Peaceful Non-Cooperation With Socialism
Great leaders and great political movements have a lot in common with the finest therapists and best psychotherapy:
1) They are relentlessly courageous about exploring that which might otherwise remain under cover—that which might otherwise be accepted as true without real inspection and understanding.
2) They practice a kind of quiet and reflective, yet insistent and intellectually piercing non-cooperation with liars and lies.
3) They are colorblind and blind to socioeconomic status. They see people as individuals with worthy thoughts and rich life stories, regardless of whether they are black or white, penniless or affluent.
4) They are non-violent, whenever any alternative exists, which it almost always does.
The high ground in the health care debate and the debate over whether we remain a capitalistic society or a socialistic one will be taken and held by that group that adopts these four principles.
Presently, I believe that the opponents of massive, unexamined changes in the health care system, a reduced level of autonomy as citizens and a powerful parental role for government in private industry and private affairs occupy that ground. Oddly and surprisingly, it is this group—the vocal opposition in town halls and at tea parties, the relatively well-heeled and well-healed group that activists have labeled insensitive in the past—that is exposing the limits of the present system to remain open to every idea and give every man and woman a fair hearing (not just those who claim to be disadvantaged or disenfranchised). It is this group that is being met with walls that urge them to just wait and see, or just shut up, or just go away.
So it is time to be doubly sure that the vocal opposition remains the loyal opposition.
It is time to be triply sure that the opposition remains non-violent.
The right to bear arms, which will also be under assault soon enough, should be held dear and married to the greatest reticence imaginable to use them.
We are all learning together that the tools of change that once opened doors to minorities and to disempowered and worthy peoples all over the world are the very same tools that can keep in place the worthy structural beams upon which our great society was built.
If leaders turn out to be reluctant listeners, protesters should speak in greater numbers, in more places, with more clarity and creativity and insistence, but never with hatred and never with fists clenched or one hand on a stick. Let the frustrated purveyors of falsehoods and enemies of freedom use those tactics. They always fail.
The psycho-political lessons learned from those shut out of the system must now be adopted to save the system.
There’s something elegant and inevitable about that. The truth always wins—in public policy and in therapy.
Tags: capitalism, cooperation, Dr. Keith Ablow, health care reform, obama, political leaders, protestors, psychotherapists, socialism, socialistic principles, society, therapists
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Sometimes the science of what level of care
that people can receive lends itself
to being insensitive.
…”.exposing the limits of the present system and
remaining open to every idea”
This is very important right now
this is about the future quality of life for some people.
We all will have to accept changes and costs.
When life is celebrated, all life is celebrated. I find it interesting that the proponents of government financed abortions, and virtually forcing prolife advocates to support a practice abhorrant to them, also feel that it is the government’s role to be intimately and financially involved in the end-of-life decision making of private individuals. The audacity and arrogance of it all.
VERY well said. I agree completely. Truth, honesty, transparency. Strong, but peaceful, opposition.
These things seem to be lacking in those who hold office. I wonder why it is not obvious to those in control?
I usually enjoy Dr. Ablow’s columns. He should, however, have found another subject to write about this week. I’ve had my fill of ideologues and partisan politics (which is why I NEVER read the “politics” news on this website.) Dr. Ablow’s column is not-so-sneakily filled with his politic views this week. UGH.
Please, doctor, stick to psychology – that’s what you’re being paid for, isn’t it? There are plenty of political pundits at Fox. I kind of liked the fact that you weren’t – until now – one of them.
Why arent’ the networks asking people in Canada and GB what they think of their health care system? I think the people would be interested and enlightened to hear a panel discussion on it. But make it interesting enough to divert attention oft the dead heads away from the Simpsons long enough to view it.
Is your next book going to be callled “My Strange Right-Wing Persecution Complex”?
So Canada and the UK are “socialistic societies”?
Feh.
I was reluctant to comment on this post, since I’m admittedly ignorant of all the dynamics involved in the proposed-health-care debate.
But after reading some of the extremely negative replies here, and the news about people toting guns at the President’s recent appearences, I changed my mind.
So here we go…
I’m not sure what I think of the whole health-care thing, but I’m quite sure that Dr. Ablow has a sixth sense where the psyche of the nation (and pretty much everybody on the planet) is concerned. He wrote about “Peaceful Non-Cooperation”, somehow knowing that there are folks out there who might choose non-peaceful methods to make things the way they want them to be.
We’ve got a potential tragedy on our hands here, and I commend Dr. Ablow for his uncanny foresight on this matter!
Ablow – you’re an idiot plain and simple.
As a Canadian citizen who lived in Canada for 39 years and has been living in the U.S. for the past 8 years, I have to say I am dismayed at how the debate for healthcare reform has shaped up. I knew it would be heated and contested but I never thought so much anecdotal evidence would be used by both pro and con supporters of the debate.
Born and raised in Canada, I and my family had the opportunity (yes, opportunity) to use the Canadian healthcare system more than a few times and we have never been disappointed with the quality of care nor the expediency of the care. I am not here to say that the Canadian system should be held up as a shining star of how a healthcare system should work, it certainly has its downfalls and there are major issues that need to be addressed. I am also not here to say that President Obama’s plan is the way to go either, I just want to say that much of the rhetoric used by people and organizations opposed to the reform is far from accurate or is simply anecdotal evidence that does not represent the entire system.
