SOC week 2: Looking at the opposing argument

During Soc. class this week Professor told us our blog for the week should be about understanding our opponent’s viewpoint and we should write about the supporting details and facts of their viewpoint, not ours.  Well isn’t that tricky. It’s easy to have our own opinions and come up with reasons that support our opinion but when I sit down and think about reasons that support my opposing viewpoint I come up with nothing. Not one darn thing. I mean I understand that in order for my argument to be more valid and effective I need to understand and appreciate the opposing argument but the problem is every time I sit down and think about it I feel like my mind is having a debate with itself. I’m sure if my mouth actually articulated what my mind was thinking people would think I am crazy. Even with this debate running through my head, I think I have been able to come up with some points that could prove to be appealing to some people.

I see health care as a privilege. If you work hard, learn a lot, and meet the right people in the end you will be successful and rewarded. In this instance you will be rewarded with healthcare. That’s the way I see it. No freebies no donations, simply in the end hard work pays off. However, possibly this theory isn’t always true. Sometimes fate gives you a bad hand. What if you work hard your whole life, study hard in school, and don’t meet the right people? What if you study hard in school and work hard then can’t afford to get a college education? What if you’re a hard worker but no jobs are available and you’re left working at a diner or grocery store? Should those people not have health insurance? Of course not. People like that who are honest and hardworking should be rewarded and not punished just because they weren’t dealt the best fate cards. I suppose then for people who have a life similar to the examples I listed, healthcare being a right would be the obvious and right choice for their opinion. Possibly this is the situation for the majority of people, that they just have been dealt a bad set of cards, and only a small minority would abuse the system of free healthcare. If this is true I would fully support healthcare as a right.

The Pastoral Constitution of the Church states that “(God) has willed that all men should constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” Basically in modern language this quote is saying that men, women, children no matter the race, ethnicity, age, etc. are all related and a member of the same family tree and in a family everyone helps each other. If someone has fallen you help them up; if someone is dealt a bad fate you help them and give them some of your fortune. In the instance of healthcare, if someone has lost their job or simply can’t afford the cost it is your job, as a member of the family, to support them and make sure they have the care and coverage they need. This could mean that possibly you pay a little more in taxes and you may not receive the same benefit you were receiving before but at least now everyone, your extended family members, have care.

Moving away from the idea of healthcare being a right or privilege I want to just briefly discuss another blog prompt we received. This prompt dealt with the Cleveland Clinic and the people of Cuyahoga County. The Cleveland Clinic is known worldwide and is rated has one of the best hospitals yet the people living in the surrounding houses of the hospital are not all healthy. I just think this is silly. Of course all the people living in Cuyahoga County are not healthy. The hospital is a nonliving object. It does not give off good health. People always say that you are who you surround yourself with. You surround yourself with certain people and sooner or later you will start acting and behaving like them, guaranteed. This is because you’re feeding off another person, they are giving you actions and cues and you’re basing yourself off that. That’s where it ends though. You can’t feed off something that doesn’t produce actions, emotions, cues, it’s impossible. To say you live next to a hospital and you aren’t healthy is like saying you live next to a fast food restaurant and you are obese. It just doesn’t make sense. Just because you live next to McDonalds doesn’t mean you are automatically obese; just because you live next to the Cleveland Clinic doesn’t mean you are automatically healthy.