Names of the Dead

November 6, 2009

If you haven't heard, there's a huge vote in the next few days on the Healthcare Bill before the House of Representatives. The voting will likely follow strict party affiliation. Most Democrats will vote "Yea" while ALL Republicans will vote "Nay." When it comes to healthcare, my affiliation is very clear. I belong to the Human party.

What is the heck is the "Human" party? Quite simply: I choose people over political parties. I choose the rights of people over the rights of corporations. I choose to support the disadvantaged and the handicapped so that they will be able to help themselves. I choose to support healthcare as a basic human right and believe that healthcare for all is the new hallmark of truly great civilizations. Why? Because I know that every human being that has ever lived and lives now will grow sick or suffer injury and die. The only variation in that equation is length of suffering. This is the one experience we all share regardless of century, sex, race, religion, nationality and politics.

I support this bill. I know it is not perfect. I know that many of the proposed changes will not satisfy anyone due to cost, coverage and ideological beliefs. This includes my own belief that the only logical solution to healthcare is a single payer system. I support this bill because it is a start. We desperately need a start here in America. As the most advanced civilizations around the world have proved, universal healthcare does not cause the fabric of the universe to unravel, turn the people into slaves or make them fascism victims. Universal healthcare simply improves the quality of the lives of everyone, not just the rich or fortunate.

I think the seriousness of the issue is best shown on the site namesofthedead.com. Democratic House Member Alan Grayson sponsors it. The site gives voice to those people who have perished because of no health care insurance. You might not care for the politics behind the site, but the data comes from a study by authors from the Department of Medicine at the Cambridge Health Alliance, affiliated with Harvard Medical School. Click here to read a .pdf of the report for yourself. The conclusion: Every year 44,000 people die because of lack of health insurance. That's more than from kidney disease (42,000+), the root of my own advocacy. A just released John's Hopkins study shows that a lack of health care and insurance contributed to the deaths of 17,000 hospitalized children in the last 18 years.

More people die from lack of health care insurance every day than from automobile accidents and homicides combined. The consequences here are very real and demand we take action, imperfect or not, to make immediate improvements to our barbaric system.

I know most of you already have health insurance. However, instead of considering this a numerical or anonymous issue that doesn't affect you, I encourage you to spend five minutes to read some of the stories on namesofthedead.com. It will help you understand the true costs beyond dollars and statistics.

I was shocked to find the name and story of Theron Read from Salt Lake City. Theron was 44 when he died on a light rail train from a heart attack in late July. He, like me, was an actor and a poet. Theron had a pre-existing heart condition and worked for a small business that did not offer health insurance. He, unlike me, did not qualify for Medicare. Why kidney failure is covered and heart conditions are not points to the ludicrous labyrinth of the system. Theron made very little money and could not qualify for nor afford health insurance. He did not have the money to cover the costs of managing his chronic illness or pay for needed medications. He did the best he could with what he had and died needlessly before his time.

I knew Theron. We traveled the same circles and even did a show together in the 80's. He was gentle and kind, quirky and funny. Regardless of economic circumstances, Theron’s family, friends, and the larger community of writers, actors, and musicians in Salt Lake City loved and valued him. I am very sad to hear of his passing and the circumstances behind it.

My friends, healthcare reform is very real check on your morals and values. What do you believe and stand for? Have you thought about it? I have. I believe in humanity. I believe in optimism rather than pessimism, hope rather than despair, learning in place of dogma, truth over ignorance, tolerance in place of fear, and compassion over selfishness. I believe in the fullest realization of the best and noblest that we are capable of as human beings (thank you, Paul Kurtz). I condemn violence, the "I got mine so fuck you" crowd, and greed without purpose.

Please contact your local Representatives and Senators. Ask them to vote for healthcare reform. They won't do it, if you don't demand it.