Health care toll is sickening

Every year, 45,000 Americans die of something that doesn’t exist elsewhere in the developed world. They die from complications due to lack of medical care. If a flu virus found only in America killed 45,000 annually, we would march on Washington with torches. Do we count the uninsured as collateral damage in our scramble for financial success?

This is social engineering at its worst. The “haves” and “have mores” determine who gets medical coverage. Nowhere else in developed countries do people die or go bankrupt for lack of medical coverage.

Judeo-Christian teachings state that God judges individuals and nations by how they treat those who live at the margins. Every major religion in the world puts compassion at the top of its list of values. Somehow the “gospel of prosperity” or “me first” sells better.

If you consider America a Christian nation, where does Jesus say that financial success shows God’s approval and those who don’t make it deserve what they get?

Capitalism creates abundant opportunities. But raw capitalism has a cruel underbelly – survival of the fittest, rewarding the dominant. It works best when balanced with compassionate institutions, laws and people.

It’s moral gut-check time in America.

Larry Winters

Cheney