I posted last week, and shared some personal letters from a good friend in Sweden.
I shared with my friend how discouraged and angry I had become with the 'fight' to get necessary social reforms enacted here. Here is his reply. (Although you have to track through some grammer issues, it is so worth the effort.)
It is poignant, sincere, and honest. Hopefully, you will also feel strengthened (as I was) after hearing my friends perspective.
I am amazed about the debate of health care in USA. I think that most people in Europe shake their heads and smile, perhaps laughs about this debate. It is so sad, so unnecessary – and the people who is against a health care reform do not understand what they are talking about.
US have, for many decades ago, the "communist fare" and many people was afraid for socialism and put that together with communism. I am not a communist, far from it. I am born into the health care system we have here in Sweden. I can only say that our type of health care system works – and it works fine. For everybody. For rich and poor. For young and old. If you get thick, the health care system takes care of you – and it cost you nothing - because you have already pay for it with a small amount of money every month.
A society must take care of their citizens because the citizens is the society = we take care of all of us. To pay every month a small amount of money, probably perhaps less then half what it costs today with a privet insurance, is a good system. It is cheaper, no one decide if the insurance cover your illness or not, no one decides if you have the right to go by ambulance or taxi to the hospital- and no one decide if your illness is one of the illnesses you can be treated freely. It is simple. If you are thick – you also get help – and it is free.
We have of cause some laws around this. Teeth and dentists I pay for my self, they are not in the health care – but I get some money, about half the money it costs from the state. All types of illness are in the health care – but we are also beware for frauds and so on. All people are not honest – and we know that.
Health care have nothing to do with socialism or communism. It is way to take care of the citizens in a country. It is sort of measure of how much a government feels and respect its citizens. Especially the poor part of its citizens – but mainly all citizens.
I think your president is doing a very good thing – but I also think that this will take a long time to do. Mostly because many US citizens do not know that nearly all the worlds industrial countries have a free, or semi free, health care system thins years back – and that US is one of the last country’s who have not.
The fear of "communism" or "socialism"( = people do not understand better) are still living in US. The fact that most US people have nothing to compare with – is also perhaps, one of the biggest reason to this fear. In my mind, US people must be educated about the rest of the world and how other people live their lifes.
I look at CBS for some days ago. A US woman was very angry and she say that US have the best hospitals and the best doctors in the world. I, and all Europeans who see this, laughs and shake our heads. US population die young, about 10-15 years before we do. US have one of the highest baby-death in the world today – in the same level as some African country’s – and so on. She did not know better – because she have nothing to compare with.
Most Europeans have been in other country’s on vacation, studying – or just live there for a while. Most European’s know a lot about US and compare the systems we live in. Most Europeans knows that US today lays far back compare to most European country’s. The problem, as I se it, is that US people do not knows that. They still cry out in television and movies that US is the best country in the world – and the world laughs and shake their heads – and we still love USA, no problem about that. We all (most of us) love USA. USA is a part of us, the same culture, almost the same lifestyle – but today USA is the little brother, not the older, leading one.
So, the problem, in my opinion, is that US people knows to little about the rest of the world. They are in a way living and thinking that they are the only superpower nation in the world today (and you are) – but that is the military situation – not everything else. In some ways US are far back in development. Look at your infrastructure, your communications, your "city plumming" your way of put out gases and dirt in the air – you are far back. US are 5% of the worlds population – but you put out 25% of the worlds pollution...and you, up to now, will not take responsibility for that pollution. – And the rest of the world knows this – and they do not like it. It changes the word populations way to look at USA.
USA people have a positive attitude to life and problems. That is good. In Europe we are more negative. We se often more problems then solutions in our privet lifes. We do not give so much complements to each other. I hope we will get a more positive view when we se our daily situations, something like US have today. I am 63. I have never, not even once, in my life stand up and cry that I love Sweden. Everybody knows that I do – because every Swede loves Sweden, we do not need to talk about that. It is the same in most country’s here – so we are a little amazed about the American way of express their love to US.
In US people often say: my country right or wrong! I never say that. I do not even believe in that. If my country do something wrong – I do not support it. IF Sweden attacks Norway – I never take part in that. If a country, any country, attacks Sweden – I fight to my death to protect Sweden.
In my strange English I have tried to explain some of the things I have noticed about the differences between US and European way of life. It perhaps seams that I do not like US – but I do. US is a great land. I respect US and I like US. But not everything- I do not like everything in Sweden either. But I try to chage those parts to something better in a democratic way.
So my friend, fight for your health care, it is worth the fight, healthcare is something good for a country – and in the end, after a half generation, US population lives 10-15 years longer. That is a very nice thing. That’s worth all the struggle.
In my mind, study statistics and compeer US to other industrial country’s. How long lifes people have, how many babys of 1000 who dies – and so on. Use that statistics in your work for health care. No one have a strong argument if you tell him that his children will live 10-15 years longer if he says yes to health care...at least in my mind.