By Susan Stamper Brown
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
If there's one thing I've learned, there's no shortage of
well-meaning people who want the world to be a better place. But, without the
willingness to roll up your sleeves and be part of the solution, you run the
risk of making the situation worse.
Obamacare is a good example. Its European-styled
socialized healthcare system will fail the American people just like Britain's
National Healthcare System (NHS) has failed many of its citizens. When we allow
the government in the name of compassion do for us what we should do for
ourselves, individuals become numbers, treatments become quotas, and lack of
funding sparks rationing.
I learned a similar, albeit much smaller lesson, recently
while adopting a sweet little dog from a rescue organization, which I soon found,
has more compassion than capability. As is typical with many online
advertisements, the dog shown on their website was nothing like the sickly,
tartar-mouthed, urine-drenched dog I picked up. As I write, my pup rests in my
lap, just happy to have a home. Her first 24-hours included several baths, a
vet visit, administering meds, and lots and lots of hugs in between. Although
I've had to give up time and money, there is peace in my heart that only comes
from personal sacrifice.
Arguably, liberals are far more well-known for their love
of animals, but that same affection doesn't extend to those of us walking on
two legs. Most liberals actually believe the ill-equipped and incapable federal
government is better suited to meet our needs. In Britain, however, some
patients are in worse shape than my dog.
According to the San Francisco Examiner, a 2010 report
found many "NHS patients were left unattended 'for unacceptable amounts of
time' in urine-and feces-soaked beds." The NHS system is in a death spiral.
Costs are on the rise and funds that should be used for improving healthcare
are reserved for negligence claims, which rose more than 30 percent from 2010
to 2011, according to the UK Telegraph. And there's no reason to believe
Obamacare will be any better.
It's easy to say you care when you see a need, but caring
is only half the answer. There must be individual action tied to a bleeding
heart. The question is: Do you care enough to do something about it yourself?
Awhile back, author Arthur Brooks wrote an unbiased book
titled, Who Really Cares, based on sound research finding conservatives to be
30 percent more generous than liberals and a Google study a few years ago found
conservatives were twice as charitable as liberals. Of course, there's an exception
to every rule, so if we searched long enough, we'd find a few tightwad
conservatives and a charitable liberal or two.
To be fair, liberals do give liberally, especially with
other people's time and money. Otherwise, the closest many would come to a homeless
or hungry person is if they accidentally hit one with their
government-subsidized Chevy Volt while texting on their federally-funded
Obamaphone.
Statistics prove liberal programs like the war on poverty
do much to line the pockets of bureaucratic administrators, but do little to
help those most in need. Don't believe me? Then take a walk around the White
House after dark to watch the dumpster diving taking place near the First
Family's organic garden. A few years back, in D.C., my husband and I bought
books of McDonald's gift certificates and spent Christmas Eve walking in the
vicinity of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue passing them out to homeless people. We
figured we could get away with giving out greasy hamburger gift certificates to
the Obama's next-door neighbors while they were off eating healthy stuff on
Hawaiian holiday.
As much as this is going to upset liberals, the only
solution to poverty, homelessness and all other social ills affecting this
country is charity motivated by courage and conviction, not penalty of law. We
each have a responsibility to put feet to Jesus' words about caring for the
least among us.
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