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Life Health > Health Insurance

Everybody's angry ... about health care

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That most famous face of the psychological profession, Dr. Phil, is known for his down-home philosophies.

One of the chief among them is: “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.”

Well, all I can say is “Momma” must really be ticked off about health care, because it seems like nobody likes the road reform (or lack of reform) is taking.

A (very) short list of angry people:

  • Doctors
  • Nurses
  • Patients
  • Seniors
  • President Obama
  • Senator Boehner (R-Oh.)
  • Glenn Beck
  • Jay Leno
  • Conan O’Brien
  • The U.S. Hockey Team

Some people have been seething for a long time; for others it’s been a slow boil.

According to a photo essay in Time magazine, “at an overflowing town hall meeting in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on Aug. 11, Craig Anthony Miller grew so agitated that he had to be restrained by another audience member. ‘You are trampling on our Constitution!’ he shouted at Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).”

In the photo, Miller looks like he’s about to give Specter a Three Stooges poke in the eye, which would only have contributed to the nation’s bloated medical expenses. Ah, but at least Specter, as a member of Congress, has great health coverage. Nyuk nyuk.

Everybody, it seems, is angry about health care. And if I have learned one thing in following this incendiary topic, it’s this: you can’t escape the outrage.

Believe me, I’ve tried. I was late to the party of anger and only swept up in the fervor by virtue of my being collateral damage–angry due to others’ anger.

This time of year I like to frequent college football message boards to keep up with the latest scoop on which players are developing during spring practice and who’s climbing up the depth chart.

Have I been able to find that out lately? No! Instead of discovering if the quarterbacks can make “all the throws,” or if the middle linebacker can run sideline to sideline, I’m reduced to reading wild rants about health care reform–on a college football message board!

I thought I would be the last angry man in America, but now I’m mad, too.

Maybe, hopefully, by the time you read this in April, everyone will have joined arms at the elbows and will be swaying and singing happy songs about health care. But something tells me whether a bill has pushed through by then, somebody, somewhere, is going to be angry–very, very angry.


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