“One of the these days, you and I, are going to spend our sunset years telling our children, and our children’s children, what it was once like in America when men were free.” Ronald Reagan – 1961
Below is a ten-minute audio clip that Ronald Reagan made back in 1961 — back in the days when he was still an actor and not our president. It’s shocking. It’s accurate. It’s sobering. And it’s even scary. It’s scary because if we’re not careful, if we become careless and lazy and allow our government to worm it’s way into our lives, our way of life, our American freedoms will cease to exist.
Our government has been trying to push socialized medicine on us for DECADES. And they will continue to try and push a socialized agenda on us for DECADES to come because they want to ultimately control us. We must not allow that to happen.
This may seem overly dramatic to you. And you may think I’m promoting fear. But our situation is serious, and it’s dangerous. This is our country we’re talking about. We are not a third-world country. WE ARE AMERICA. We are fierce and we are proud and we do not need NOR want a bunch of self-serving, lying, immoral, crooked politicians taking over our lives. We have earned our freedoms and I’ll be DAMNED if I sit passively by and watch some control-hungry administration take it away from us.
We are one step away from socialism. For if we REDEFINE our health care system, turn it over to the government, then we will have opened the door to future programs that will take over other aspects of our lives. Our freedoms to choose to become who we want to become, to learn what we wish to learn, to BE unique individuals, will be taken away from us. And once we’ve crossed that threshold, there will be NO going back.
I implore you to listen to President Reagan’s speech below. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat, Republican, an Independent or anything in between. If you’re an American citizen, you NEED to hear this. You OWE your children a good and wise decision for their future.
Do we really want to create this sort of nightmare for OUR CHILDREN to grow up in? Really? I adore my sons. I would die for my sons. I am scared for my sons.
Let’s make our voices heard. We do NOT WANT SOCIALIZED MEDICINE. We want reform. We want better programs to help those that need it. We want to keep our private insurance and promote healthy competition. We want better policies. We want to help people, not make them dependent on a flawed and self-serving entity known as our government.
Write your representative (please be patient, I believe the site is getting a lot of traffic because it’s been coming up pretty slow for me – a good sign!)
Learn how to write a letter to congress and make your letter succinct, firm, yet courteous. Don’t let your passion get in the way of making your point.
I’m composing mine now. Are you?
Write From Karen 
I’m curious: is health care a right or a privilege? I think, in essence, this is really the heart of the health care issue.
If I say right, then it’s implied that everyone should pay for it. Which we can’t afford and is not fair, overall.
But if I say privilege, then that implies that I’m cold-hearted and selfish because what about the people who can’t afford it? Don’t they have the right to health care?
I found this interesting article about whether health care is a right or a privilege.
It seems, to me at least, like that is something that needs to be decided upon before further action is taken.
One of the traditional methods of imposing a stateism or a socialism on a people, has been by way of medicine.
Reagan was saying that the proponents of the Medicare program were smart enough to call it something other than it was, an aspect of socialized medicine, in order for people to vote in favor of it. Medicare was meant to be a “foot in the door”, to be a stepping stone to more socialized programs later. But People wised up to the plan, apparently. Since our doctors today are not currently limited on where they can go and how many patients they can see, it’s safe to assume that the proposal that was presented to the people back in that time period was rejected.
And even today, our debate is now about health care, not health insurance.
You really want the government to tell you where to go, who to see, whether or not you should be given medicine to extend your life or whether it’s too costly to allow you to continue to live?
You really want the government to control your lives and your decisions? Because if we allow socialized medicine in our society, that is exactly what will happen. We will be accountable to the government. Unhappy with your doctor? Tough. You can’t go anywhere else because it’s not allowed (unless you want to “pay” a penalty. Literally. Why should we be forced to pay to disagree from the government?)
I guess we better hope that the doctor who is assigned to us knows what he’s doing.
I think personal responsibility is called for here. Stop looking to the government to take care of you; take care of yourselves.
Our government is trying to redefine our program, not reform it. There is NO QUESTION that our healthcare system is flawed. None. We need to re-evaluate our programs and make healthcare more accessible to everyone and to lower outrageous costs, but we also need to make sure it’s fair to everyone. Why should I have to pay for someone who is unwilling to take care of themselves? Established medical conditions are one thing – negligence and poor choices are quite another.
I posted the Reagan speech to show that history repeats itself, hence the reason it’s so important to learn about our history, so we don’t make the same mistakes again. Our government has been trying to control us since it’s inception. Our government exists to bring structure to our society, to supply laws, boundaries and rules for which we need to live. They DO NOT exist to take care of us or to dictate our lives.
And social medicine does that. It squashes freedoms and choices. And if we allow just one part of our lives to be dictated, then where does it stop?
But it’s not only the caveats in the proposal that have me worried, it’s the urgency. I realize that healthcare is a big concern. I realize that something needs to be done. But we’re proposing completely wiping out our existing system and starting over. Why not implement changes, see if they work first, before resorting to something this drastic. The bill is so complicated, not even our own president can explain it. That’s not exactly reassuring. Our government expects us to hand our lives over with no questions asked? To trust them? Are you kidding me? Look at the other federal/state run programs. Name one of them that is run efficiently and not on the verge of bankruptcy.
And you’re right, critical thinking IS called for here. Exactly how are we going to pay for this program? We’ve already pumped TRILLIONS of dollars back into our economy and what has it gotten us? Banks who are too afraid to loan and massive job losses. People ARE scared because our country is on the fast track to bankruptcy. The fear strategy rears it’s ugly head every time something like this crops up because it’s an effective way to corral people into doing what you want them to do; it’s called pathos. Affect people’s emotions and it will provoke a reaction. Politicians have been using this rhetoric since the beginning of time.
Let’s look past the fears and approach this rationally. Allowing our government to take over a huge aspect of our lives, limiting our choices and taking precious freedoms away from us, no matter the program, is unacceptable. Period.
Let’s rework our existing program, not redefine it.
Reagan was talking about Medicare you know? The exact same people are trying to shout down their congressmen are complaining about any changes to their Medicare program…talk about irony. Let me ask you this…have any of Reagan’s fears about the specifics about the Medicare program (e.g., doctor’s being told where they have to live) come true?
Yikes…do some critical thinking.
Do we really want to listen to a 40+ year old rant from Ronald Reagan? The world and our country is a different place than it was then.
Fact is our country is not taking care of our own and isn’t a corrupt insurance monopoly worse than a health plan that will take care of everyone?
Don’t let fear drive your mentality. Think for yourself and use some real reasoning instead of being spoon fed everything by Fox News.
Actually, people would be better off listening to what Obama is saying and making up their own minds about how they feel, rather than falling prey to the scare tactics of people blindly sticking the “socialized medicine” label on his plan.
While we’re talking famous quotes, how about this one, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”.
Amen!