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In 1961, Eisenhower said, “in the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.  We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.”

Here we are 48 years later with those prophetic words eerily sliding off our tongues, as we the people have allowed the meshing of industrial, military and corporate machinery to indeed take our liberties away. We paid no heed to those words.

The corporate machinery has turned profit into a defense system that no longer allows for individual thought or needs. The military machinery defines people’s rights by “enhanced interrogation tactics.” The industrial machinery turned its back on people by using slave labor enhanced by the prison system to ensure that black males continue to be the backbone for corporate growth and greed. And our legislators have forgotten they work for “we the people.”

That certainly must be true, otherwise simple securities, civil rights and liberties like a living wage and health care would be the norm.

Every month our legislators are allowing the same number of people who perished in 9/11 to die. Should that not be classified as murder? Negligence? We mourned so loudly over those deaths, yet not one word is uttered monthly for the deaths caused by health care negligence. Every year over 100,000 people are given the wrong drugs or dosage and die, that is not negligence? Every year more than 47 million people without health insurance are at risk of unnatural death, is that not negligence on the part of our legislators?

Are we not, to quote Eisenhower being an alert and knowledgeable citizenry that we are actually allowing this to transpire? Is there a prison sentence for our complicity in these crimes of negligence?

When a mother who has been paying for health insurance finds out that her company is denying her claim because of pre existing conditions and then allows her to die, who takes care of that motherless child? When everyone of us is just one catastrophic illness away from homelessness, who pays for that negligence?

This fight for health care reform is and should be based on this  abominable sense of  negligence, for it is the epitome of civil rights, human rights. It is indeed very personal.

If your child, daughter, mother, father, husband, could not get the care that was needed, would you just sit by and watch? Would you choose negligence?

To paraphrase Richard Pryor, it’s not justice… it’s just us.  Oh, and… check mate is not an option.

1. Myra says:

   September 3, 2009 at 8:52 pm

   Eloquent truth. I’ve not been able to get my heart and mind around the whole thing enough to write about it. You’ve done it much better than I ever could have. Thank you!

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2. ariel harris says:

   September 4, 2009 at 7:46 am

   myra, thank you for your kind words. we all have a part to play or do…and speaking up is one we all can do well. much peace to you

   Reply
3. Terri Evans says:

   September 4, 2009 at 1:53 pm

   A great piece, Ariel. I especially loved the headline – it says so much.

   Reply
4. ariel harris says:

   September 4, 2009 at 1:56 pm

   thanks terri, hurts the heart to have to use the word neglect..but indeed that is what it comes down to.

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5. Andy says:

   September 5, 2009 at 3:34 pm

   Medical bills don’t usually lead to homelessness. Nobody can force you to pay the medical bill and nobody can force you to give up more money each month than you need to live and pay your bills.

   There will still be claims denied under a government sponsored plan as medical resources will always be limited. The question is which ones will be denied?

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6. Brenden says:

   September 8, 2009 at 1:50 pm

   I believe the human death rate at all income levels remains steady at 100% — even in command-economy paradises like Myanmar and Algeria! What an outrage! Whom to blame? Yes: the capitalists! The military! The slave-holding white plantation owners who themselves died 100 years ago (and how convenient for them… must be a conspiracy of white slave-holding plantation owners responsible… they must be shot!)!

   Perhaps we could have the gov’t legislate a schedule so we’ll know when we should die, that is, until the gov’t solves the death problem entirely. But first, let’s bankrupt all the businesses and hold some show trials. This will whip up a bubbly froth of moral indignation to pay for our death prevention research program. Save us, noble legislators!

   Reply