The United States has recently joined the rest of the world’s industrialized nations in addressing the issue of health care reform. A little slow to the party perhaps, but still there nonetheless. There are now signs that efforts are actually being made to resolve a problem that is spiraling out of control.

It hasn’t been without it’s share of spewing of vitriol, hate and fear. In the lead-up to voting, you heard plenty of misinformation. It went well beyond the bill itself. You had conservative pundits and talking heads making statements about the demise of democracy. You might have even heard mention of the impending onset of Communism and, yes, even Armageddon. Hysteria. Fear. Chicken Little was actually making a 21st century appearance of sorts.

But it gets even more humorous.

Have a listen to Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele and see for yourself.

This has all become rather ridiculous. Not that we haven’t heard this type of thing before. I think people were going to lose their freedoms if they voted in favor of Medicare 45 years ago too. Now all of the same people are doing everything in their power, 45 years later, to maintain it! I think the same holds true for civil rights and for women having the right to vote. I am sure that all of those things were going to lead to Armageddon as well. But fear does wonders in promoting the status quo. We’ve seen it time and time again.

I have yet to see Armageddon strike any other industrialized nation that has universal health care. Well, at least not yet.

President Obama even went so far as to respond:

“Leaders of the Republican Party, they called the passage of this bill 'Armageddon.' Armageddon.  'End of freedom as we know it.' So after I signed the bill, I looked around to see if there any -- asteroids falling or -- some cracks opening up in the Earth. It turned out it was a nice day. Birds were chirping.  Folks were strolling down the Mall. People still have their doctors.”

I suspect this and many more sound bites will be resounding in about 6 months, when we start to realize the effects of the Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act -

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, there has been a stunning display of even more insanity. Just remember that when you don’t win, you can always sue the government and use the 10th Amendment as your rationale. And to think, the Republicans want to decrease frivolous lawsuits with medical malpractice reform – then move ahead to create their own frivolous lawsuit that uses even more taxpayer dollars.

Now we have people receiving hate mail and death threats because they chose to vote the way they did. I think we’ve seen all of these behaviors many times before now – again, typically in scenarios that challenge the status quo.

And now, for something completely different. A not-so-subtle reminder:

1. Elected officials voted for the bill.

2. We the people voted for those officials based on the rules of our democracy, the Constitution of the United States of America. Those rules are not going away any time soon.

3. If you have a problem with the aforementioned results, make your legislator accountable to you and not the special interests. 

While we’re trying to bring a faint voice of reason to the discussion, how about a touch of idealism. Is there any chance that people can relinquish the blind allegiance to the party line just for the sake of the party line? I find it hard to believe that there isn’t one Republican that truly felt that the bill would benefit their constituents, nor Democrat who thought it was counter to theirs. Strange how that is. I find it incomprehensible that a bill was deemed by 220 Democrats to fill the needs of THEIR constituents in their blue state, but right next door, in that red state, it wouldn’t be of benefit to them. Or vice versa. Funny thing, those politics.

In the midst of all of this, sales of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” have tripled in the year after the election. Apparently Republicans and Tea Partiers nationwide are flocking to the book in droves. Sadly, it’s another case of selective attention. Rand also writes about the voice of reason, something that seems to have been lost in the vitriol and hatred.

Please, stop the insanity. Support the democratic process and don’t just vote responsibly – hold your legislators accountable. Think. Reflect. Reason. And don’t worry, Chicken Little – the sky is not falling.

Photo credit: epicbeer