Most of the people I try to discuss politics with are pretty slow. Regardless of whether they are enthusiastic Obama supporters before I was, or brain-dead, die-hard Republican zombies, they share a common failing: They cannot process information and synthesize a coherent philosophy. You have to deal with these people differently than you would with rational human beings.
The first and most important principle to follow is that facts and figures are meaningless to dumb people. The health care debate is a prime example. It is a documented fact that thousands of people die in this country every year because they are denied health services. Conservative estimates a year or two ago were in the 20,000-to-25,000 range. Yesterday, I've been hearing the figure of 45,000. That's a staggering number of people, and it's appalling when you consider that it's zero in countries with a well-developed public health system. There, if you need care, you get it. You might still die, but it won't be the result of being denied care. That means your death wouldn't count as an avoidable death. Here, you might die in the street like a dog simply because you didn't have enough insurance, cash on hand or eligibility for a government program. That means your death was avoidable, but you died simply because that some kind of care that would have made a difference was denied. Your death then gets counted as an avoidable death. It's that simple and people still don't get it.
Given that stark reality, the thinking person says, "Gee, we should have a health care system where everyone gets the care they need and damn the cost." There are only two kinds of people who shrug off the grim reality of avoidable death, (1) the very wealth who are smugly secure that there own resources will be adequate for any foreseeable need and (2) those too stupid to realize that a few unforeseen contingencies would put them in dire peril of dying. Since we know that about 2/3 of the people are strongly in favor of government-sponsored universal medical care, what is that other 1/3 thinking? They can't be all rich people because we know that only about 2% of the population is rich, that is, well off enough to correctly assume that they have adequate resources for any contingency. That leaves at least 30% of the population that is seriously deluded. How can this be?
The answer is obvious, but we cringe at the prospect of judging so many of our fellows so harshly. They are stupid. They don't know what's in their own best interest. The facts are there, but no matter how you phrase it, they can't get their heads around the idea that lack of health care is killing them. Why don't they get it?
It's pointless to agonize over why people don't understand the obvious. The challenge still remains to find a way to get the message across. This is why I am always trying a new angle. I've tried a lot of ploys on the issue of universal health care. For most part, they are ineffective. Here are some of them.
- Tell the medical horror story of my own mother's death from cancer. (They tell me about their own mother or aunt.)
- Tell about someone I know who needs a life-saving surgical procedure and can't afford it. (They tell me about their own relative or friend, but then say, "I'm OK, though. Knock on wood.")
- Break down the national statistic to something more understandable, such as there being about 100 avoidable deaths in each Congressional district every year. ("So what? You can prove anything with statistics!")
- Ask if they or someone they know has ever gone without medical care because they could not pay for it. (Everyone does, but somehow they don't think that they are at serious risk.)
- Ask what they think about the people on TV begging for contributions for a transplant or some other operation. ("I give as much as I can!")
- Ask if they have had a checkup in the last year or so, and if not, why they have not. (Almost no one will immediately cop to not being able to afford one, even though this reason is the one that emerges after an extended discussion.)
- Ask if they can connect the dots regarding their own complaints about health insurance with universal health care as a right of citizenship. (Blank stare.)
- Ask just exactly what their beef is about the horrific specter of socialized medicine that they dread so much. ("What are you, a communist?")
- Ask what make them think that they will beat the odds and never need more health care than they can afford or will always have insurance that covers it. ("Hey, I'm lucky! I won $100 in pull tabs last week!")
- Tell them horror stories about denial of coverage and cancellation of policies. ("Oh, that's someone else, not me!")
- Ask what would happen to them if they lost that job they have with such great health care benefits. (Most think they would "be fine" and be able to get "affordable health insurance".)
Blithe ignorance is rampant. I'm pretty much tapped out on this. Have you got any ideas? How do you make the point to the chowderheads of the world?