Yesterday evening President Obama laid out the case for American intervention in Libya.
"Turning a blind eye to the atrocities in other countries", is not the American way.
The president continued:
it was in the national interest of the United States to stop a potential massacre that would have “stained the conscience of the world.”
"Some nations may be able to turn a blind eye to atrocities in other countries. The United States of America is different. "
He went on:
“I believe that this movement of change cannot be turned back, and that we must stand alongside those who believe in the same core principles that have guided us through many storms: our opposition to violence directed against one’s own citizens; our support for a set of universal rights, including the freedom for people to express themselves and choose their leaders; our support for governments that are ultimately responsive to the aspirations of the people.”
"Staining the conscience of the world . . .turning a blind eye on atrocities"
As I listened to him speak, I could not help but think about the 45,000 Americans we lose every year, because our government continues to see healthcare as a privilege not a right. This fact should stain the conscience of America.
People make the point over and over that this grotesque figure--the numbers of Americans who die every year due to being uninsured--represents the casualties on 9/11 many times over.
We Americans are righteously told by the president that we don't turn a blind eye on atrocities in other countries. But ask the Americans that I met at Free Clinics across the length and breadth of the nation, if our country has turned a very blind eye on them and this uniquely American atrocity.
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