JFK was spot on in '62 and it should be our message today..

[Docreed2003]

Please...I say again, please watch the entirety of this video. In this speech, JFK laid the groundwork for the bill that would become Medicare. In his time, the AMA opposed it, a subset of doctors opposed it, and their reasoning was the same then as it is today in opposition to the ACA, Medicare, and Medicaid. Yet, JFK's rebuttal remains prescient to our current struggles. When Paul Ryan decries that individual freedoms must allow for a reduction in entitlements, we must demand that our leaders respond the way JFK did and shout "Nothing strips away individual freedom like being faced with medical bills which would otherwise drive us to backruptcy". We must take this stand and take all measures available to ensure our leaders likewise stand with us. (As an aside...I was so inspired by this, I want to run myself for congress against our current rep Dianne Black. I've said before I have dreamed about that fight. Maybe I should make that a reality...either way, as JFK's call at the end pleads, I will fight for those who need a voice.)

[Snackshack]

1. Spot on.

[Docreed2003]

3. Thank you...although that thanks should go to those who came before us!

[Snackshack]

5. It does.

You deserve one as well though.

I can only imagine/dream where we might be today as a nation had he been able to complete his first term and the second which surely would have followed.

[Docreed2003]

6. Agreed...

In my own life, I've always identified more with RFK than John. Perhaps it's the fact that I've experienced loss on a much smaller but similar way that Bobby did. I've always seen myself through the lens of Bobby: a fighter for the underdog, a representative of the voiceless, and yet a broken man who is trying to make the world better. It's only been in my adult life that I've discovered the many things that JFK fought for during his presidency. It may sound funny, but I had no idea that JFK had fought for the development of Medicare prior to the "great society" and LBJ, at least until I was an adult. History books have a way of limiting our knowledge.

JFK would certainly have had an incredibly positive impact on this country during his second term, which is one of the reasons why he was gunned down by the powers that be.

[hedda_foil]

13. In fact, at the time it was generally well known that the Great Society programs were JFK's agenda

They all were passed in his honor except, perhaps, for Civil Rights and Voting Rights, for which LBJ deserves full credit.

[pangaia]

2. I went to this man's funeral.

[Docreed2003]

4. Can't imagine that.

I, myself, am a Gen X-er born in the south. My parents were children when JFK was assassinated. My hope is that our current leaders will take the same position as JFK and courageously stand for the rights of the people. In this twenty minute speech, JFK succinctly stated why healthcare for the elderly should be a right and laid out very clear arguments against those who would oppose it. Those same arguments are just as applicable to the ACA as they were over 40 yrs ago to what would become Medicare.

[rusty quoin]

7. Kick ass

[Docreed2003]

8. And do so unapologeticly because we are fighting for the common good

Even though our opposition has power/money on their side. We've won this fight before and we are now forced to fight the same fight again.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

9. Well argued! I like how he mentioned "general welfare" from...

the Constitution too! That part of the preamble is often ignored!

[Docreed2003]

10. Exactly...and thank you for noticing that

JFK provided a very clear and concise argument for Medicare, while using the Constitution to shore up his argument. He was clear in how the program would benefit everyone while keeping that discussion within constitutional boundaries. His fight against opponents then are the same we are facing today. We, and our leadership,must look to the past, because the answers are there. We must fight as vocally and effectively as JFK or we risk an alternative that I wouldn't imagine in my worst nightmare.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

11. Then at the end of the video, the ABC reporter mentioned...

the "alternatives" that three Republican senators were going to discuss in a future telecast. Something tells me it was typical GOP fare, with misinformation and fear mongering.

[Docreed2003]

12. If you look back on the history of what would become Medicare...

The system prior to Medicare was state run and it was a debacle. The GOP wanted to develop a robust state system to care for the elderly, similar to their privatization plans today. The right has not changed. They will always be against a program like SS/Medicare/Medicaid/ACA. Their arguments have not changed...namely, they do not view healthcare as a right. We must use JFK's argument against that noise, or else we will lose the fight.

[msongs]

14. "entitlements" is repub propaganda. they are earned benefits we have paid into for a lifetime nt

[area51]

15. MLK Jr. quote

[Docreed2003]

16. Great quote! Thank you!