Health Care: On principle...
The following paragraphs was forwarded to me recently and struck home as a truth worth being reminded of (arguments of practicality can be overturned by innovation; arguments of principle are permanent). They discuss the necessity of arguing from principle as well as practicality in the context of heath care reform. I see this as a broader principle, however, that should be applied to all areas.
Let us never forget the principles that form the firm foundation of any practical argument. For "if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
Posted by Caleb
From a Mark Steyn editorial:
"But to object to the governmentalization of health care on that basis (it costs too much, it won’t be done well) implicitly concedes the argument that if we could figure out a way to bring down the price, it would be fine and dandy. Right now, there are a lot of wonkish and utilitarian objections to what the Democrats want to do, and they're gaining traction. However, in the American Spectator, Brandon Crocker points out that this is exactly the way things went over Hillarycare in 1993: Americans took stands against the plan on practical grounds but not against the underlying principle: "Since we did not win that philosophical argument in 1993," Mr. Crocker writes, "we now have to fight the same battle today."
And, if we win on utilitarian grounds today, we'll have to fight it again in 10 years, five years, maybe fewer -- until something passes, and then everything changes, forever. As the Irish Republican Army famously taunted Margaret Thatcher, we only have to get lucky once; you have to be lucky every day."
"But to object to the governmentalization of health care on that basis (it costs too much, it won’t be done well) implicitly concedes the argument that if we could figure out a way to bring down the price, it would be fine and dandy. Right now, there are a lot of wonkish and utilitarian objections to what the Democrats want to do, and they're gaining traction. However, in the American Spectator, Brandon Crocker points out that this is exactly the way things went over Hillarycare in 1993: Americans took stands against the plan on practical grounds but not against the underlying principle: "Since we did not win that philosophical argument in 1993," Mr. Crocker writes, "we now have to fight the same battle today."
And, if we win on utilitarian grounds today, we'll have to fight it again in 10 years, five years, maybe fewer -- until something passes, and then everything changes, forever. As the Irish Republican Army famously taunted Margaret Thatcher, we only have to get lucky once; you have to be lucky every day."
Let us never forget the principles that form the firm foundation of any practical argument. For "if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?"
Posted by Caleb
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