Live and Let Die

I was reflecting on the brouhaha around John Mackey's (of Whole Foods) comment about health care. For the record, I personally think it'd be good to have a safety net of public health care available. But regardless of what I believe, or what Mackey believes, about health care, I also believe we have the right to say whatever we want to say--free expression is a guaranteed right in our country according to our Constitution. You have the right to say what you believe, right or wrong, without interference from the government, unless it presents a clear immediate danger to others (such as falsely yelling "fire" in a crowded theater).

What is interesting to me is that we only give lip service to this idea. We all claim the right to say our piece, but when it comes to other people, fugeddaboudit. We will actively demonstrate, do what we can to bring that other person down, whether it's via boycotts, threatening e-mails, phone calls, and sometimes even vandalism. We think it's okay, because after all, if the person says something we think is wrong, and he or she gets hurt, they had it coming. They may have the right to free speech, but we apparently seem to think we have the right to punish them for it.

In other words, we may (barely) stand by the right of free speech, but we don't practice it in word or deed when it comes to the other guy. We don't really believe in it. We believe in free speech when it agrees with what we believe, but not when it comes to someone believing something different from ourselves. It's not live and let live when it comes to another person's free speech. It's live and let die a nasty death, crushed under the weight of public opinion and muckraking, and if we can drive 'em out of business and impoverish them, their families, and their employees, so much the better. Employees, by the way, who may not agree with the person's ideas on health care, but who do need their jobs.

While I applaud Mackey's way of giving health care for his employees--it does work for them--I don't think it'll apply to every situation in the U.S. Whatever else you believe about the guy, his goods may cost more, but he also pays his employees a living wage, instead of the minimum wage so many other store clerks get. The health benefits are generous. He does buy from local farmers. He has contributed a great deal to environmental causes. His employees seem to like to work there and are loyal, even though they may disagree with his health care views. In every other way, he is straight down the line in agreement with his whole foods customers...except for this one thing, that he disagrees with the current administration's plans for health care because he doesn't believe health care is a constitutional right. And for that one thing, it seems, a lot of people want to bring him down--he needs to be punished, and by association, his employees.

Wow.

I don't know about you, but I don't feel the desire to crush or financially damage anybody who disagrees with me. I don't think Mackey's proposed policies will work for everyone, but he has some good ideas, including making paying for health insurance tax deductible for individuals, the same as it is for employers. I like the idea of being able to shop for health insurance across state lines (why aren't we allowed to do that now? I don't get it). If you have a medical fund you've built up, you shouldn't be forced to use it up each year or lose it, you should be able to let it build.

His policies won't work for the unemployed, in my opinion. Well, he's not an elected member of Congress or any other kind of politician; he's just a private citizen giving his opinion. He doesn't represent you, or me, or anyone else. Just himself.

Let the guy--and anyone else, for that matter--have their say, then let it be. Live and let live, say I.