Friday, August 14, 2009

Citizen Ronald Reagan Speaks Against Socialized Medicine

Thanks to Aaron for posting this on Face Book. The clip is ten minutes of Ronald Reagan speaking against Socialized Medicine. I love the closing quote: "...will come other federal programs that will invade every area of freedom as we have known it in this country, until, one day as Norman Thomas has said, we will awake to find that we have socialism. And if you don't do this, and I don't do it, one of these days, you and I are going to spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it once was like in America when men were free."

6 comments:

BunGirl said...

Thanks for sharing this -- so true!

the anonymous guy said...

First of all, the great menace Reagan was talking about was... Medicare. So let's be honest that he was tin-foil-hat wrong about that bringing on tyranny.

Second, Reagan was all worried that he might one day only remember "what it once was like in America when men were free."

Reagan said that in 1961.

The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, over Reagan's objections.

Guess he was worried that Medicare would make him lose his freedoms. But it was OK for black folk not to be free.

Glad Reagan was wrong. Glad he lost. Glad we're going to reform health care and get everybody covered.

Yes. We. Can.

Andy D said...

That's not rush to conclusions on the tin-foil-hat thing. Let's see where this ends first. I freely admit Reagan was not talking about Obamacare specifically in that clip.

Reagan had objections to the Civil Rights Act. Your statement "...it was OK for black folk not to be free," is misleading of Reagan's position. He viewed the Civil Rights act as a violation of individual and states rights. For example, he felt dictating to a business who that business could and couldn't hire was a violation of the business owners rights. You may disagree with that, and a large number of people do. But Reagan disagreed with the Civil Rights Act for much more complex reasons than you suggest.

the anonymous guy said...

Andy, you can't be serious about the health care and tyranny thing.

Why do *most* democracies have universal health care? How is Sweden or Canada tyrannical?

That's just looney tunes stuff, man.

Andy D said...

Socialized Medicine is a form of soft tyranny. The Government gets to decide if and when you get treatment and what kind of treatment you receive. Your individual freedoms to handle your own health care and your own health care decisions are gone.

Canada has a socialized health care system. A number of their citizens run across the border to the United States when they can't get treatment in Canada. This week it was revealed that the Canadian government doesn't think their health care system is sustainable. They are looking for ways to change their system. They are examining our current system, but haven't decided what the new health care system in Canada will be.

Funny how Canada decides it's health care isn't sustainable right as we are rushing to implement that in the United States.

Christina G. said...

My audio doesn't work, so I didn't view the video, but on a deep gut level, I am very wary of gov't. involvement in healthcare. Years ago I heard a radio commercial that was just plain scary! warning against this. It was immediately taken off the air - I don't know anyone else who heard it.

But I'll never forget it.