5 THINGS I'VE LEARNED AS A HEALTHCARE ACTIVIST

by Paul Gibbs

I've always considered myself a proponent of the right to quality health care, and one of the first two things that attracted me to Barack Obama as a candidate back in 2007 (the other being his opposition to the war in Iraq) was his goal of reforming our health care system. But from 2008-2012 my level of activism didn't really go beyond donating money to campaigns, voting and making phone calls to swing states in 2012. It has only been in 2013, and more so in 2014 that I've become a full-fledged activist, speaking at various meetings and events, making Entitled to Life and trying to keep up discussion of the subject with this blog. I intend to keep up being an activist both in Utah and (if possible) nationwide for versions of Medicaid expansion. After that, only time will tell whether I'll keep going with other issues which concern me, or leave the activism to others. I got involved in this issue because I felt that being someone who'd been kept alive by Medicaid made me someone people might listen to (well, actually, my longtime friend Anna Thompson from the Utah Democratic Party did, and I agreed). I'm not necessarily one to just make a lot of noise about politics in general. In my experience, angry Facebook rants and silly memes don't change anybody's mind and they do more to hinder a cause than help it. I've learned a lot about the world of politics and activism over the last year, and I though I'd share some of it:

1. Apathy can hurt as much as opposition - 
I've been very frustrated and disappointed by how difficult it has been in many cases to get liberals to speak up on this issue. A lot of that is because there are a lot of numbers and policy issues involved, making it less easy for many to feel they really understand the issue. Another is that at the same time Utah has been undergoing a very emotional debate on same-sex marriage, and a lot of political fervor has gone that way instead. Another is that people don't want to get involved in something controversial, so they simply stay on the sidelines. But considering how outnumbered we are by conservatives in Utah, we need as many liberals as we can get to speak up. Choosing not to get involved is choosing to give your opponent the upper hand.

2. Prejudice against the poor is more widespread than we think -
People who pride themselves on being liberal, open-minded and non-judgemental on nearly all other issues are often surprisingly quick to make moral judgements against the poor and repeat stereotypes about them. I've seen people who make me look like a conservative promulgate ideas about mandatory drug-testing and how owning a cellphone proves someone doesn't need help which make me cringe. It's still far too socially acceptable a prejudice across far too broad a social spectrum. The fact that somebody has less money than you doesn't mean they haven't worked as hard or managed what they have as well. You'd be surprised if you actually came to know what they're going through.

3. Refusal to compromise does not constitute integrity -
The biggest obstacle to Medicaid expansion and Healthy Utah has been right-wingers who refuse to see past their hatred of "Obamacare" and belief that social programs are bad and look at how clearly this benefits our state (it's funny how only the social programs you don't recieve help from are bad. The sheer number of conservatives I've known who talk about the evils of Medicaid or food stamps while collecting PELL Grants or unemployment insurance is staggering). But when it became clear that Healthy Utah was our best hope of getting anything past the legislature, a frustrating number of left-wingers I spoke to jumped to playing the same game by refusing to support Healthy Utah because it wasn't full Medicaid expansion. As sympathetic as I am to their desire for full expansion, it's already been shot down far too many times to have a chance at passing the legislatue. Hardlining against Healthy Utah just ends up doing the same thing we're fighting against: letting the sick and the poor suffer because our ideology comes first.

4. People can surprise you -
I've been amazed and touched by some of my poltically conservative friends who have, in one way or another, shown support for what I've been doing. And I was shocked to discover that one of the staunchest supporters of expansion I've encountered is running for the Utah State Senate as a Republican. These people have what I consider to be integrity, because they care more about what is right than about what they're told by their side they;re supposed to think. As Albus Dumbledore said "It takes courage to stand up to your enemies, but it takes a great deal more to stand up to your friends."


5.  You can do something -
I am not rich. I am not famous. I am not an expert on . . . anything. But I've managed to be heard by people across the country on the issue, testify to a legislative task force and be interviewed by a very popular national wensite. The reason for this is that when I thought "What can I do?", I chose to ignore the little voice which said "Nothing". That voice is an ignorant pessimist, and if everybody listened to it, no good would ever be done.