I have been reading many different letters to the editor regarding healthcare reform. A lot of ground has been covered for sure. I thought I’d inject just a few observations of my own.

First of all, we all agree changes have to be made, that we want everyone to have coverage availability. HOW we arrive at this goal is the cause of much discussion. Some have suggested that fear is being used to intimidate and distract us from the real issues. I propose the idea, though, that the facts may be what is responsible for arousing honest fears.

What makes America different from the rest of the world? Is it not the freedoms we enjoy, and the government “of the people, by the people, for the people” standard set by our founders? Shouldn’t we fear when the foundations to our freedoms are threatened? I propose that some of the provisions being offered in this intended health care reform, as well as other initiatives by our government, are definitely a threat to our freedoms.

Let’s start with the freedom to choose health care insurance? As I understand it, everyone would be forced to buy insurance whether they wanted it or not. Yes, there are some Americans who do not want health care insurance. Is this not a threat to their freedoms? And worse yet, there could be fines and possible jail punishment if one didn’t buy insurance! This doesn’t sound like America to me. Knowing the fraud and corruption that is possible in big government, do we really trust the federal government to undertake this broad program as the best possible way to solve the health care crisis? Why is it that our congressmen are not willing to be included in the Health Care bill they are voting on? Can hard-working Americans afford more taxes and higher premiums, which this bill will very likely impose? And why are our Democratic representatives ignoring feasible and responsible suggestions made by Republicans that could actually cut costs for all of us, for example, limiting frivolous lawsuits that have caused doctor premiums to skyrocket, even causing some to leave their practices. These are all reasonable questions we should be asking.

President Obama promised that taxpayer-funded abortions would not be part of the reform. Taxpayer-funded abortions are still a part of the public option being offered in the Senate version and President Obama seems to be trying to play both sides of the issue. In addition, another area of concern is the conscience clause. We should be afraid if government begins to tell us we have to do things that betray our consciences. I recently heard a former abortionist describe a second trimester abortion. Literally, he said, the doctor takes the baby apart piece by piece, pulling out an arm, a leg, etc. and putting them in a pile to be discarded. As horrifying as this was to hear, it is the reality of what happens in America every single day. Are we going to require medical personnel to assist in this barbaric act of murder which we have legalized? Fellow citizens, we should be very fearful if the right of conscience is not protected! Remember, the majority of Americans are against abortion and do not want to associate themselves with it or have their tax dollars pay for it.

I am also concerned with the continuing government control of the private sector; the auto industry, and the financial services industry for starters. Then cap and trade which, if passed, will effectively give control over energy. And now the government could have control over health care as well. This sounds like a lot of new government control to me.

In addition to all this, we are now seeing a trend to reduce defense spending, thus making us more vulnerable to our enemies. The Hate Crimes Bill, which was recently passed by Congress, attaching it to the Defense Bill ( quite underhandedly!) will effectively limit freedom of speech and religion, which seems to be its only purpose, since crimes are already prosecuted no matter what the motive is. Some watchdogs (and we should be very grateful for them) observe that the president seems to be in favor of apologizing to our enemies and punishing our friends. He speaks in terms of socialistic ideals while surrounding himself with people known for their left-leaning loyalties (this alone should throw up a big red flag!). Do we believe in a free market or do we believe our government should control our lives? Any government effort to usurp more and more power over its people while protecting them less should raise serious concerns. As a people we’d better be alert to watch carefully what our politicians do, more so than what they say.

My point here is caution. Fear, balanced with facts, can be a very positive factor in making people more alert to possible dangers and allowing them to take appropriate action before damage is done. I urge us, therefore, to be diligent in seeking out the truth on all the issues we face as a nation and then acting intelligently on it.

Loretta Hastings 
Franklin