Healthcare: Will You Help The Least Of Us?

This is the question being asked right now by the 45 million uninsured in this country. I am one. I am an uninsured cancer survivor. You can imagine the cost of insurance for me, which I cannot possibly pay. I am not alone. I did nothing to get cancer. Nothing. I was just unlucky.

Others--for instance the nearly 20% unemployed in parts of Michigan and Ohio--are wondering asking for help, too.

72 percent of Americans support a public plan for health care including 50% of republicans. These people are your neighbors, your co-workers, your waitress, those pew-sitting beside you, your car mechanic, the family now living in their car down the street, and the families of your childrens' friends.

This is about you, me and 72% of everyone we come across. For every 10 people you meet, 7.2 of them support a public option for health care.

Think about that for a minute.

Now, be honest. What have YOU done about it?

Have you made calls over and over and over and over to your senators and house reps?

Have you sent e-mails?

Do you even KNOW where your senators and rep stand on the issue?

72% of this country should be melting the phone lines. 72% of this country should be causing servers to fail. Are they?

We Christians talk a lot about caring but we don't really focus much on action. I am asking you to change that and to change that today. Right now! 45 million of us need your help, and so does 72 percent of everyone else.

So here's what you need to do:

1. Call your senators and reps:

• Ask them if they support single payer or a medicare-like like plan without triggers (a date when things click in), and without co-ops.
• If the answer is no, tell them you do and that 72% of others and 45 million uninsured also do and that they had better support such an option. Ask them to defend their position against the 72% of the public that wants them to do something and wants it done NOW. Call them EVERY DAY until they say they support single payer. And if they never do, find someone else to vote for next time. Opponents should NOT be reelected regardless of party.
  
• If the answer is yes, thank them and tell them you expect them to do everything in their power to get this done AND SOON.

2. E-mail your senators and reps EVERY DAY... You can use the same e-mail every day. Tell them you want a yes or no answer and you are TIRED of waiting. If they say yes or no in writing, see above for your response.

It's time to put our actions to work. Consider Matthew 25:31-46:

The Sheep and the Goats

³¹"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

³⁴"Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, ³⁶I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.'

³⁷"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? ³⁸When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? ³⁹When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

⁴¹"Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. ⁴²For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'

⁴⁴"They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

⁴⁵"He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

⁴⁶"Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

I have a feeling that if Jesus was preaching today, he's be asking you to make calls and send e-mails to help those in need. It's a presumption, but surely a plausible one. This is the way, today, we CAN--all of us--help the sick.

Now, will you PLEASE GO and make those calls and send those e-mails?