I hate my mother’s car.
Her ’91 Mercedes has been an indelible mark on my memories since middle school. The car is probably the one static object in the last 10 years of my family’s stormy history, unchanged in every aspect of its design since its purchase from a used car dealership all those years ago. I could count on seeing it nearly every day, right after the school bell rang, sitting expectantly with my mother in the driver’s seat, waiting to whisk me back home.
My relationship with the Benz went sour once I began to drive it myself after getting my license. It moves with all the grace and maneuverability of a small tank. Whenever I’m at the wheel, I feel like I’m controlling a T-34 at the Battle of Kursk. Sometimes, I think I really would prefer the T-34 since I’d at least have the option to go off-road and no one would dare cut me off in traffic. I wouldn’t have to buy the premium gas to fuel it up either, just diesel.
The sad part is that’s how it handles when it actually works. The damn thing is also a lemon.
The signs were very clear and problems still persist to this day despite hours upon hours of repairs. The locks and windows do what they please. Switches simply refuse to work. The air conditioner gave up and the radio followed. Even random breakdowns have become commonplace, and they are often foreshadowed by prolonged, spontaneous fits and squeals from the undercarriage. The windshield wiper died during a rainstorm once and we had to drive half-blind for several miles.
I tried to explain to my mom how nothing would ever change unless the car was refitted with brand-new parts. She wouldn’t hear any of it, and has decided to go on denying the obvious: This car is fundamentally flawed and nothing short of a total overhaul is going to solve anything.
My mom’s car has a lot in common with America’s current health care system. Changing her mind isn’t any easier than changing the minds of millions of Americans who continue to defend a failed, broken institution in dire need of drastic reform.
The only ones benefitting from the current system are the insurance companies. The reason so many citizens are uninsured is because health care costs are only going up.
According to the National Coalition on Health Care, 62 percent of all bankruptcies in 2007 were filed because of mounting medical expenses. One-and-a-half million Americans lose their homes every year because of overwhelming medical costs. The World Health Organization ranks America’s health care system 37th overall, just behind Costa Rica. Not terrible company, but we can certainly do better.
People opposed to a public health care option should also be aware 43 percent of Americans are already using a government plan. I think it’s time to get our heads out of the sand and tune up this clunker.
