Yesterday I wrote a short comment that resonated with a few readers. Today I'll post a diary entry of the personal experience I was referencing in that comment. It was an early morning cab ride to the airport, shortly after the 2008 election and some months before details of the Affordable Care Act emerged. My written thoughts from back then appear below the squiggle:
Here is a hard working American, ten years removed from his native Somalia. He knows he can never safely return to his old country, but was able to bring his aging father over about six years ago.
Abdi is impressive in both his eloquence and knowledge of American politics, and a great cab driver. He voted for Obama and wonders why the republicans did not run Huckabee. "That would have been a contest," he told me.
But what really gave me pause were his observations about healthcare reform. We shared a good laugh about the absurdity of "euthanizing grandma", before he told me he dreams of a system where he can afford to contribute.
You see, neither Abdi nor his dad can afford health insurance. He knows that if either falls Ill, it will be American taxpayers who come to the rescue. Abdi wants a healthcare system where he can afford to buy coverage for him and his dad. He'll be proud to pay his own way to help support the new country he believes in. This is what America is all about, and this is why we need meaningful healthcare reform. Thanks Abdi for a great ride to the airport and a nice chat to jumpstart my day.
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A few more thoughts. In my heart, I believe that Abdi has seen the day that he wished for - an opportunity to work, and succeed, and care, and more fully participate in our democracy. I believe that his particular story about healthcare fundamentally applies to every hardworking immigrant who now stands to benefit from president Obama's recent executive action. To be able to come out of the shadows and courageously declare “I want to be a meaningful part of this” is absolutely huge.
I do not see all the criminals that the right likes to talk about. I do see many people in communities where I've lived who trim the lawns, cook the food, and wait patiently in designated places for a drive-by offer of an honest day's work. I've watched an old flatbed truck pull up in front of the apartment complex next store, with a half-dozen motivated workers who have been hired to deftly harvest every avocado from that beautiful, large shade tree, in twenty amazing minutes. That's both money going to families and wonderful fruit going to market; a truly compassionate win-win, in my opinion. Add to this all the new opportunities for motivated adults and students who want to become our country's next doctors, engineers and leaders. I smile.