This is a classic polarizing topic for debate . . . so much so that very little information is exchanged between the sides because they’ve already made their minds up and facts are not going to change anything. I’m not over-fond of Canada’s healthcare system: my dealings with it have been quite uneven, but generally not good experiences. That aside, there are positive things about the system along with the negative.
The American debate is well past the point of rationality. As an example, the other day I read an announcement that a well-known person was struggling with cancer and that the prognosis was not good (and I’m deliberately not linking to the discussion in question). The responses on that particular page split fairly evenly into three groups:
- People who expressed their sympathy and hopes for her recovery.
- People who pounced on her illness as a reason for implementing Obama’s healthcare proposals right now.
- People who used her illness as a way to decry socialized medicine in all its forms.
Comments from group two failed to notice that the family lives in Canada. Comments from group three failed to notice that this was a human being in pain, facing an even more painful future. Neither group covered themselves with glory.
I can’t even say I was surprised. Disgusted, but not surprised.
