Thomas Hobbes May Have Been Right!

For the last week I have watched in utter disbelief as so many of my fellow citizens have decided that the worst thing we could do is to reform our failing health care system. As one major metropolitan newspaper after another dies, more and more of us are now taking our political marching orders from the crazies on cable TV, syndicated talk radio, or that great bastion of journalistic integrity, the Internet.

So let me see if I can get all this straight. President Obama is not an American citizen, he is, however, a practicing Muslim. The Federal Reserve System should be abolished, as it only exists to enrich Wall Street bankers. Concealed fire arms should now be allowed on college campuses and in bars, so we can all be safe. We need to keep the prison at Gauntanamo open, so no terrorists can set foot on American soil. Sarah Palin quit as the Governor of Alaska so she could better serve her fellow citizens. Judge Sotomayor is a racist. Michael J Fox fakes his Parkinsons and only shakes on TV. And my newest favorite, we do not actually need any health care reform, as the current system is working just fine. Who cares of we rank 37th in the world in health care delivery and 50th in life expectancy? I could go on but I am getting really depressed.

As far as I can tell, the great flaw in the logic of the men who wrote our founding documents, was that they were counting on those who came after them to be motivated by reasoned analysis, civil discourse, and an abiding concern for their fellow citizens. Instead we now eagerly wait for the likes of Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity to tell us what to think, and then march off to do battle. With all due respect to John Paul Jones, our newest motto ought to be, "Damn the facts, full speed ahead!" Don't confuse me with the truth, someone else already made-up my mind for me! Too bad that the Information Age. . . well, isn't!