Sign Alan Grayson's "Medicare For All" Petition

For me, being an American is about an opportunity for some semblance of dignity regardless of education or political connections. That regardless of how smart or connected you are, that if you are willing to work hard, there is an opportunity for some type of dignified, self-determined existence which embraces the Rights of Man.

Basic human dignity is far more important to human needs than is the bastardized corporatist-crony capitalist American dream of slaving away for someone else, for whatever scraps you manage to accumulate. Then if you are lucky enough, have the bait dangled in front of you that you too could make a billion dollars. All ten of you. All it takes is hard work, a little luck and odds of being hit by lightning while sitting in your living room.

Those against health care reform use tactics which dehumanize the lack of dignity in the struggle of people who cannot afford health care or who have dutifully paid their premiums only to have insurance companies dump them when they actually need the insurance. To be one of the statistically 44,000 Americans a year who die because they lack of access to health care. Or the millions who go bankrupt every year due to catastrophic medical expenses. Dehumanization of these outcomes is necessary for the status quo's fear mongering to have any impact. For were all Americans to have to bear witness to Americans treated like cattle and even dying unnecessarily, it would clearly cause an outrage beyond words. To see the names, faces and stories behind this epidemic crisis would be the end of the status quo.

It is hard to watch this video and not have great compassion for those who struggle with death, fear, impossible choices and an inability to care for their loved ones due to a broken health care system. And to hear the personal health experiences Grayson had as a child. Asking a seven year old boy to deal with the dynamics of life and death due to lack of heatlh insurance is something no one should have to deal with in a country where CEOs make tens to hundreds of millions of dollars and where banks can make hundreds of billions of dollars in usurious, even criminal profits. Grayson talks about Republicans wishing to deregulate health insurance by allowing insurance companies to sell their products across state lines. To take away the state's right to regulate insurance and put it in the hands of Washington bureaucrats. Make no mistake, this is surely understood by the corporatist crooks in our federal political system. This idea is only being forwarded because it will line the pockets of Washington Republicans with more health insurance money. Just as they did with all of the credit default swaps and other Wall Street insurance products that should have be regulated by state insurance commissions but because of bribery of our federal government, they were excluded from state control and regulation.

If you want the buy your health insurance from CEOs granting themselves up to $500 million a year while they deny coverage to sick and dying Americans, that's your right. But, I would much rather have an option to buy into Medicare and actually pay for it myself so it has no impact on the federal budget. Medicare is a health plan that was devised for Americans before the corporatocracy completely took over our federal government and jammed this mandated private for-profit health insurance fraud down our throat. Medicare far from perfect but as someone who buys my own health insurance, I would much rather buy a Medicare policy. And for those who point the Medicare as a mess, well, maybe it is. But it's a mess which I have never heard a customer say they want to opt out of. It's sort of like the hocus pocus with Canadian national health care. We hear the horror stories but ask any Canadian if they want to trade it for the hellaciously ridiculous health care system we have in America.

I would encourage you to sign Grayson's petition to make Medicare available immediately to all Americans willing to pay their own money to join the plan at WeWantMedicare.com And do it right now. The bill is now up to 80 co-sponsors and nearly 60,000 petition signatures.

More videos of people who wrote in to share their stories of unnecessary deaths. Deaths of people who are unable to afford basic health care at NamesOfTheDead.com