Know your enemy?

02 Sep 2009

I’ve just returned from a health care reform town hall meeting and rally in West Hartford, CT. It was quite an experience. After shouting into a megaphone for hours, holding signs, arguing with all sorts of people, and listening to peoples’ questions, I’ve learned a lot. First of all, I’ve learned that people will try any tactic to distract you from the issues at hand. I had people come up to me today, observing my various bits of Jew-apparel, and tell me that I should feel unsafe about the socialist direction the country was headed in, because socialism would lead to Naziism, etc. And not only that, but that therefore I should be “pro-Israel” (a phrase I DESPISE), as it would be my last refuge when this country went down the tubes. I say, when your last refuge is an introverted, outwardly violent, and discriminatory establishment, something is seriously wrong somewhere.

But I digress.

Sort of.

Because during that conversation, in which the gentleman I was discussing with said that we need to “break radical Islam”, he said something else that struck me: “You need to know who your enemies are.” I responded by saying, “Sir, I don’t have enemies. I have differences”. But I’m not so sure that’s true. In a way, my constant obsession with dialogue and discourse has blinded me to some important realities:

• The GOP, as a party, does not support health care reform.

The GOP is not interested in compromise. They want to kill this bill (as many protesters today chanted) as a political tactic. Now, I know this is nothing new in terms of political wrangling, but to pose as having legitimate opinions on reform is just deceitful. Make no mistake: the GOP opposes reform.

• The GOP relies on misinformation and fear to keep its constituents behind it.

Today, I saw a lot of smart, educated people, who were very afraid. I saw children younger than my youngest sister screaming hateful slogans. What is it that makes these people want to live like this? It’s the media’s willingness to pander to make money, and the GOP’s disgusting willingness to capitalize off of that. Spreading fear of socialism is not constructive. I had an entire crowd of people chanting “Get-A-Job” at me today, as I yelled through a megaphone about my MassHealth and my experiences with the system. And when I talked to people afterwards, they said “You’re a Marxist”. I said, “I’m not a Marxist, I believe in the free-market. But you can’t turn peoples’ health into a profiteering racket”. And then they said “What are you doing here?” I was stunned. I said “This is a free country. All ideologies are welcome.” The GOP should hold itself in higher esteem than to court the values of xenophobes and racists. Being insular is not a political philosophy, it’s a moral shortcoming, and one that the GOP is exploiting for political gain. That being true, I will call the GOP what it is: an immoral organization with no regard for real progress of any ideological flavor. It is a self-serving organization, not one that exists for its constituents.

• There are people who will do anything to make you feel as though your opinions don’t matter.

I was decried as a Marxist, a Communist, and (along with my Jewish friend next to me), an anti-Semite. These are accusations meant to take away from the substance of the argument. This is not an ideological issue. This is not a political issue. If you believe that everyone has a right to health, there is no more debate except on how. But that’s not what these people are debating. When someone stood in front of me and said “I worked for my health insurance, and they should to”, I said, “So you are calling 47 million people slackers? Are you prepared to stand by that?”. They said, “Well, not all of them.” So I said, “Then what about the ones who aren’t slackers? How many are there?” He couldn’t answer. When faced with the reality of the issue, that millions of people who work just as hard, if not harder, than any of us, do not have the insurances we do because of disadvantages and fundamental inequalities that they have no control over, they can say nothing. He tried to change the topic, he fear-mongered some more about my religion. I told him I was quite comfortable with my existence as an American Jew. He said, “Then why do people die trying to come to this country?” I said, “Because there is a promise. A promise of opportunity. And the current health care system is a fundamental betrayal of that promise.”

I don’t mean to just write about my exploits, but I am coming to realize that not being able to negotiate is not a bad thing. When you’re facing people who don’t want to talk, people who don’t respect progress or change, when people like Senator Enzi walk away, you have to cut your losses sooner or later. This bill is going to happen. And if we have to do it without the naysayers, so much the better. Anyone who has something to contribute is welcome to join. Welcome to talk to me or any other Democrat in the entire country any time.

But if you don’t have anything constructive to say, your time is over. Fox News may be filming you, but they’re not making the policy decisions.

I’m extending a hand. Will you take it?