Social Heath Care

This is the last essay I wrote for my classical writing course. It was very fun to research and write. I hope y'all enjoy reading it. Thanks for taking the time.

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Over time, the United States Government has taken liberties to govern areas independent of their permitted jurisdiction. The Founding Fathers of America laid out the purpose of the government in the Constitution and nowhere does it includes laws which support gun control, allow the destruction of life, interfere with education, or control health care. The United States government has gone too far. Socialized government health care is slowly being introduced into our nation and is planning to further corrupt America by replacing the private sector doctors and health care with "free" health benefits, however, it would really cost people loads of money to pay for worse care than they previously received.

Social health care can take on the form of many disguises and can hardly be defined as one thing or another. What is commonly understood by the term "social heath care," however, is that the government owns nearly all forms of care such as doctors, surgeons, dentists, etc. and the people no longer have a choice of who they receive care from; it's chosen for them. That does not sound too bad though. Right? Wrong. So few people allow themselves to see the damage and harm this can do. First off, because the government commandeers all systems of medical help, they agree to pay for it all so it is potentially "free" for the citizens. That sounds good too, but the real truth, that people are not generally aware of, is that since the government would "pay," and they have to get the money somewhere, they obtain the money from the people, and how do they do that other than by raising taxes?

That's right, the government would raise taxes even higher than they are previously, which is ridiculously high because of other supposed social "improvements" we have adopted, so that there is enough money to pay the government employed health workers. In reality, citizens pay for all the health benefits after all, but worse than that, they also pay for that of other people as well. For example, if everyone pays the same amount of tax for health care, one person may be in continual good health and rarely need to visit the doctor at all, where as another person might constantly be in and out of the doctor's office for different injuries and medical issues. The healthy person then would normally only pay a little bit for their few appointments, but the other person would pay much more. With social health care, the healthy people, through taxes, will be forced to pay much more than they normally would. Some of the people who need lots of medical attention, and would be the beneficiaries of increased taxes, are the people who lead immoral lives, take drugs, have abortions and there are many people who would not support their money being used to benefit such life styles. Not all people, however, who have poor health or have medical issues fit into those three categories, but in some cases, the money paid through taxes will go to give "free" health care to those who have made foolish decisions in their lives.

As if that were not bad enough, the actual process of getting into the doctor is a hassle. Canada adapted universal health care in 1984, and 26 years later it is worse than ever. To get in to see a doctor can take any where from two to ten hours of waiting. At a hospital, a patient has to wait for a couple hours just to see a nurse, then wait anywhere up to another 8 hours, depending on how urgent the doctors feel the situation is. Eventually a real doctor will see the patient and address the issue. However, there is no guarantee that there will be a prompt solution, or even one at all. That makes sitting in a witting room for an hour sound fast! Because the employees get paid by the government and not from their clients, there is very little incentive to work hard or really care for the patients. Some doctors and nurses, who are honest say that the best way to receive beneficial help would be to go to a private doctor! So if that is the solution why does not every one go to the private doctor? Because there is a catch. A person can only get a private doctor if they have somewhere around nine hundred dollars to spare. And even if someone did have that much to spend on a private doctor, it takes anywhere from one to three years to get accepted as a patient. Because they are in such high demand, from people not wanting to use government provided health care, it is extremely difficult to even get a private physician. It is clear to see that universal health care is ineffective and futile. While the United States is trying to get rid of the independent doctors, Canada is doing just the opposite, trying to get more private care.

A common saying in the 18th century said, "the restraint of government is the true liberty and freedom of the people." Our nation has declined greatly since then and we can see the truth of it even more clearly now. The government has wormed its way in and stuck its hand where it does not belong. According to the Constitution, the government has three jobs; preserving national peace, maintaining national security, and the promotion of equal justice for everyone. How does raising already high taxes to instill a form of health care that is proven to fail, fall into either of those three categories? The truth is that our government has over stepped its rightful bounds and is intruding on the people's liberty. When looking back through history, there are many examples of times when the government should have left well enough alone, but they just couldn't. They seem to think that there should be equality for all people; old and young, poor and rich, privileged and impoverished, foreign and native. Whether through social security, health care, or education, all of which are paid by taxes, the government has tried to bridge the gap of social class which has resulted in worse situations than America was formerly comprised of.

