DO UTAHNS CARE?

by Paul Gibbs


I was deeply disturbed by a post I read today from Bob Bernick of utahpolicy.com. Bernick discusses (among other things) the increasingly unlikely possibility of passing Healthy Utah before the end of 2014. As much as I'm unwilling to give up on a special session, I have to admit I'm not expecting it to happen at this point. It was this line that truly set me on edge:

"Utah has gone through much of 2014 without Medicaid expansion, and admittedly thousands of poorer Utahns have endured no health care insurance.

Perhaps harsh to say, but what will a few more months mean?

Utahns in general don’t seem much worried about Medicaid expansion, even if some poor, ill folks are suffering."

Can it really be true that Utahns don't care? Admittedly I've seen some appalling callousness from some Utahns (especially legislators) on this issue over the past year. And I very much believe that the  the modern conservative ideology which is so dominant in Utah politics idealizes not caring about our fellow human beings, which is why I stopped considering myself a conservative long ago. But I also believe that this sort of disregard for the lives and welfare of others is fundamentally incompatible with the religious beliefs I share with so many of my fellow Utahns. I've lived in this state almost my entire life, and I've seen too much good to easily believe this state which values family so much and is so concerned about morality just doesn't care if "some poor, ill folks are suffering.". In my mind, nothing could be less moral than that.

So, do I have to drop my idea that we as state have conscience? As frustrated as I often get with the state of politics in Utah, I'm not ready to do that. 84% of even "Very Conservative" Utahns support Healthy Utah,m according to a poll by Dan Jones and Associates. That doesn't sound to me like not caring. It sounds to me like, at least to some extent, the basic morality of this issue crosses party and ideological lines. having recently spoken with clergy from multiple religions for Entitled to Life Part II, I know it crosses religious lines. I think the issue isn't that Utahns don't care, it's that they aren't taking the time to do something about it. They feel bad, but they'd rather shrug it off and think about something more pleasant. But it is not moral to ignore the ills of the world to insulate ourselves and feel "warn fuzzies" at the expense of others. We have to be aware of the world around us, and do what we can to make it better. I won't accept that we're so afraid of steeping out of our comfort zones that we'll let people go without healthcare.

I realize that most people who read this have probably already contacted legislators. Do it again. We need to make them feel constant pressure to get this done. Show them that Utahns do care. Because if we don't care, the state I grew up in, my family's home for generations, no longer exists.

Email addresses:

House Speaker Becky Lockhart: blockhart@le.utah.gov


Senate President Wayne Niederhauser: wniederhauser@le.utah.gov


Senator Allen Christensen: achristensen@le.utah.gov


Rep. Jim Dunnigan: jdunnigan@le.utah.gov