Op-Ed from Rabbi Guttman Urging “Civility in the Health Care Debate”

Aaron Keyak — August 19, 2009 – 12:21 pm | Abusive Holocaust Rhetoric | Barack Obama | Health Care | Stop the Smears Comments (0) Add a comment

Rabbi Fred Guttman from Temple Emanuel in Greensboro, NC, penned a great piece for the News & Record, “Please, some civility in the health care debate.” Guttman wrote “A few weeks ago, I and three Rabbinic colleagues were among the 3,000 people who heard President Obama speak about health care in Raleigh. On the way out, we passed a demonstrator who was holding a sign that said, “ObamaCare = National Socialism” (aka Nazism). I confronted this protester, telling him that, as a rabbi and as a Jew, I found his sign particularly often”

That’s simply unacceptable. Unfortunately, it is far from the first time.

I encourage you to read Guttman’s entire piece by clicking here.

Here’s an excerpt:

Folks, we are dealing with fire.

The health care debate in our country is at a critical crossroads. A lot is at stake for our future, but the way in which we need to find a solution to this problem needs to be civil and respectful.

I would like to suggest a few additional assumptions upon which the current discussion needs to be based. These are:

1. Scare tactics based upon false information have no place in this discussion. For example, it is a gross statement to say that encouraging doctors to speak with their patients about a “living will” is a government plot to kill elderly people. The Nazis referred to this type of propaganda as their “Big Lie” technique; they would repeat a falsehood so often until the public accepted it as true.

2. Our current system of health care is not as good as we think it is. According to the World Health Organization, while the United States spends more money on health care than any other nation, our overall rank is 37th in terms of the quality of health care for the entire population.

3. Doing nothing is not an option. Currently, 18 percent of the GNP is siphoned toward health care—the highest rate in the developed world. By doing nothing to curb this growth, health care premiums and deductibles will continue to rise and fewer small businesses will be able provide health care as a benefit to their employees.

4. Finally, the figures for the cost of health care from the Congressional Budget Office need to be taken seriously. Current plans in the House which could add a trillion dollars to the deficit are not acceptable. Cost-cutting measures are a critical component of any heath care reform or expansion of coverage. By the way, the president himself has stated that he will not sign a health care bill which is not revenue neutral.

We are living during a very difficult time as far as health care is concerned. Finding a solution will necessitate not only a lot of creative thinking, but will also require a lot of civility and respectful debate.

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