One of the odd things about the health care “debate” is that you can get completely different impressions of it depending on who you are listening to. The reason for this is a topic in itself. It is of course not an entirely new problem, though the divergence of perspectives is rather stark. But we need to remember that sometimes people are simply mistaken. Sometimes they are trying to sell you on something because of their own agenda. And sometimes they are lying. Human nature being what it is, we need some healthy skepticism.

To listen to proponents of the health care bill, if we just accept whatever it is that Congress deems best for us, as expressed in that 1,000-plus page bill most of us (and most of them) will never read, we will shortly be in medical utopia. If we just let the government run health care, we’ll be fine. We have heard the glowing descriptions of the salesman-in-chief and various supporters.

Trouble is, we’re not asking for a redesign of our medical system. Yes, there are issues that need to be addressed, such as affordability, but are the American people asking for a complete overhaul? No. I’m not, and I don’t know anyone who is. But for some reason Washington wants us to have this revamp we’re not asking for. I’m becoming less fond of salesmen every day.

America is a nation that was born through the rejection of excessive, tyrannical government. Most people in history have similarly experienced abusive government, in many cases far worse than what the colonists faced. But we succeeded in coming out from tyranny and into freedom. And that has left us with an awareness that even though government is necessary, it is also dangerous. George Washington said something very pertinent along these lines: “Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” That is a very American insight from our first president, and it was his honest assessment of reality. And have you noticed that when the government gets an idea, it’s not much interested in listening to reason? Government is not reason; it is force.

Government “is a dangerous servant” and thus the founders crafted a “limited” government, limited by the extent of authority delegated to it by the people in the Constitution. This is made explicit in the Tenth Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The responsibility to control the health care of the American people was of course never delegated to the federal government. Thus the idea represents a huge and dangerous power grab by Washington. Of course much effort is being put into covering this up, making it sound so sweet and reasonable. But it won’t turn out that way because it really is a massive shift of control to government at the expense of liberty. In short order we would regret it.

It tells us something about Washington today that both houses of Congress and the president are willing to blatantly and completely ignore the U.S. Constitution, after swearing an oath to uphold it. First, it tells us they have no honor; in other words, they can’t be trusted. Second, it tells us that they either don’t care what we think, or assume that after decades of government “education” we know only what they want us to know, which isn’t much, and about that they may well be correct. Third, it tells us that Washington is perfectly willing to take actions it has no legal or moral right to take whether we like it or not, and to try to deceive us about what it is doing. That is not government “of the people.” It is tyranny.

We have probably the best health care system in the world. Of course it is not perfect, but why entertain utopian expectations? Canadians and Britons can come to America for better health care, but where can Americans go? Nowhere. Most of us are generally content with the health care we have. Thus, we don’t need an overhaul. The things that need to be changed should be debated and done individually so the American people can see and understand what is being done. We need tort reform. Major health care expenses could be directly deductible. Why wait to clean up Medicare fraud? But thousand-page bills are nothing but intentional deception; they are unconscionable and reprehensible.

Besides, we can’t afford it. These bills would bankrupt the nation — if it wasn’t bankrupt already.