Ted DeVol wrote a letter to the editor (Courier-Herald, April 21) denigrating Brian Beckley and calling his writings “ignorant and foolish.” I strongly disagree with Ted’s assessment. Mr. Beckley’s editorials in “Our Corner” are a welcome and refreshing addition to The Courier-Herald, especially after years of being subjected to guest commentaries by Glenn-Beck-in-skirt (Adele Ferguson).
Judging by Ted’s uninformed ranting about President Obama, the media and others who don’t happen to share his backward worldview, it seems that he is the unfortunate product of the 1950s McCarthy era. This was a time when the politically motivated practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence was rampant.
Of course, if Ted had paid attention in his fifth-grade social studies class he would know that the definition of socialism is the collective or governmental ownership and/or administration of the means of production and/or distribution of goods and services. In case this definition is too difficult for Ted to understand, here are a few examples of social institutions and services: police departments, fire departments, public schools, public universities, Social Security, Medicare, road and bridge departments, air traffic controllers, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Marines and the Coast Guard.
If Ted and many of the naysayers would watch real news instead of killing their brain cells with the Fox entertainment “news channel,” they would understand that the democratically (majority of 50+one) passed healthcare reform bill is not a government takeover of the health care system.
In today’s society, everyone needs health insurance. Young people may think they don’t need health insurance because they rarely become seriously ill. However, people of any age (especially the young) can be seriously injured in car accidents, skiing accidents, etc. If these people end up going to the hospital without insurance, the taxpayer usually ends up footing the bill. Mandating that everyone has health insurance is one of the principle ways that the healthcare reform bill ends up saving the government money.
It’s unfortunate that the single payer/public option didn’t make it into healthcare reform. This would have kept private insurance companies in check. Ted’s argument that a public option would lead to no choice is hyperbole and disingenuous. The establishment of the University of Washington or Washington State University did not lead to the demise of Gonzaga University or Seattle Pacific University. On the contrary, both public and private institutions are flourishing.
The irony of Ted’s article is that he feels that providing a public option would take away our choices, hence our freedom. In reality, Ted and those that support his views want to limit our choices and hence our freedom. Those who espouse Ted’s view want to change this great country into a third-rate, third-world nation.
My suggestion to Ted and others who hate government is to give up your Social Security check and have your elderly parents move in with you. Give up your Medicare and try to afford private health insurance as a 65-plus-year-old. Send your kids to expensive private schools and universities. When your house catches on fire or you’re involved in a motor vehicle accident, have a private, profit-driven company respond to your emergency. Don’t drive on or over any of our roads and bridges. Dissolve the U.S military and hand over America’s security to Blackwater mercenaries.
In conclusion, Ted wants to force us back to the stone age and prevent us from building a modern, progressive society. Ted, I think there’s a fellow living in a cave in Pakistan who thinks the same way you do.
Chris Quiles
Enumclaw
