While the purpose of my blog is to tell my story of finding freedom as a pastor's wife, I also like to write about my political views. My articles also reflect a personal journey.
No Longer a Single-Issue Voter
By Shelley Warner | October 29, 2008
No Longer a Single Issue Voter
To see my article that appeared in the Boise Weekly during the final weeks of the presidential campaign, click on the following link.
No Longer a Single-Issue Voter
By Shelley Warner | October 29, 2008
Calling for a More Compassionate Government
For decades, I believed in small government. If the topic of welfare programs or national health insurance came up, Republican leaders I trust warned, "Socialism!" They said, "It's not the government's place to help the needy; that should be the responsibility of the private sector." I bought into that philosophy, but had a nagging doubt: The needs of the poor are so great, how can the private sector ever provide enough help?
I applaud our local charities and the needs that they meet, as well as charities that do a heroic job on a larger scale, nationally and internationally. People in the private sector have done many things to help, but their resources are limited.
I know a man with learning disabilities who’s worked hard at the jobs he’s held, but has always struggled financially and never had health insurance. While suffering from depression, he went to a community clinic to get free antidepressants. The medication interfered with his sleep, so he went back to the clinic and asked if they could change his medication. “We’re sorry,” they explained, “this is the only antidepressant we can give out.” As a result, the man went without medication.
That clinic’s resources are limited. The private sector doesn’t always provide the help that’s needed. That’s why I believe we need some kind of national health insurance to help people who can’t afford adequate health care.
This issue was debated during the presidential campaign. I read a letter to the editor in our local paper, The Idaho Statesman in which the writer asked, “Why should I work so hard and pay taxes to help those who don’t work?” I once shared that writer’s view. But I’ve come to realize that many people work hard yet still live in poverty. Maybe they’ve faced limitations in life that prevented them from getting better job skills; so now their economic opportunities are limited. Or maybe they’ve faced hardships for reasons beyond their control. They need our compassion.
In the final weeks of Barack Obama’s campaign, conservatives accused him of promoting socialism. That was intended to scare the electorate. I looked up socialism on Answers.com and found this definition: “Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.” That’s not what Obama was calling for. Like some other caring public servants before him, he wants our government to be more compassionate toward people in need.
I think back to the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson. He was unpopular with many because he escalated the Vietnam War, but I appreciate that he wanted our country to be a “Great Society” that would provide “abundance and liberty for all.” He signed civil rights legislation and helped to create Medicare and Medicaid, programs that many of us are thankful to have now. (My two-year old granddaughter was born with heart problems and other serious health issues. If not for Medicaid, she may have gone without life-saving surgeries.)
LBJ said that a Great Society “demands an end to poverty and racial injustice, to which we are totally committed in our time. But that is just the beginning.” LBJ wasn’t able to accomplish all that he wanted, but it was a beginning. Others, like Senator Ted Kennedy, have called for us to do more for the poor. And now Barack Obama has taken up the cause.
It is a cause that’s been around for centuries. An ancient Hebrew Prophet challenged his people to “loose the chains of injustice…share your food with the hungry, and provide the poor wanderer with shelter” (Isaiah 58:6-7). The same moral imperative calls to our private sector and to our government today. Can we do it? YES, WE CAN!
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