constitutional rights probably to bear arms. So he is standing by a sign that says “Save the USS Constitution”. Now this confounded individual does not know that the USS Constitution is not the basic principles and laws of our nation but rather the fighting ship called “Old Ironsides” employed in the War of 1812. So what can we say? At this point all one can really say is to quote George Carlin, “Think how stupid the average person is and realize that half of them are stupider than that”.

Now we realize that some of the people raising hell at Town Hall Meetings are “goon squads” sent in by right wing Republicans just to create chaos and make it impossible for anyone to learn anything about health care changes proposed by the administration. But then there are also a large group of right wing Christians, followers of Pat Robertson, who are deluded enough to believe that they speak for God and can carry out the will of God. And they believe that prayer and fasting will save their butts because to them delusion is reality. Now, how does this mistaken reality apply to health care which is the major topic at the meetings? It’s very simple. You do not need health insurance because Jesus will cure you. If you have lost your job, there is no need to worry, because God will take care of you. And according to the “gospel of prosperity”, God will make you materially wealthy.

And it is in this way that a link is forged between the corporations, i.e. the insurance industry, the drug industry, and the for profit health care industry, and the Christian right wing that prevents any change that would improve the lot of the poor and the middle class.

So as a droll wit once said, “You can’t have everything, where would you put it?”


References:

Carlin, George.
Hedges, Chris, Democracy Now.
Huffington Post.