We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

These are foundational words that convey liberty of self, liberty of purpose, liberty of life, and liberty to pursue. There is a tyranny that is building in America today. It is a tyranny called security. It is a tyranny called entitlement. It is a tyranny called comfort. Each of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence forsook their security, sought no entitlement, and gave up their comforts because of a single cause – Liberty.
The United States once had a “government of the people, by the people and for the people”.

Today, there is very little “of” or “by” or “for” but rather, it has become a land of “to”. The systems and institutions (that have grown dramatically since those immortal words of Abraham Lincoln) feel compelled to control and define what people are to do. I was once told that an employer tells you where you will live, what you will eat, and what kind of car you will drive. How can your employer control so much of your life, simply by what you are paid. They also tell you when to work and where. When you took the job, you gave up your ability to determine these things for yourself. You may never have thought about this, but it is nonetheless true. Sadly, we have done the same thing with health care. We have given the most precious gift that we will ever be given and turned it blindly over to a totally disinterested third party – the established medical complex.
How has the country gone from fighting for a concept called liberty to embracing tyranny? Make no mistake; the established medical complex is tyranny. It is their expressed desire to dictate to you, without your input, your health care. Before you complain that they are not dictating, ask yourself a few questions. How much time does my doctor take with me, does he explain everything fully, and does he include me in the decisions about my health? Sadly, the medical complex determines how long a doctor can spend with a patient and how much to include the patient in the process. Clearly, you do not know as much about the body as the doctor, but just as clearly he probably does not know very much about you. He knows your medical history because you filled out a form. But does he KNOW you. Each person is radically unique and therefore each person’s treatment should be radically unique. How can it be, though, if the doctor does not know you?

If you go to the hospital, they will perform an intake on you. You enter their “system”, which in truth, is dictated by a number of other systems called government regulations, insurance procedures, standard of care, compliance, legal safeguards, etc. Once you have entered the system, you are now treated as a part of that system. They put a band around your wrist so they can identify you. The band has a bar code so they can identify you. They will ask you for your birth date so they can identify you. There is a computer application that can identify you. Why do they need to go to such lengths to identify you? Because they don’t KNOW you. When I was young, the doctor who delivered me was the same doctor I went to when I was 21. He KNEW me. Why does the established medical complex try so hard to identify you? Because they don’t always do it so well. Sometimes a medication is given that should not have been given because the person was misidentified. Patients have had the wrong appendage removed because they were not identified correctly. Sometimes a person will be given a treatment intended for another person because the established medical complex could not properly identify the correct patient.

You might reasonably ask, “how often does this happen?” Actually we don’t know. Studies have shown that more than 100,000 people die each year in hospitals who should not have died. How many were misidentified? Logic and reason would tell you that there is a failure to properly know the person that is being treated. This could mean that the chart was not read completely or correctly or it could mean that the identities of patients got mixed up. What it does clearly mean, though, is that the established medical complex failed. It screwed up. We as a people have willingly given up our identity in the hope that we would receive proper care. Often we do but sadly, often we don’t.

Have you ever read the warnings for pharmaceutical drugs? If not, you should. After you read them, another reasonable question might be, “who would take these drugs and risk the listed side effects?” Well, people do. Are most drugs safe? The answer to a clear and logical mind is no. Almost all of them have negative side effects. Then why do people take them so easily. I think the answer is trust. The established medical complex has built a wondrous aura of infallibility and a belief in the populous that the system actually cares for the individual.

I do not believe there is a so-called right to health care. To believe this reduces the freedom and liberty we have over our bodies. Whenever something is declared a right, it means that there is an exchange of something to obtain that right. In welfare, it is an exchange of dignity and determination for money. In health care, it is an exchange of our freedom to make health decisions, the very control of our body, for a nebulous unspoken promise of enhanced life. And to whom do we give this freedom – a disinterested third party called the established medical complex.

Declaration of Health Independence:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with Certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Wellness. That to secure these rights, Establishments/Systems are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the patient, – That whenever any Form of Establishment/System becomes destructive of the individual’s right to control their own body, it is the Right of the Patients to alter or to abolish the Establishment/System, and to institute new Systems, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Safety and Wellness.

http://chicksontheright.com/2011/03/26/ooo-universal-healthcare-proponents-arent-going-to-like-this/comment-page-1/#comment-102346

Commentary Magazine has caught up with is as well. This is very encouraging :)

http://www.sbisvcs.com/Brochures/The%20Worst%20Study%20EVER%20by%20Scott%20W.%20Atlas.pdf

[If you want to see a system that treats people like products, try any place with socialized medicine. Obviously you have never been to England or been to a VA hospital. The great thing about our system is that if you are not happy with your care you can go elsewhere. They have to keep you happy to get your business. I am the parent of a special needs child, I have fired several doctors for displaying inadequate skills and/or critical thinking ability. Between my insurance and the family we have spent likely in excess of a million dollars my child's care. If I was treated like a product I would fire those health care providers on the spot and get new ones as there are plenty of choices. In a private system if you are denied care and something worse happens you can sue, in a government system you cannot sue the government due to sovereign immunity.

