Dear Conservative Friend,
I’ve been listening to some of the claims about “Death Panels” and such in the current debate over health care reform. I know we don't have a great track record when it comes to controversial political issues, and I don't want to start a fight. But I have to say that you're falling for some pretty blatant propaganda when it comes to the idea that the Democratic reforms would mean some kind of euthanasia nightmare.
I've done my homework. The basis for the “euthanasia panic” appears to be the requirement that Medicare cover consultations between patients and doctors over end-of-life questions (which, as you know, deal with things like living wills and the patient’s intentions about comatose life support). End-of-life is a real medical issue—when it is possible for a machine to keep your lungs breathing for a decade after your brain has died, you need to think about whether that’s what you want for yourself. The inclusion of support for such discussions is itself non-controversial; numerous Republicans have supported similar moves in the past.
To draw some connection between coverage for those discussions and some sort of forced euthanasia is plainly ridiculous. I know you hate (on principle) the idea of Big Government authority, but making a leap from “support for end of life counseling” to “being put to death by the government” is about as valid as a leap from “support for childhood literacy” to “Matrix-style mind-control.” It’s like declaring that “support for public parks” leads to “the seizure of all private property.” It is logically false, it is groundless, and it is nothing more than a political scare tactic.
The facts are there: nothing in the bill goes anywhere near making someone choose death over life. (Or even choose to choose—end-of life counseling is no more mandatory than rhinoplasty.) But the best test for the truth of the euthanasia claim is this: what possible motive would the Democratic Party have for supporting a policy like that? Would any American group (beyond crazy KKK’ers) have any reason at all to want to kill other Americans for any reason? Is it simply that liberals are evil and enjoy doing evil things? Do liberals secretly long for the chance to impose a 1984-style totalitarianism because all they really crave is power?
You know me personally. I’m a liberal and I voted for Obama. We may disagree about reform of the employer-based health insurance system (which is all that this debate is really about), but do you really think that I am evil? Do you think I hate life or freedom or American ideals? If you know me, you know that I believe America is the best country the world has ever known.
Some people on the right do believe ridiculous things about people on the left, I’m sure, and the loss of the White House in 2008 has clearly been too much for them to handle. But you are way too smart for simple-minded extremism. Besides, it would put you in terrible company: the fear that Democrats want euthanasia is the same mania that drove some nutty leftists to believe that George Bush planned to suspend the Constitution or that Dick Cheney perpetrated 9/11 to get more power. It’s the same knee-jerk reaction that, on the left, equates any and all Christian cultural criticism with the world of The Handmaid’s Tale.
When I hear the argument that Obama’s healthcare proposals would lead to euthanasia, I’m reminded of the arguments about Obama's citizenship or his plans to suspend democracy and institute Islamic rule. Such claims make good radio, and they are probably a lot of fun, but they fail the reality test: what Americans of any political stripe would want something so offensively stupid as Islamic fundamentalism, a police state, or a world where the government decides who lives and who dies? Where would the Democratic Party find career politicians willing to commit *political* suicide for such a cause?
My point is this: the euthanasia panic isn’t about health care reform at all. It’s about how (at present) the right, but generally the left as well, chooses to demonize the political opposition. It’s about how we don’t even see the other side as fellow citizens.
I’m posting this message for my own purposes. That’s it. I just wish the present political climate didn’t make us so uncomfortable with each other.
I’ve been listening to some of the claims about “Death Panels” and such in the current debate over health care reform. I know we don't have a great track record when it comes to controversial political issues, and I don't want to start a fight. But I have to say that you're falling for some pretty blatant propaganda when it comes to the idea that the Democratic reforms would mean some kind of euthanasia nightmare.
I've done my homework. The basis for the “euthanasia panic” appears to be the requirement that Medicare cover consultations between patients and doctors over end-of-life questions (which, as you know, deal with things like living wills and the patient’s intentions about comatose life support). End-of-life is a real medical issue—when it is possible for a machine to keep your lungs breathing for a decade after your brain has died, you need to think about whether that’s what you want for yourself. The inclusion of support for such discussions is itself non-controversial; numerous Republicans have supported similar moves in the past.
To draw some connection between coverage for those discussions and some sort of forced euthanasia is plainly ridiculous. I know you hate (on principle) the idea of Big Government authority, but making a leap from “support for end of life counseling” to “being put to death by the government” is about as valid as a leap from “support for childhood literacy” to “Matrix-style mind-control.” It’s like declaring that “support for public parks” leads to “the seizure of all private property.” It is logically false, it is groundless, and it is nothing more than a political scare tactic.
The facts are there: nothing in the bill goes anywhere near making someone choose death over life. (Or even choose to choose—end-of life counseling is no more mandatory than rhinoplasty.) But the best test for the truth of the euthanasia claim is this: what possible motive would the Democratic Party have for supporting a policy like that? Would any American group (beyond crazy KKK’ers) have any reason at all to want to kill other Americans for any reason? Is it simply that liberals are evil and enjoy doing evil things? Do liberals secretly long for the chance to impose a 1984-style totalitarianism because all they really crave is power?
You know me personally. I’m a liberal and I voted for Obama. We may disagree about reform of the employer-based health insurance system (which is all that this debate is really about), but do you really think that I am evil? Do you think I hate life or freedom or American ideals? If you know me, you know that I believe America is the best country the world has ever known.
Some people on the right do believe ridiculous things about people on the left, I’m sure, and the loss of the White House in 2008 has clearly been too much for them to handle. But you are way too smart for simple-minded extremism. Besides, it would put you in terrible company: the fear that Democrats want euthanasia is the same mania that drove some nutty leftists to believe that George Bush planned to suspend the Constitution or that Dick Cheney perpetrated 9/11 to get more power. It’s the same knee-jerk reaction that, on the left, equates any and all Christian cultural criticism with the world of The Handmaid’s Tale.
When I hear the argument that Obama’s healthcare proposals would lead to euthanasia, I’m reminded of the arguments about Obama's citizenship or his plans to suspend democracy and institute Islamic rule. Such claims make good radio, and they are probably a lot of fun, but they fail the reality test: what Americans of any political stripe would want something so offensively stupid as Islamic fundamentalism, a police state, or a world where the government decides who lives and who dies? Where would the Democratic Party find career politicians willing to commit *political* suicide for such a cause?
My point is this: the euthanasia panic isn’t about health care reform at all. It’s about how (at present) the right, but generally the left as well, chooses to demonize the political opposition. It’s about how we don’t even see the other side as fellow citizens.
I’m posting this message for my own purposes. That’s it. I just wish the present political climate didn’t make us so uncomfortable with each other.
This is such a wonderful document! An older friend of mine at church said grimly to me this Sunday, "They're saying that Obama may only have one term as President." I said, "You're not on the Internet, right?" She said, "No" so I offered to print off a wonderful "Letter to a Conservative Friend" I had just read and mail it to her, which she was happy to hear. I mailed it off today. I was surprised at how long it was when I printed it, because it didn't seem long at all in the reading, it just went from point to point to point in a clear thorough way. As someone who found a very puerile attack on Obama on the office copier, I both celebrate that your writing exists, Paul, and despair of getting someone like that anonymous person to read it. You write beautifully. Thank you! (Nancy Hughes)
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