Health care reform for good of the people?
Michael Bartlett: Muleskinner
Issue date: 1/28/10 Section: Voices
You won't find too many college students who are in favor of attendance policies. Students vehemently argue that they have paid for the class, so they should decide if they want to go or not.
t's obvious that attending class is going to be beneficial to one's final grade, but why should teachers force us to go just because it's what they think is best for us? While this libertarian view is widely held among students, it is a bit surprising that many of the same students identify themselves as liberal, Democrat, pro-Obama, etc...
Let's take the health care reform bill as an example.
Once the Senate and House bills are merged, it is likely to have a provision which would require Americans to purchase health insurance, even if they would prefer not to. See the similarity in these two situations? The Senate and the House added this for three (terrible) reasons. The first, and the one they probably won't admit, is because it is what they believe is good for you.
They know best. Second, the one they hide behind, is that we are paying for those who are without health insurance already, any time they enter an emergency room. This is true, but we also pay for the services of firemen every time a house catches fire. Think of all the money we could save if we passed a law stopping people from building houses. The third, and weakest, argument is a comparison between car insurance and health insurance. This is easily dismissed by pointing out the roads we drive on are the property of the government, our bodies are not.
To be fair, not all liberals support the health care reform bill and not all students are against attendance requirements.
Once we get around the latter two arguments, all that is left is the fact the government thinks it knows better than us. The government and many of our professors aren't wrong.
Health insurance, like attending class, is beneficial in the short and long run. But the underlying hypocrisy of these two comparable situations is sad. It's odd how people can be so "big government" until it is their lives being encroached upon.
This just goes further to prove that most people don't align with a political party based on their opinions; they align their opinions with a political party.
t's obvious that attending class is going to be beneficial to one's final grade, but why should teachers force us to go just because it's what they think is best for us? While this libertarian view is widely held among students, it is a bit surprising that many of the same students identify themselves as liberal, Democrat, pro-Obama, etc...
Let's take the health care reform bill as an example.
Once the Senate and House bills are merged, it is likely to have a provision which would require Americans to purchase health insurance, even if they would prefer not to. See the similarity in these two situations? The Senate and the House added this for three (terrible) reasons. The first, and the one they probably won't admit, is because it is what they believe is good for you.
They know best. Second, the one they hide behind, is that we are paying for those who are without health insurance already, any time they enter an emergency room. This is true, but we also pay for the services of firemen every time a house catches fire. Think of all the money we could save if we passed a law stopping people from building houses. The third, and weakest, argument is a comparison between car insurance and health insurance. This is easily dismissed by pointing out the roads we drive on are the property of the government, our bodies are not.
To be fair, not all liberals support the health care reform bill and not all students are against attendance requirements.
Once we get around the latter two arguments, all that is left is the fact the government thinks it knows better than us. The government and many of our professors aren't wrong.
Health insurance, like attending class, is beneficial in the short and long run. But the underlying hypocrisy of these two comparable situations is sad. It's odd how people can be so "big government" until it is their lives being encroached upon.
This just goes further to prove that most people don't align with a political party based on their opinions; they align their opinions with a political party.
Be the first to comment on this story