I am not going to do well in jail. I am not good in enclosed spaces, I dislike noise, I am not physically tough. But I read a diary, and some of the comments, and I believe that I am going to end up there, and I'm willing to do it. Because sometimes civil disobedience is worth the ultimate in discomfort. "Standing up" has GOT to mean putting oneself in a terrible position, if one believes enough. And I do.
Here's what I read:
[A]fter working hard and donating money and calling representatives and going door-to-door dropping off political literature and writing letters and articles - all while working to pay the bills, and often without the health insurance that every other developed nation on the planet takes for granted - tens of millions of Americans had hoped for more from the "Party of Change."
Apparently, the change in question was just a switch from getting stabbed in the front to being stabbed in the back. [...]
Here's a proposal - why don't we just hand the health insurance companies a big fat annual check and save ourselves a bunch of paperwork? It should be about as effective, and at least then we can dispense with all the lies and false hope. [...]
The bottom line: either give me a public option with your mandate, or drop the public option AND the mandate. I will NOT sit here and allow a mandate to purchase private services become a condition of American citizenship.
The diarist promises to cease paying insurance premiums and will refuse to pay the mandate fine. He/she understands that this can land him/her in court or in jail. I stand with him/her.
I understand that the first argument against this civil disobedience is "but you have car insurance...isn't that because it's a government requirement?" My answer is yes, but, they won't put me in jail for not having a license (well, if I were a brown person in Joe Arpaio's world, sure, but not here) -- therefore, there is no loss of liberty.
But going to jail for refusing to have health insurance is something worth standing up for. First, in a complete cognitive dissonance disconnect, if I go to jail, I will HAVE government-paid health insurance. Second, the government, MY government, has left me no options. Third, I share some of the blame.
I am was a "Democrat's Democrat" - I supported the party, its causes, and its candidates. I registered voters, informed others, went door-to-door, contributed money. Last year, I ran a phone bank which, the weekend before the election alone, reached over 20,000 voters, and we started dialing in the summer, so you can only imagine the number. I SUPPORTED THE ELECTION of the people who have said no to health reform in every way humanly possible. Since the legislation started winding its way through the process, I have likewise done all that I could possibly have done.
And for what? For a package that will make things worse rather than better. For a situation that will cause even more people to become uninsured than lack coverage now. For a set of party leaders who have sold out one of the most basics of stated tenets. (It's in the platform - I'm coming to the conclusion that I may be the only person aside from the drafters who actually read it.)
I have no choice but to refuse to carry insurance: to stand with those for whom that choice is made, not optional. It is the only moral and ethical thing to do. To stand up and say "NO MORE" in the only way people seem to understand: dollars.
Would the election of the other side have been worse? I know that's the question some of you will ask. In most regards, yes. But in terms of health care, I don't see what they could have proposed that would have been worse. In fact, this IS the "reform" the GOP wants in many ways. Insurance for the rich only. They, however, oppose mandates. The Democrats are saying "Pay premiums you can't afford, pay a fine, or go to court and possibly to jail." THIS IS HEALTH CARE FOR ALL? No siree, this is not.
Normally, this would be where I would ask you to join me: to sign a petition or take some other action. But not this time: I would never ask another person to risk their life, nor to risk arrest.
I will miss Olivia: I'm betting I can't bring my canine companion with me. That should indicate to you how serious I am about this.