That Government Bureaucrat is Not Some Zany Villain - She's My Mom

When Republicans get on the media to talk about healthcare reform these days, they always take pains to insult my mother. Yes, my very own mommy. For she is the person they have cast into the role of death-deciding villain.

My mother works for the State of Oregon in the Department of Senior and Disabled Services. She has a degree as a Medical Assistant, which she uses every day as she helps people who are elderly and/or disabled to get the assistance they need to survive. She is a government bureaucrat. She is not a nameless, faceless villain who tries her best to deny people the help they need to survive. Admittedly, she is disappointed by how often the system is exploited. But she is also gratified that she can help as many people as she can.

Have you met people who live on welfare? I have. I have relatives who have abused the system their whole lives. I have other relatives who really really tried to make it, but needed the stopgap to get back up on their feet and become self-sufficient. Will any social-good system be exploited? Certainly. There are certainly people who receive charity from churches and nonprofits who could make it on their if they cared to.

Does that mean that we should stop these programs? I say no. There are too many examples I know of people really need help. My church teaches that when someone is in need, we shouldn't blame the needy person. We should give if we can. And if we can't, we should be able to honestly tell ourselves, "I can't help this person, but I would if I could."

For instance, I know someone very well who has serious health issues. She was unable to keep a stable job, and of course unable to afford health insurance. The situation wasn't one she chose, and it wasn't for lack of trying. Thankfully, she has been able to pull through it, and now is glad to contribute her tax dollars to helping others in the same situation. Another family member paid into these programs her whole life, and never expected to be on the receiving end. Through a terrible chain of events that tore her life apart, she depends on help from the government to survive.

No matter the program, there will be a pool of money, people who want the money, and people who decide how the money gets distributed. Some people who want the money won't deserve it. Some people who distribute the money will make bad choices. But that's what we got, because we aren't omniscient. We can leave someone with lupus to die on the street, or we can help them. It certainly isn't any individual's choice to become sick.

So don't blame the bureaucrats. They're not the bad guys here. The bad guys in the health care debate are those who refuse to be the Good Samaritan. Wasn't the guy who made up that story a Christian? Somebody named Jesus?