by D Par

Created on: March 21, 2010   Last Updated: March 22, 2010

This bill must be passed. If not this bill in 2010, when will there be reform? The status quo is not acceptable and we, as Americans, cannot wait for urgently needed reform. 

If Congress starts over now, there is no guarantee that there will be a bill or any reform this year, or even next year. If Republicans take Congress or the balance of power changes, there may not be reform for many more years.

After the failed attempt at reform in 1993, there has been no serious attempt at reform until now. Can we imagine the consequences if Congress waits 17 more years to reform our flawed health care system?

The time to pass a bill is now because we're so close, closest we've been since 1993. 2010 can be the year we break through and finally make a difference. The year we finally bend the cost curve and stop the growing of premiums. This can be a reality if Congress acts courageously in the face of the Tea Parties and the lobbyists.

These Tea Parties are scared of possible change, and that is understandable considering human nature. Humans fear change; we cling to the familiar and point out flaws in the new. If humans had let fear stop progress, humans would not have landed on the moon or created airplanes. Now is not the time to fear. Now is the time to change the system for the better.

Furthermore, this bill is not entirely of reform. This bill will provide the framework for future reform. Without this bill, there is nothing, zero, zilch. Nothing to show for a year's worth of Congressional work. This health care bill is by no means perfect, but no system is perfect at first.

This bill can be improved upon by later sessions of Congress to create an ideal system. The first step is often the hardest one to take, and we must take it to someday have the best healthcare in the world.

Our representatives must vote in the best interest of the country going forward. We have a representative democracy for a reason, and that reason is to avoid mob rule.

Our representatives must vote for what they believe to be the right side regardless of what the polls say. If our representatives pass this bill on an up and down vote, we have the right to vote them out, but we have to accept their votes.

This bill has become about more than just health care. It's about hope and fear, aspiration and cynicism, and the future of this country. Let us not be scared by lies and doubt. Let us push forward for the sake of betterment and progress. Let us cross the finish line and get health care reform.

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