I debated whether I wanted to broach the topic of politics on this blog for a long time. Politics, especially now, is a polarizing subject. I need every reader I can get, and I don’t want to alienate anyone. However, I promised to always be real with you guys, and this election has stirred up some genuine emotions. I can’t sell out BEFORE I make it! If what I have to say bothers you, I genuinely am sorry don’t read it. This will not become a political blog. However, this election warranted a blog post.
I’m not an overtly political man. I consider myself a staunch independent, and my voting record substantiates that claim. Growing up, I honestly don’t remember politics being discussed at home. I’m not sure if that was by design or if I was just an oblivious child. Sure, I remember elections, but I never felt strong emotions from my parents after the outcomes had been decided. In fact, it wasn’t until college that I learned the difference between a Democrat and a Republican. The first time I voted, it took me, and I’m not exaggerating, 15 minutes to make my choice. A poll worker actually had to come ask me if I was alright. The point is, I see merit in both of our political parties, and I have never picked a team.
While I pay attention to the news and consider myself an informed citizen, I never felt there was much the knuckleheads in Washington D.C. could do to change my world. A regulation here or a tax break there, but nothing that drastically hurt or improved my quality of life. It’s not lost on me that this is primarily because I am a straight white man. The system has always worked in my favor. That was until the fighting over the Affordable Care Act (ACA) began.
For most of the country, health insurance is something they rarely think about. For the chronically ill, it’s always on our minds. When the ACA was signed into law by President Obama, millions of Americans collectively breathed a sigh of relief. We no longer needed to worry about gaps in coverage. Young people now had the option to pursue their dreams, knowing they could be covered under their parents’ health insurance. Most importantly, if we lost our job, we could still obtain reasonable health coverage.
Without the Affordable Care Act, the American dream is out of reach for millions of Americans. People who would otherwise be building businesses, inventing things, and creating art would be forced to choose between working a soul-crushing job for health insurance or going broke paying for healthcare. That’s no way for ANY citizen of the world’s wealthiest country to live, and it’s abhorrent that an entire political party has made it their number one priority to strip health insurance from the Americans who need it most.
Because of my age, I didn’t personally get to take advantage of some of the ACA’s genuinely life-changing elements. I didn’t have the opportunity to “figure things out” after high school. My options were to find a job that provided health insurance or go to college. While that doesn’t sound too bad, it’s incredibly limiting to continually be making pivotal life decisions based on how you’ll obtain health coverage. Why the hell would we want to go back to that?! I sure as shit know I don’t want to!
The ACA is a virtuous law that provides protection to the most vulnerable in our country. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around why half the government is so hell-bent on repealing a law that has helped so many people. Maybe I’m blinded by the sense of security it has provided me, but I just don’t get it. They don’t like the idea of being forced to have health insurance!? C’mon man! People without children pay for public schools, and people without cars pay for repairs to our roads. This isn’t a new concept.
Last week, in a year unlike any other, the United States of America voted for a new president. The options couldn’t have been more different. In one corner, we had a megalomaniac who’s skillfully divided the country while making half question reality. In the other, a past-his-prime career politician who just so happened to have a hand in creating the ACA. This wasn’t a tough decision for me. Although I must regretfully admit, I was one of the Americans that helped bring the orange man into power. I gave it a polite bite, didn’t like it, and spit it back out four years later. For me, it wasn’t just the incessant tweeting, the exhausting “everyone’s out to get me” rhetoric, or the borderline racist comments. It was the simple fact that his party is STILL trying to do away with the ACA WITHOUT a viable replacement!
I suffer from no delusion that Joe Biden is some sort of savior for the chronically ill. The future of the ACA is currently in the hands of the Supreme Court. While all signs seem to be pointing to the law being upheld, that is yet to be determined. Whatever happens, I’m going to sleep a lot better at night knowing that the Commander in Chief believes healthcare is a human right.
