Will better marketing make you love state-controlled medical industry?

Most people seem to honestly believe that other people will agree with them on the big political issues if they’ll just make their case a little better next time. They just aren’t willing to admit that we’re badly divided on issues that matter — and we’re never going to come to a consensus.

I’m reminded of this again because of a marketing campaign from a couple of progressive left groups who think they can change the way people feel about the latest government intrusions in the health care system if they’ll just try harder. The new campaign is called “Thanks Obamacare,” and it’s intended to show all the alleged good that will come out of the coming changes in medical and insurance laws.

If you’ll watch the brief promotional video put together by the group and look at its website, it’s clear that the folks behind it have no idea why so many people oppose having the government control more and more of the medical industry. They just stick to the same talking points that are always pushed by proponents of the law. In other words, they’re preaching to themselves. They don’t believe the opponents’ genuine concerns are valid enough to even bother to address.

This is why the “one size fits all” political system is never going to work. For those on the political left, it’s obvious why a government-mandated health system is a great thing. For those on the right, it’s just as obvious why the new law is a bad thing. For some of us, though, it’s clearly obvious why every step that government has taken down the road of control over the last 50 years or so is what got us into a crisis, so we favor a genuine free market.

There isn’t a compromise position that can make all those groups happy, so some group gets to ram its ideas down the throats of everyone else. On this issue, it was the left that had the power to ram through at least a part of its program, while those with other positions fight and fume, but watch while it goes forward.

Better marketing isn’t going to make me want government controlling the health system. It’s not going to make me want to have government take money from other people and dole it out as it decides to. It’s not even going to make me accept the moral legitimacy of Medicare and Medicaid. There’s no reason for me to be forced to live under their system, just as there’s no reason for them to be forced to live under my system.

If other people want to lead themselves down a path that leads to higher costs, worse service and worse results, I don’t object if they voluntarily subject themselves to that. I just want the right for those of us who want to set up our own set of rules to be left alone.

You’re not going to convince me of your views and I’m not going to convince you of mine. I don’t even want to try. I just want you to agree to leave those of us alone who want to opt out of your coercive set of rules.