Countries Play Leapfrog
I have been profoundly affected by Michael Moore’s Sicko.
Oh, I know it has its critics. I know it obfuscates the drawbacks of socialized health care. To my mind the arguments it presents are so decisive that, barring gross misrepresentation of the facts, his central argument remains inviolable. That is, health care is a service no different than fire departments or police protection in that it should be guaranteed by the government.
What I found particularly interesting about Sicko is how it meanders towards the end, offering perspectives not just on U.S. American health care but on our country’s way of life, in general. Moore interviews a collection of expatriated U.S. Americans in France, who rave about the improvements to their quality of life abroad. This part of the movie makes we Americans look a little foolish for working within a labor system that can be readily portrayed as unreasonable. Isn’t it a little stupid to be in an environment where taking vacation makes you fear for the loss of your job? Or to be in an environment that forces you to work longer hours with less vacation time than most of the civilized world? Health care is part of the equation that defines the quality of life, perhaps even an important part, but it’s not the only part.
What it really comes down to is that civilization is a game of leapfrog. Important mechanisms in society – government, social standards, economic organs – are so big and resistant to change that sometimes it takes catastrophic events to advance them forward. Out of the turmoil of the American Revolution came a government that improved upon the constitutional monarchies of Europe. This set the United States on an upward trend that would culminate at the end of World War II, where our military and economic muscle was uncontested among democracies.
But just as the path to U.S. American independence gave this country the opportunity to improve on older forms of government, many countries rose from the ashes of World War II with new-found energy. Japan is perhaps the most obvious example, completely remaking its economy into a worldwide powerhouse. But the countries of Europe and Asia also took the opportunity to improve themselves, socialized health care being one such improvement. This should come as no surprise…when you level something to the ground after it’s been sitting there for a century, you’re probably going to come out ahead in the end.
What Sicko reveals is that the U.S. has had its day in the sun, and after enjoying the advantages of rebuilding from a revolution we are now the ones that are behind. That’s not to say that it’s going to require another catastrophic event to change…just like Europe emulated our system of government, we can adapt to their innovations. It firstly requires recognizing that we are no longer the innovators.