Thomas Jefferson said, "when people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty." The nation as a whole has stepped back, taken a vacation from responsibility, and apathetically watched the government head in a tyrannical direction, instead of putting on their boots and wading through the swamp of difficulty and duty in order to maintain freedom. America is training the next generation to abdicate their obligations and let the government do what they feel is best by setting an example of indifference, but that will only pull the nation into deeper trouble than that caused by socialized heath care.

the education of children

Often looked down upon as a waste of a broad-minded and capable woman’s time, teaching her children is one of the most blessed careers a mother could fulfill. Imparting a lasting education does not begin on the first day of kindergarden or grade school. It begins in infancy. Whether or not parents realize it, when a babe is still unable to string words together or even use a sippy cup, his education has begun--for better or worse. Children are a big responsibility and one that needs to be taken seriously. The great philosopher Plato said: “No man should bring children into the world who is unwilling to persevere to the end in their nurture and education.” Being intentional about bringing children up in the admonition of the Lord requires a great deal of dedication and consistency, but the results are worth every minute of weariness--not to mention it is a command to all Believers. It is the little things in life that culminate over time and are the backbone to character. Thus intentional choices and training on the part of the parents are integral to the child.

Parents should construct a vision and know what end result they want to obtain in the big picture. This will help in the planning stage where the curriculums or methods of book education are chosen. Starting with hopes for the finale and slowly, methodically working backwards to construct a broad and flexible, organized schedule with which to follow as the years go by will lend a cadence and reason to scholastic decisions later on. Establishing a scope and sequence from the start will give the educator some structure as to where to direct the studies and when certain tasks should be accomplished to be able to achieve the fixed goals. Relying on these boundary points during the ensuing stages, the deviations, all too common in the normal homeschool regimen, will be severely diminished and the focus will stay more on track and in line with the chief end. Plato espouses many great ideas as education and the work it requires, on behalf of the teacher as well as the student, “nothing great is easy.”

As soon as the parents have a grasp on how to put their vision into practice, they can begin feeding it to their children in bit-sized pieces. The early years should be spent nurturing each precious God-given blessing with little emphasis on academic studies. Days fly by full of seeing the world through enthusiastic, untainted eyes and teaching children what it means to learn and discover, believe and trust, love and hate--tying heartstrings between mother and children. When relationships have been well established during the young years, the rest of life together in the home will be pleasant and enjoyable to all members of the family.

Pupils can absorb almost anything; they are a clean slate on which to work and engrave, leaving an indelible impression on the soul. One of the most important elements of an early childhood education is an exposure to literature that will instill foundational truths from the start.

“For a young person cannot judge what is allegorical and what is literal; anything that he receives into his mind at that age is likely to become indelible and unalterable; and therefore it is most important that the tales which the young first hear should be models of virtuous thoughts.”

Entering the age of adolescence, students launch into their education and gain a personal interest in knowledge for the sake of understanding. Biblically-minded mentors are essential in this stage. They guide, challenge, and instruct--ultimately imparting their worldview, standards, values, and ethics in the child. Having once started using great books as teachers, it is hard to stop, especially as the material just gets better and better, inspiring further research and deeper conversations. Continually discussing literary and academic material, the scholarly young adults will advance their education, establishing rhetorical habits.

As the children grow and mature, the foundation laid down in the beginning will be tested. If it is weak or crumbling anything added to it will topple into a miserable heap of rebellion. However, if the mother truly has the heart of her child in her hands and the cornerstones of faith and love remain steadfastly in place, everything built on top will last a life time and will be a living testimony of God’s grace in the lives of all involved. Reaching adulthood though a path of intentionality is a process that over time results in a percipient and copious man, ready to face all challenges. Plato suggests the “end” has been reached when:

“[a student] knows when he should speak and when he should abstain from speaking, and when he should make use of pithy sayings, pathetic appeals, aggravated effects, and all the other figures of speech;--when I say, he knows the times and seasons of all these things, then and not till then he is perfect and consummate master of his art.”

Throughout their children’s education, parents are involved in cultivating character qualities, explaining ideas, sharing wisdom, imparting truths, befriending, and guiding in edification.

the value of feminine domesticity

In the modern world of people worried about being politically correct and socially acceptable, a woman living as best she can in light of Proverbs 31 is truly a diamond in the rough--quite a shock to the mediocratic populace. This is such an exceptional concept that a lady often has to endure a long bout of criticism and grueling, loaded questions when she mentions her future plans and goals. A woman who focuses her energies looking after the ways of her household should be commended; her “job” is one of the most important and noble responsibilities given to the daughters of Eve.