First, let me start by saying that the quality of Canadian health care is second to none and for those who do not believe me, simply look at the statistics. Life expectancy is higher, infant mortality is lower as well as adult mortality compared to the United States, so we are not dealing with third world healthcare – if you don’t believe me, look it up at the World Health Organization. Sure, there are people who have to, or more accurately choose to come into the U.S. to get tests but for the most part, they can afford it and want to have the tests performed because they have a need to know “now”. Most of these people would get the tests and procedures performed as prescribed by their Doctor in a timely manner, but they choose not to wait for various reasons. There have been cases where serious tests or procedures needed to be performed or dire consequences could have been realized, but this is far from the norm and taken out of context for political gain by those opposed to reform. I am 46 years old and know of no one personally who had to go to this extreme and have only heard of one case through an acquaintance of this happening, so it is very rare and far from being a symptom of the “Socialist” system. In addition, I was born and raised in Northern Ontario which is considered to be underserviced. I also have to say that one of our concerns about moving to the U.S. was the healthcare system and all the horror stories we heard from north of the border. Things such as people having to work into their Golden Years simply for health benefits, losing life savings, or filing bankruptcy because of a major illness were paramount in our minds and now that I live here, I realize that although these things have happened they are far from the “norm” in the same way that people flocking from Canada for tests or procedures is far from the norm.
Now that I have addressed a few of the obvious misconceptions, let me say that the Canadian system needs work. Access to healthcare is not as readily available as it is here which is something I appreciate about the U.S. system and people sometimes have to wait extensive periods to see a specialist or have a procedure performed. This is simply an inconvenience and not a life threatening situation by any stretch of the imagination.
Abuse of the system is also an issue, people tend to go see the Doctor or to the ER whenever they have a headache or the sniffles which just results in making the system bog down with unnecessary visits and takes away from the people who actually need to see the Doctor. Most people in Canada are also not aware of how expensive it is as well, I know I wasn’t until I came here and had to spend a night in intensive care. A one night stay, Cat Scan, ER services and one shot of pain killer cost $8000.00. My insurance company paid for most, but I was left with a bill for $2000.00 because my insurance didn’t cover everything and I think I have pretty good insurance – this is not something that I would have had to pay in Canada.
Something I miss is the fact that healthcare in Canada doesn’t require me to worry about how much it will cost, I can simply focus on the care I need. I don’t need to cut my pills in half to make them last longer because they are expensive or put off seeing the Doctor because I can’t afford the co-pay. Cost is not a concern when accessing healthcare. However, this comes at a price – higher taxes and I can agree with opponents of healthcare reform on this issue. If the U.S. goes to a more “socialized” system, it will likely come with a cost which will likely be a tax of some sort. I for one, don’t mind paying a “little” more to ensure everyone has access to quality care, but I am certainly not representing all citizens when I make this statement and a little more to me may not be what my neighbor has in mind, so that issue needs to be addressed.
One issue I wish would be addressed is the fact that the legal system has the healthcare system in a virtual noose. From what I have heard from numerous people is that Doctors feel they must perform additional tests on patients that are not necessary simply because they want to cover their “you know what” in case they get called into court. The ability of people to sue for trivial reasons needs to stop so Doctors’ and insurance companies are not constantly thinking about the bottom line so they can concentrate on healthcare. Where is the debate about that??
I guess what I am trying to say after all my rambling is that the Canadian system is pretty good and people shouldn’t be afraid of adopting some of their policies. I am also trying to say that I think both sides of the argument need to stop using anecdotal evidence of rare occurrences and representing them as the norm. Each side of the argument can use these occurrences for political gain and we need to get past this childish behavior and focus on what makes the most sense for the most people at the right cost.
“the debate over whether we remain a capitalistic society or a socialistic one”
But the U.S. is already a socialist society: a socialist police force, a socialist library system, a socialist education system, a socialist fire service, a socialist health care system for veterans, a socialist FAA, a socialist FDA, etc.
In other words, it’s absurd to take one example and say it makes a society socialist. A social system happens to work better for certain services. With our 6.3 out of 1000 infant mortality rate (effectively the lowest in the developed world – yeah, source the CIA – another socialist system), it seems that given we can’t keep up with Taiwan and Cuba, medicine might be one of those areas.
Like many Canadians, I have mixed feelings about our healthcare system. I am critical, first of all, that it is so poorly designed in terms of encouraging healthy living and, secondly, that it is prone to quick-fix pharmaceutical solutions. That many medical professionals (both doctors and nurses) seem to be struggling to keep up with the demands of their jobs is also a cause for concern.
Wait times for treatment seem to be the big issue in the current discussion in the US but much of what I’m hearing seems to collapse the difference between annoying and life threatening delays in the Canadian medical system. Very little credible information seems to be circulating and much of the debate seems to border on hysteria.
As with any bureaucracy there are inefficiency but on the whole Canadian people can be fairly confident that they will not be tempted to go without medical treatment or be faced by staggering debt as the result of some misfortune such as a fall or car accident. Where medical care is concerned Canadians have been able to limit injustice, even if we have yet to master inefficiency.
One last thought: the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the economies of Japan and the USA require the most convoluted and spine-twisting logic to justify themselves. Isn’t it time to start thinking beyond this ridiculous socialism vs capitalism terminology?