OK, I guess I have to post it here:

I just had a revelation. After watching both national candidates for President, and also the Vice Presidential candidates, and just recently the debate between Mark Warner and Jim Gilmore in Virginia, I realize that our country is hopelessly polarized. Republicans demonize Democrats, saying that we will raise everyone’s taxes in a desperate and dishonest attempt to protect their financial base.

First of all it is important to recognize the difference in the republican voting base as opposed to their financial base. The financial base is the small group of billionaires who benefit from republican policies and tax incentives. They don’t give a hoot about gay marriage, abortion, and they don’t worry about security because they know they are protected by the republican machine. Because they are small in number, they completely depend, however, on their voting base, which is poor or middle class, and which rallies to their fear-mongering about security, abortion and gay marriage. These “wedge issues” bring in the votes from those whom the republicans screw over year after year after year with one mantra: fear.

OK, my revelation is this: Thanks to the neo-cons, and the Bush regime, we are truly a polarized country. Why not accept that? Why not let those of us who believe in universal health care have a check-off on our tax forms which will increase our payments and put us in a huge group of shared risk; get rid of an insurance-based health system and end up with health care as good as the one our senators and congressmen have?

People who have children of el-hi age and who want to opt out of public education can pay a certain amount less in local taxes, but then their kids have to go to their private schools of choice. (It wouldn’t equal the tuition, because private schools cost more). (But no special exceptions as regarding admissions to college for those kids who know nothing about science except creationism.)

The obvious other choices are that anyone who doesn’t want to marry someone of the same sex can’t be forced to, and no one can be forced to have an abortion. Sorry. I don’t think there is a way to divvy this one up unless we declare certain states or territories as one way or the other.

This may sound snarky and absurd, but I am serious. I have no doubt that those who choose to stay in the insurance-based plan will realize they are doing much worse than the rest of us. Let’s go ahead with the experiment. But those of us who believe in the common good should be able to be a part of it. Those who want everything to be individual should be able to do it that way too – that is certainly working out well for all those who have the good luck to never be sick!

OK, I realize this will probably never happen. But I can dream, can’t I?

Anyone with me?

I like it! I have a feeling that a few years into it we may have a lot more dems than repubs...