“Homemaking—being a full-time wife and mother—is not a destructive drought of usefulness but an overflowing oasis of opportunity; it is not a dreary cell to contain one’s talents and skills but a brilliant catalyst to channel creativity and energies into meaningful work; it is not a rope for binding one’s productivity in the marketplace, but reins for guiding one’s posterity in the home; it is not oppressive restraint of intellectual prowess for the community, but a release of wise instruction to your own household; it is not the bitter assignment of inferiority to your person, but the bright assurance of the ingenuity of God’s plan for the complementarity of the sexes, especially as worked out in God’s plan for marriage; it is neither limitation of gifts available nor stinginess in distributing the benefits of those gifts, but rather the multiplication of a mother’s legacy to the generations to come and the generous bestowal of all God meant a mother to give to those He entrusted to her care. (Dorothy Paterson)”

Aspirations to be a keeper-at-home can be quickly dashed when a young lady tells someone that what she wants to be when she grows up is a wife and mommy instead of a prestigious career woman in the workplace. Eyebrows raise, a smirk might flicker, and a barrage of questions follow. “What about your education? You’re smart and have such potential, why waste it at home? What will you do all day if you don’t have a job?” Because of the contrary opinions that she is bound to come in contact with, a future homemaker would be wise to formulate answers to these dubious arguments. A lady used to be considered accomplished if she was well versed in all the arts. Mr. Darcey says that a girl must have a working knowledge of music, singing, drawing, dancing, and modern languages, and she must learn to improve her mind through useful studies and extensive reading and she also should apply proper deportment in all situations. It takes a great woman intentional in her pursuits and broad of mind to fulfill these expectations. Though Austen’s fictional hero lived centuries ago and his list of qualifications are a bit out-dated, the modern, liberally educated woman is better prepared to fulfill her biblical calling if she has spent time preparing herself.

There are many profitable ways for a woman to occupy her time at home. Some ladies have families and that, obviously, would take up the majority of her time; mentoring, cleaning, training, baking, repairing, nurturing, teaching, sewing, guiding, befriending. Others are older and empty-nesters or have not been blest with children of their own. Their role in a Christian community would involve the Titus 2 model of helping with duties and imparting wisdom to younger or overwhelmed wives. A girl who is not married has the opulent freedom to delve into any area of study that interests her and learn all there is to know. As G.K. Chesterton says, a lady choosing to stay home opens up vast numbers of educational pursuits--the world is her oyster.

“Woman must be a cook, but not a competitive cook; a school mistress, but not a competitive schoolmistress; a house-decorator but not a competitive house-decorator; a dressmaker, but not a competitive dressmaker. She should have not one trade but twenty hobbies; she, unlike the man, may develop all her second bests. This is what has been really aimed at from the first in what is called the seclusion, or even the oppression, of women. Women were not kept at home in order to keep them narrow; on the contrary, they were kept at home in order to keep them broad.”

In the pursuit of knowledge a woman need not become an authority on all points in a given subject or live under the shadow of constant comparison. Rather than extensively studying one topic, she has the opportunity to customize and explore different fields of her education, learning what would specifically be profitable to her.

Being home-centered has more to do with the heart of a lady, than the fact that she works in, and sometimes from, the home instead of an office job or that she logs a certain number of hours in a house each week, applies her quota of band-aids, and washes all the dishes in the sink. A woman who has a vision to be a keeper at home, a devoted mother, and a self-less wife desires to work to the best of her ability where she is needed. If the house is not tidy and laundry unfolded, but she has the heart strings of her children tied to her own and her husband is content, she has found the essence of her biblical role. Proverbs and 1 Timothy exhorts women to serve, submit, and encourage their husbands as well as care for their families. “A godly woman is one who sees her life as a mission of service. What others view as a burden, she views as a blessing and opportunity. (Christine Russell)” Ordinary tasks may seem to be repetitious or even tiresome, but when seen in the light of eternity, it is the unremarkable chores that shape the lives of others--thus making routine responsibilities extra-ordinary.

“Thank God, O women, for the quietude of your home, and that you are the queen in it. Men come at eventide to the home, but all day long you are there, beautifying it, sanctifying it, adorning it, blessing it. Better be there than wearing a queen’s coronet. Better be there than carrying the purse of a princess. It may be a very humble home. There may be no carpet no the floor. There may be no pictures on the wall. There may be no silks in the wardrobe, but, by your faith in God, and you cheerful demeanor, you may garniture that place with more splendor than the upholsterer’s hand ever kindled. (T. Delwitt Talmage)”

Anyone could stay home, but wrapped up in the middle of the issue is the fact that a woman desires her focus to be centered on her family and running it smoothly. Called to be a help-meet to their God-given husbands, women have a huge duty to fulfill. Often the mundane, everyday chores are looked at as menial, but in truth, a homemaker works harder than almost all other career-minded individuals; there will always be cuts, burns, and bruises to kiss and doctor; dishes never stop stacking up; dust and dirt persistently pile up no matter how often the house is cleaned; souls are ever in need of guidance and cheering. Finding joy in the daily trials that face a stay-at-home mom is the simplest, yet most difficult, role a Biblically-focused woman can do; learning to treasure domesticity in all its forms.