One of the most important facts concerning the current health care debate is also one of the least discussed.  We hear about the World Health Organization’s 2000 report listing the United States as number 37 in health care, behind  the United Kingdom, France and Canada.  We hear about criticism of a public option and fights between politicians.  The most important fact has nothing to do with those things, and that fact is:

The opinion about quality of health care in the United States differs depending on how one experiences the system.

I’ll get to why that’s important in a minute but for now a quick explanation by use of examples.  One, a person who has never had a serious illness is much more likely to be happy with the current system because they haven’t really had to use it.  Two, some people get sick and are taken care of by their insurance companies just fine.  Three, some people get sick and are dumped by their insurance companies.  Some people never use their insurance, some go bankrupt because their insurance wouldn’t cover a serious illness.

Today I had a very interesting conversation about immigration with a man who lives nearby. He told me everything he knew about the scourge of illegal immigration and made some very personal points with great intensity. He was very convincing. So I did a little research, and I discovered a government-supported statement that supports immigration in such a widespread way that I believe we must take it upon ourselves to remove it from our lexicon. It’s in public and our children see it on a regular basis. If we’re going to be consistent, this statement must go.

In essence, the statement says that the United States is proud to take in just about anybody at any time, and will light the path for them to come. We simply can’t approve of something like that, so here’s my plan.