Law vs. speculation
Collin Reischman
– Managing Editor –
Politicians, voters and concerned citizens are now capable of predicting the future.
Well, not really. Nobody can accurately and routinely predict what is yet to come, though you wouldn’t know it if you follow politics.
You hear it every day. You’ve heard if from White House officials, claiming that the new health care bill will actually reduce the deficit over the next 10 years.
You’ve heard it from conservatives, who claim that soon our nation will be in shambles.
While one group of the politically active seems ready to tout the overwhelming success of health care legislation, another talks of dark times to come.
Thankfully for us, our media does not indulge such nonsense. They would never allow politicians and activists to make outrageous claims about future events that have no merit.
While opponents of the bill vow to amend or even repeal the legislation, supporters cry out that they will defend it until their last breath.
Why do we feel that we must have a stance on hot-button issues immediately? Why must you be in support of or opposition to health care legislation before it has even begun to work?
Right now there are millions of Americans with strong thoughts on this new debate, and they haven’t even read the bill. Literally thousands are protesting in the streets, or writing in favor to their congressmen, and they don’t even know what is going to happen yet.
Before the ink has dried on President Obama’s signature, it’s already being called an epic failure, or resounding success.
Be wary of these pseudo-intellectual soothsayers. They don’t posses some magic power.
Whether Democrat, Republican or something in between (read: normal) only time will tell how this new bill will affect the scope of American politics.
If successful, Democrats will have a new flag ship issue, one that could carry them through more than one election cycle as the “party that brought us health care reform.” The Tea Partiers and loudest Republican naysayers will be labeled as the children who cried “socialism” and all their hard work, and genuine contributions, would be undone.
If a failure, we might see the end of modern progressivism as we know it. Republicans will ride a wave of populist rage all the way to the White House. Liberals, progressives and even blue dog democrats will be laughed out of office, labeled as irresponsible, do-gooders, meddling hippies that want to tax you to death, literally.
If the health care bill is going to be the worst thing to ever happen to America, it won’t happen overnight. If it saves our nation from high medical costs, and poverty-induced death, it won’t happen right now.
You can’t predict the future and you can’t see beyond the now.
Right now, health care reform is law.
Everything else is speculation.
