Over the past month, I have had the opportunity to connect with some old friends whom I haven't talked to in years. These people were my closest friends in days gone by. I loved them (and still do) because they are kind, generous, decent, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth kind of people. But they were/are politically naive and believe many of the lies told by the right-wing.
As we all know, the political landscape has changed drastically over the last 10 years. What you probably don't know is how much I have changed over that same amount of time. You see, in my life before Bush, I was a Republican. In fact, I was a Religious-Right Republican in my not-so-glory days. And these friends I have been talking to are my friends from those long-ago days. I have no reason to believe that they have come over from the dark side to our side. I do know they have suffered from many of the disastrous economic policies of the politicians they have voted for--and they may be ready to change direction.
I believe we can use Universal Health Coverage as a hook to find common ground and build an alliance--which may some day be the true wedge between the many people like my friends and the Republican Party. To find out how...please follow me below the fold!
As I chatted with my friends, we tried to catch up on 10 years worth of life and condense it down to an hour's worth of highlights and lowlights. Both families were happy, but having trouble getting or even staying ahead. And health care (or should I say, the lack thereof) was a major reason for this. Neither family had health insurance for all the usual reasons: a lost job, couldn't afford it, uninsurable, worked for a small business that didn't provide insurance. Any and all reasons factored in at any one time throughout their last ten years.
For one family, it meant the difference between getting their daughter's crooked teeth fixed and the threat of some future, unknown accident that could cause them economic damage. For the other family, that accident had already happened. The husband's fall off a ladder last year had resulted in numerous broken bones, a trip to the ER, large medical bills, and more work needing to be done that they simply cannot afford to have done.
I do not feel free to talk to these friends about how my political views have so drastically changed over the course of the last 10 years. I had no problem, however, telling them that I consider universal health coverage to be an extremely important issue. I told my friends I strongly supported UHC and any politician who ran on that issue would be getting my vote.
Both friends nodded in agreement. One of them said that she couldn't believe that Sweden was able to give UHC to their citizens, and yet the United States could not (or would not) do the same. The other friend told me (and I was amazed) that she votes for who she perceives to be the "best candidate" and that sometimes that candidate is a Republican and sometimes a Democrat.
I came away from these conversations convinced that these people are "reachable" and that universal health coverage is the issue that has the greatest chance of providing the clearest wakeup call to them. Health coverage is something that affects each and every one of our lives or the life of someone we care about in the most personal way. To find a way to open up a conversation about universal health coverage and discuss it in personal terms is the best way I have found to engage the "other side." It is the surest way I can think of to let the person begin the journey into self-examination--why they are voting against something they so desperately need.
My goal is to lead them to the water...I cannot force them to drink. Universal Health Coverage can be the hook to bring them over from the "dark side."