July 4, 2009 marks the 233rd anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, thus establishing the United States of America as a new nation. The reason that the Thirteen Colonies determined to separate from the mother country was widespread disagreement with Great Britain’s “taxation without representation,” the practice of taxing the colonists without granting them a voice in Parliament. Our Founding Fathers reacted to this tyranny with the first peaceful, anti-government demonstration conducted upon these shores. Dumping carton after carton of tea (a major staple for the colonists) into the Boston Harbor in protest of taxes, the protestors took part in what came to be known as the Boston Tea Party. The rest is history.
233 years later, America stands at another crossroads, deciding whether government will make certain choices for us or whether once again independent citizens will choose their own destinies. These revolve around issues that include but are not limited to the proposal for a national health insurance plan, a major controversy.
It is my contention that the introduction of insurance into this county was the beginning of another round of taxation without representation. Mandatory insurance coverage, as sanctioned by our legislators, was intended to protect us from the pitfalls of life. However, insurance carriers are strangling us with premiums. AIG, the giant of the industry whose motto was “Never outlive your money” had to be bailed out by the citizens of this country to ensure that they could live up to their own motto!
As with auto insurance, legislators are considering bills that would make health coverage mandatory, at the risk of a hefty fine for violators. Before the institution of mandatory insurance coverage — during the Great Depression, for example — the family doctor solved everyone’s medical needs. He did not charge his patients co-pays and even made house calls at no extra charge. And we all survived nicely. Now with a national health insurance plan on the horizon, the cost for such an initiative will once again fall upon the shoulders of the already overburdened taxpayers. If this is not taxation without representation, I don’t know what is.
As we celebrate the dream of our founding fathers on this 233rd Fourth of July, I wonder what they would say about the state of the union today. Would they cry, “Give me liberty or give me death?” Would they depend on the Constitution that they authored to protect the independence of our citizens? Would they, recalling the Boston Tea Party, rise up in protest? Almost one thing is certain about those men and women who were courageous enough to establish this country and fight for its independence. They would not “go quietly into that good night;” they would not, meekly, like sheep, accept a governmental edict with which they did not agree. They would, at the very least, make their voices heard.
