What a show at the Opening Ceremonies for the Adult XXX
Summer Olympic Games in London
this week! (Every time I see that “XXX
Summer Games” on the channel guide I brace myself for some full contact beach
volleyball in glorious hi-def, and inevitably I end up disappointed). It was going to be impossible to outdo the
100,000 Chinese who performed in the Rite of Global Intimidation opening of the
Beijing Games 4 years ago, but those plucky Brits gave it a try as only a
former world superpower could.
It was a celebration of everything the British love and
cherish about their nation. They pulled
out all the stops. National treasure and
serial groom Paul McCartney performed some of his most famous hits from his
blue period before he formed Wings. J.K.
Rowlings read from a book that was probably Harry Potter but I’m not really
sure. Mary Poppins and the Queen fell
from the sky voluntarily. They devoted a
significant portion of the program to two parts of English culture that they
know and love, Mr. Bean and the National Health Service.
WHAT?!!?? Mr. Bean is
beloved. That we understand. But the NHS?
Americans with a world view that reaches from the ends of
the living couch to the shores of the email chain letter in their inbox from
crazy Uncle Glenn must have been shocked.
Why would the host nation take time to highlight to the world a health
care system that from everything we’ve been fed is an abject failure? Where were the Dancing Death Panel Judges? There is only one logical answer to why the
Opening Ceremonies showcased Great
Britain’s national health care system. The participants in that system disagree with
the American characterization of that system.
The Olympics opens our eyes to different cultures, different
sporting events, and different ways to politicize what should be a
non-political celebration of the human spirit.
In this case, the Brits were not rubbing their health care system in
Antonin Scalia’s face in order to score cheap points. The host nation obviously believes that one
of the defining characteristics that makes it a great place to live is its
commitment to national health care. The
program was founded in the aftermath of World War II, right after that country
fought back against the fascists.
Sometimes in the face of unimaginable losses you can see clearly what is
important. The Brits believed that
providing health care to everyone was important, and they are proud of that.
The point is not to advocate for a copycat of the British
system, or to suggest that the British system is without flaws. Have you seen the dental work over
there? The English have one system. There are others, and all work in slightly
different ways, leveraging the free market in slightly different ways. The
German system is employer based. The
Japanese system has fierce competition between private providers. The point is that perhaps the British system
isn’t as evil, isn’t as hated, isn’t as much of a failure, as we have been led
to believe. Maybe instead of demonizing
their system we could learn from it and improve upon it.
The richest nation is history can insure all of its
citizens. Maybe someday, our health care
delivery system will earn a 5 minute dance routine during the Opening
Ceremonies of some future Olympic Games.
Can you imagine being that proud?
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