I'm absolutely astounded and dismayed by the Republican reaction to Barack Obama's proposed scheme to overhaul health care in the United States. Primarily, I'm shocked by the rabid attacks that have been directed at the Nationalised Health Service of the United Kingdom - a health system that, revealingly, is ranked 19 places higher than that of the United States in the national rankings of the World Health Organization (UK is 18th, USA is 37th).
The NHS has been described as 'evil' and 'Orwellian' in recent weeks, and one US newspaper (The Investor's Business Daily) commented: 'People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the UK, where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.'
Stephen Hawking himself quickly ridiculed this claim, however, stating that 'received a large amount of high quality treatment [from the NHS] without which I would not have survived'.
Furthermore, two British women who related stories of poor treatment by the NHS have disclosed that they were duped by the Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR): they were told that their stories would be included in a balanced documentary debating the merits and drawbacks of a nationalised healthcare system, when in fact they were included in a US TV commercial intended to peturb the public and to turn them against state-funded healthcare. Since the commercial was run, both women have announced their support for the NHS.
David Cameron, the leader of the opposition, and Gordon Brown, the current Prime Minister, have also broadcast their support for the NHS via a Twitter page set up to defend the system; the campaign received so many messages that it crashed the Twitter website.
It seems that the Republican response to the plan is to allege fabricated or wildly exaggerated claims and to engage in active fear-mongering. They aim to 'scare and mislead', according to Barack Obama. Perhaps they should start talking politics.
The NHS has been described as 'evil' and 'Orwellian' in recent weeks, and one US newspaper (The Investor's Business Daily) commented: 'People such as scientist Stephen Hawking wouldn't have a chance in the UK, where the National Health Service would say the life of this brilliant man, because of his physical handicaps, is essentially worthless.'
Stephen Hawking himself quickly ridiculed this claim, however, stating that 'received a large amount of high quality treatment [from the NHS] without which I would not have survived'.
Furthermore, two British women who related stories of poor treatment by the NHS have disclosed that they were duped by the Conservatives for Patients' Rights (CPR): they were told that their stories would be included in a balanced documentary debating the merits and drawbacks of a nationalised healthcare system, when in fact they were included in a US TV commercial intended to peturb the public and to turn them against state-funded healthcare. Since the commercial was run, both women have announced their support for the NHS.
David Cameron, the leader of the opposition, and Gordon Brown, the current Prime Minister, have also broadcast their support for the NHS via a Twitter page set up to defend the system; the campaign received so many messages that it crashed the Twitter website.
It seems that the Republican response to the plan is to allege fabricated or wildly exaggerated claims and to engage in active fear-mongering. They aim to 'scare and mislead', according to Barack Obama. Perhaps they should start talking politics.
