This whole healthcare debate has caused me to think about a whole lot of things besides whether or not there should be a public option. The issue always takes me to the basic decision of every human being: to do good or not.
I haven't been able to crystalize all of my thoughts yet, but I know the direction in which I am headed.
So here are my thoughts. Feel free to add your own.
...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...
This country was founded on the concept that the government exists for the express purpose of making people's lives better.
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.
A government that exists for the express purpose of making people's lives better is required by law to "promote the general Welfare" of the people.
Corporations are not people. Although their are provisions afforded to corporations regarding due process, etc. in amendements, there is no requirement that the government should, or is entitled to "promote the general Welfare" of a corporation, or to guarantee a corporation's right to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". The welfare of the people always supercedes the welfare of the corporaion.
For the government to "promote the general Welfare" of the people, it must not and cannot allow corporations to institute business practices that are detrimental to the general welfare of the people.
By extension, if a corporation is engaged in activities that impede the promotion of the general welfare of the people, then it is acting against the interests of the United States government and it's people.
Any entity, either human or corporate, whose actions or inactions result in the death of another human being is guilty of either manslaughter or murder.
If a healthcare corporation denies treatment, and that lack of treatment results in death, then the corporation is guilty of manslaughter or murder.
Any healthcare corporation that denies coverage to an individual due to a pre-existing condition is impeding the general welfare of that individual, and is acting in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
If the government does not prevent a healthcare company from impeding the general welfare of an individual, or group of individuals, then it is in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Any politician that puts the welfare of corporations before the welfare of the people is in violation of the U.S. Constitution.
Finally, a few words about the most common arguement presented by those against healthcare refrom; being that if the government gets involved in healthcare, it would drive the insurance companies out of business.
Tough shit. The government is bound by the U.S. Constitution not only promote the general welfare of the people, but also to legally persue any corporation that is impeding the general welfare of the people.
Eventually, I hope to put aside my raw feelings about corporate america and condense these thoughts into a coherent, well written format. For now though, this will have to do.