Enjoying the Benefits of Higher Taxation

I know that many people in the US are scared out of their wits that the US is "going the way of Sweden" and turning into a socialist society.  I almost laugh out loud every time I hear that.  For starters...the US is so FAAAAARRRR from being a socialist nation it's not even possible.  Secondly, going the way of Sweden wouldn't really be so bad if you consider some of the facts.
We have finalized Doug's hospital bills from when he broke his leg.  He had to be picked up from the street by ambulance and rushed to the emergency room for x-rays and treatment.  This part of his medical journey cost us $53.00.  Then we found out that he was going to be admitted and have emergency surgery the next morning.  He was given a temporary cast, drugs for pain and a shared room with 3 other guys and no TV.  So, not the luxury and amenities of a private US hospital but he received good care and ended up staying two nights in the hospital.  This part of his medical journey cost us $27.00.  Then he came home and two days later he got his cast wet and so we had to go back and have it re-cast.  The cost for that was $0.00.  Three weeks later, he went in and got the plaster cast off, took x-rays, saw a Dr., got the boot.  This part of the journey cost $38.00.  Three weeks later, he went in, got the boot off, stitches taken out, saw the Dr. and the physical therapist.  This cost $48.00.  Finally, he had the last surgery to take out the pin and get a final clearance.  He also saw the physical therapist.  This cost $27.00.  Total cost of Doug's emergency broken leg: $193.00 plus the cost of the pain medication, which was actually a bit high...about $100.00, but included morphine so I guess it was OK.  The crutches were free.  We returned them.  But now, Doug has paid the maximum a person can pay out of pocket for a certain time period so he has totally free health care until September.  I'm pushing him to get the torn cartilage fixed in his knee before then!  Yes, he still has a torn cartilage.  Poor guy.  But the point is this:  His injury did not put us in peril.  We are not going to pay medical bills for the next several years because of an emergency.  Yes, we've done our bit by paying our taxes, but the great thing about paying taxes as we do is that you are automatically forced to "save for an emergency" which most people do not.  So when something catastrophic happens, it often really sets people back.
Now, I'm not saying that we can compare the US to Sweden because the issues are complex and complicated, but I am saying that people really need to quit saying that countries like Sweden are really messed up.  This is not messed up. It is a way of providing for your population and making sure that people don't become destitute when an emergency medical situation presents itself.  We have been quite happy with the care that Doug has received and we feel very lucky that we have gotten through this whole ordeal without having to worry about paying for it.
Additionally, we are now about to embark on our annual winter hiatus.  We will leave on Thursday, take a long weekend in New York, attend a pastors' conference in Chicago next week and then take a 4 week (paid) holiday.  This is totally normal for Swedes, except most of them do it in the month of July.  We are odd in that we prefer a winter holiday since we have the chance to attend the conference and see family all at once, and an added bonus is that my parents are in a warm, resorty place: Palm Springs, California. Yes, it's sickening that we don't even have to cash out all of our days.  Once you turn 50, you get 35 days plus the public holidays.  Starting to understand how our 3 year contract turned into 12.5?  Of course, these aren't the only reasons, but the long holidays certainly make living here much easier as we have the privilege of getting back to the US to visit family regularly and still have time to refresh ourselves with some other kinds of travel.
So, when the conversation about universal health care or ensuring that all are covered comes up, instead of totally panicking that you will be forced into that "Swedish way of doing things" just stop for a minute and consider that higher taxes, put to use in the right way, could be a life saver for you or your neighbor when you slip on an icy street and break your leg in two places.

The Lacuna and Other Lies That are Told

So I finally got around to reading The Lacuna and was expectant that it would be a good read.  Sadly, it was not.  The first two-thirds of the book just trudged along and it was tough to stay with it.  Luckily, the last third was quite compelling and more up to speed with what I've experienced with Barbara Kingsolver in the past.  What was most compelling to me about the end of the novel was the light Kingsolver shone on the communist witch hunting that occurred in the late 40's and early 50's in the United States.  She revealed through story the insidious manner in which the public and the government went after people who they deemed suspicious of Anti-American activity.  Throughout her story you could see the ways in which those in power spun yarns against those they were accusing and how easily the public was swayed by compelling yet totally false "evidence"  against those accused.  One quote caught my attention.  "Most of them (those hunting out 'communists' and the general public) don't know what communism is, could not pick it out of a lineup.  They only know what anticommunism is.  The two are practically unrelated."  What strikes me about this quote is how relevant is it for the current rhetoric we face in the US particularly as it relates to socialism and Muslims.  With all due respect, my experience has been that most people who stand against socialism really have no real understanding of what socialism is all about.  They just know that they are against it.  Same with Muslims. Certain aspects of the media and other public outlets have drawn a hard line in the sand equating Muslims with terrorists and people seem more than willing to line up behind this ideology.  It's easier to believe what someone is saying rather than studying things for yourself.  But the problem with that is that much of what is being broadcast on the internet and on television isn't truthful.  This concept carries over into all areas of our lives.  I have become so disillusioned with news sources that I really don't know what to believe about much of anything anymore.  And sorry folks, Fox News is not a good source for truthful news.  It carries one of the most heavy biases in all of television.  When it comes to President Obama, I understand that people don't like his politics but what I don't understand is why people are still wondering if he's a Muslim when he has confessed to being to a Christian.  Why are people still wondering if he was born in the US when his birth certificate has been produced?  Critique his politics.  That's the American way.  But can we leave out the vitriolic rhetoric that often has no basis in truth?
The unscrupulous manner in which the novel revealed how the protagonist ended up in a web of accusation for being a communist was really almost painful to read because it felt too close to reality to be only fiction.  They took the words he had written in a fiction novel about a character that he created and attributed the quote to the author, claiming that these were his personal feelings about the government.  And the manner in which he was questioned hardly allowed for him to elaborate for they forced him into yes or no questions, such as, did you write these words?, which of course, he did, but as part of a character development for someone in a book who lived in Mexico many years ago, not as a personal political statement.
Anyway...the book got me thinking about truth, about why we choose to believe what we choose to believe, how one goes about getting accurate information, why personal attack has to be so much a part of our rhetoric these days, why we vilify certain groups instead of seeking to understand more fully where they are coming from, what we fear and how the media feeds that fear.
So, in the end, for a book I really didn't like, I have to say the last third got my juices pumping.

Socialism and Socialized: NOT THE SAME THING

I have watched with dismay how the conversations in America around health care reform have gotten so vitriolic that it makes me wonder how in the world I could be from such a country. Where in the world is our civil discourse? One thing that is making me particularly crazy is the cries of socialism that are emerging because of some of President Obama's ideas. People do not understand socialism. There is nothing about what he is proposing that is socialist. But most folks aren't willing to do their homework and understand what it is he is talking about.
I live in Sweden, a Social Democracy. Sweden is NOT a socialist nation. It has SOCIALIZED programs, but the people have elected their leaders and have chosen their way of life. Yes, taxes are high and yes there is a contract between the people and the government, but the people have chosen this and they could un-choose it in any given election. We are not living behind the iron curtain. In fact, life is pretty darn comfortable for us here in this little Scandinavian country.
In case you need a little more help in understanding the difference between socialism and socialized programs, please understand that America already has Socialized programs. Check out this link for a cute way of looking at it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jng4TnKqy6A
So, what I really want is for people to quit saying that President Obama is trying to make America into a socialist nation. It's just wrong and ignorant and does not help us get closer to a good solution for a bad problem like health care in America.