Lessons Never Learned

I'd planned to write in part about what seems to be a never-ending topic of discussion in South Carolina: The flying of the "Southern Cross" flag on the grounds of the State House. What was blocking me was how to start until I read this piece.

I don't agree with all of his declaratives, but when you take into account the intent of the legislators who authorized flying the flag on top of the State House in the first place, the attorney general's opinion of its legality flying there, the changing perspective on what flying the flag represents, how flying it there appeared to others in the nation, and how it appears to those who support it flying, the compromise that led to it's current location seems reasonable. The flag is situated at the Confederate Soldiers' Monument, which sits at the corner of Main and Gervais in downtown Columbia on the edge of State House grounds.

The NAACP took a lot of credit for organizing a boycott that continues to this day. The boycott had some successes in the early part of the decade, but only seems to be known today when an organization like the Atlantic Coast Conference commits the horrific faux pas of awarding a baseball tournament to a city 150 miles from where the flag flies. Even though the flag has been removed from the "position of sovereignty", the boycott continues because the monument is on State House grounds.

But my point to all this is really quite simple. Since the mid-1970's there had been a push to remove the flag from the top of the State House. It was done. People on both sides are still complaining about it. It's a lot of energy wasted on an issue that does nothing except sully the image of the state. The flag does not create jobs, generate revenue, improve schools, or generally contribute to the quality of life in South Carolina.

This is a local issue.

Health care is a national issue.

We have spent a half-century debating how to make health care affordable. The issues are known, but no one in that time has been willing to expend the necessary brainpower and political capital to make the changes we need. The question today is whether or not we can make it happen.

The "we" in that statement is not just the politicians. It's us, the public. As a nation we are out of shape and overweight. Our diets are unhealthy. We expect our doctors to treat whatever condition we show up with and fix it, then file complaints and lawsuits because we didn't do what they said to do to prevent a recurrence.

We are all in this together. We need the politicos to create an environment where it makes sense for those in the best of health to pay the least for coverage, but still be able to provide basic coverage for all. We need physicians willing to take the time to treat the cause instead of just the symptom. Most of all, we the people need a Gibbs-slap upside the head to get off our collective butts and get in shape.

McAllen, Texas spends more per capita on health care than any other city but Miami. If you want to know why health care costs so much, read this. When you finish, go for a walk, a swim, or a run. It'll do you good.