I find it very disheartening that some West Virginians are railing against Rep. Rahall for his support of health care reform. Several of the letter writers in Nov. 12 Bluefield Daily Telegraph spoke out against Rahall’s decision, citing what the “majority” of people want. I would remind these people, as well as the “majority”, that it is not our good representative’s duty to follow blindly the will of the masses. Had representatives adhered strictly to majority opinion segregation may never have ended; women may never have been granted the right to vote.
We must remember that we elect officials to do what is best for the people of West Virginia and the people of the United States of America. We do not elect them to sheepishly follow the sometimes tyrannical majority, but rather to represent their districts and states to the best of their ability. Sometimes that means going with the crowd, other times it means doing the right thing even though they know they will take a hit in the polls.
Representative Rahall’s decision has shown that he is a man of integrity. If indeed the “majority” was against him then we must applaud his willingness to go against the grain for the betterment of the downtrodden constituents that he represents, especially the voiceless poor without insurance and without a means to attain reasonable health care.
As for those who continue to balk at the idea of universal health care — shame on you! It is our duty to love and care for our fellow man. We sometimes hold individualism to dear in this country, and do so at great cost to our neighbors. As a very wise man (and former resident of Canada) recently said to me, “When will people in this country wise up and understand that paying a little more in taxes so that everyone can have health care is for the greater good?”
There is no excuse for anyone in America, one of the wealthiest, most powerful countries to have ever existed, to do without basic necessities — food, clean water, shelter, clothing, or health care. There is also no excuse for Americans to actively oppose the provision of these basic necessities. Think about what you are saying, West Virginia! Think about what you oppose! You would strike down legislation that provides every American the right to seek medical treatment in favor of an alternative that literally causes the deaths of tens of thousands of Americans each year.
I will leave you with a quote and (hopefully) some food for thought: “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; It is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
John M. McCormick
Princeton
Letters to the Editor
November 12, 2009
Rahall's vote helps voiceless poor without insurance
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