It is obvious that you are a young man making assumptions, the truth is Josh that many of the assumptions you are making are exactly the opposite in reality. As you get older you will realize this. - Editor]

As John Adams so eloquently put it, “Facts are stubborn things.” I applaud your committment to factual, verifiable information and honest analysis thereof, vs. the typical delusions and fantasies peddled by the liberal left as undeniable truths. It would REALLY be nice if a single-payer, government-guided, universal healthcare system actually provided better, more affordable healthcare for the entire population, but thus far there is no verifiable proof that that is the case; if anything the evidence points in exactly the opposite direction.

In any case, thanks for being a sane voice.

[Thanks so much for your kind words.

Capitalism is not an end unto itself either. Societies need to have personal responsibility and restraint and these things require a moral code which most progressives reject. - Editor]

And I hate to tell you this, but the WHO put your country as 37th behind all these other “socialized” countries. You can gnash your teeth at it all you want, it still doesn’t change that fact. You’re only angry (along with the rest of the replicons and some democrips) that your country isn’t as good at this as other countries, even though you’ve been bragging for decades at how you have the best, even though it’s proven you don’t LOL.

Your system is a failure, get over it.

[Maskedman,

I will spare you the humiliation of publishing your name as you have quite made the fool of yourself here. Editor]

Keep up the good work!

[Thanks James, but as you can see the left rarely accepts delivery of verifiable facts, but maybe that is the point of trying to talk with them. The far left lives in a world of self deception and lies, much like the elite media culture.

For some reason I am reminded of the Sarah Palin interview on ABC, where she gave the same answers to NATO questions that Obama and Edwards gave, the Huffington Post praised them and trashed her as a dangerous war monger. - Editor]

I would like to clarify regarding the body of your text: “The state guides health care for our two closest allies: Great Britain and Canada.”

This is not entirely true. In Britain the state guides Health Care, but not in Canada. In Canada each province handles health care individually. The provinces determine how much money to allocate towards health care. The actual policy decisions rest mostly with two bodies: Hospitals and District Health Authorities. So while your citation of a legal case involving Quebec could be a valid criticism of Quebec’s health care, it may not be valid for other provinces.
Now this is where it becomes surprising. Canadian hospitals are actually privately run (not privately owned,) They have their own board of directors, and their own CEOs. Therefore, unlike in the UK where a physician is a government employee (publically owned, publically run by the NHS), in Canada a physician is a private employee. Canadian health clinics are often (usually, even) entirely private (owned and operated), but the money comes from a government source.
The main “nationwide” law is the Canada Health Act, which mandates a single-payer system.

I have a question for you: If the U.S. system is superior to the British and Canadian systems, it begs the question, why does Canada have a higher life expectancy and lower infant mortality rate? Is the public health system in the U.S. (public health referring to the discipline, not “public healthcare”) the real problem? These two criteria are often used as gold standards for comparing systems (as a way to provide less biased results), although this is contentious, and combines public health issues with clinical health issues.

I’m curious to see what your feelings are on the French Healthcare system. France is currently rated as the having the best healthcare system by the OECD.

Finally, what do you think about economist Paul Krugman’s assertion that

I hope that you don’t think that anything in this letter is “hate”, I do disagree with the opinion you’ve presented, but I still find what you say interesting. I’d like to hear more about your views.

[I only refer to someone as a dummy if the argument they present was so silly, or already well addressed if they had just bothered to actually read before they post. The man below earned his title :-)

As far as "hate" know it when I see it and your post was fine. It is 2 am and I am wiped out. Thanks for stopping by. - Editor]

Here are the real facts on breast cancer. http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/dyp193v1

[Hey there Ace, read comment number one, this has already been debunked. By the way, it is spelled Canada. - Editor]

“You spend twice as much on health care as Canada/England”

There are four reasons for this.

1. Our system has a primary focus on saving lives and improving their quality, whereas some other systems focus is on saving money and preserving the “system”.

2. Americans are wealthier and we just have more money to spend on it. It is important not to underestimate this reason. As always the more money you have the more you spend.

3. We have lots of injured military veterans who need care, more than most other countries.

4. The United States has an aging baby boom problem that is worse than most other countries, so it is understandable that the expense of end of life care is higher for us.

Another argument I have seen is the following :”The WHO report you linked shows that the avg health of the avg American is less than that of some other countries.” This is true but it has nothing to do with health care and has everything to do with a declining culture that eats too much McDonalds and smokes too much.

CNN is to only true non-partisian cable network. Major networks just report the new. Two weeks ago there were 60 guests against health care reform and on 6 for it. How is that fair and balanced. Fox is a joke.

[All of your hate aside, the studies proven this beyond doubt. ALL of the other networks demonize and marginalize the right, the traditional, and the libertarian, Fox is the only network that treats them fair, so to someone as propagandized as you I can see how you would think that Fox is "right wing".

- Editor]

Anyone who wants to see how the U.S. ranks against Britain and other European countries, vis a vis the health of our people, check out the World Health Organization statistics which are based on reputable studies.

Guess what? We’re NOT ranked as healthy as Britain and elsewhere, by many measures.

[IUSB Vision Editor Responds -

Hate is not real refutation, facts I can verify are. - Editor]