The other day a couple guards were searching my cell. That kind of things happens a lot at the Frackville prison in East Central Pennsylvania. Most of these guys can't cope. They're really terrified of almost everything. I call it the McGerry virus. The pair who were picking around through my meager possessions were several notches above the types who make up most of the Frackville prison guard force. They seemed to be ordinary working men. They suffered little of the Fracks' personality disorder. One of the guards, the louder of the pair, engaged me in a political conversation. My view was that it was long past time for universal healthcare for all Americans. He thundered and blustered his disagreement. The guard's retort was that it was "socialized medicine." He spat out the phrase as if by using a cliche, a good idea was condemned. Sadly, I've noticed a weakness in many working people to dismiss ideas without troubling to considering them. They think by using labels instead of by content. That's why Republicans do so well. They are consummate name-callers. The 15,000 employees of the Pennsylvania Department of Imprisonment already have "socialized medicine." That is, the taxpayers give them lavish healthcare. The guard who was arguing that citizens shouldn't benefit from universal healthcare, was himself getting taxpayer funded: Doctor care Hospital care Dental care Drugs and medications Psychological care Psychiatrist care Optical care And not just for himself, but also for his whole family. The guards get everything from flu shots to hard-on pills, from treatment of a broken leg to treatment of a broken heart. The taxpayers pay it all. It's socialized medicine. The one thing they don't get is treatment for they defective personalities. When a drunken prison lawyer was involved in a hit and run, the taxpayers pay for his "rehab" in an effort to keep him out of jail. I admit that I had difficulty understanding the guard's double standard. Taxpayer funded healthcare was good for him, but it was the dreaded socialized medicine if it would benefit everyone in the country. Everybody knows how bad socialized medicine is because it has the label "socialized." That's bad! At least, the guy who already works for the government thinks working for the government is bad. I opined that all civilized countries provide their citizens universal healthcare. He said I was "blowing smoke up his ass." What a noxious thought! He wasn't interested that American business is at a huge financial disadvantage by having to pay employees' healthcare costs or that more than half of all American can't afford to get a tooth filled and have no insurance. The guard's principal interest was that it had a label; it was socialized medicine. For less than half the money that Bush and his conservative crackpots have wasted on colonizing Iraq, you and your family could have universal healthcare. It would be a much better way to spend our money. Keeping Americans healthy makes better sense than killing foreigners. Rebecca's Bargain Antiques Collectible Vintage Photos Fine Prints - Old Maps Sheet Music - Old Books Elegant Antiques and Collectibles "I myself never surrendered, but they got my horse, and it surrendered" Chief Dan George in The Outlaw Josey Wales, 1976 You are welcome to use or republish any of our material. Please give www.prisoners.com credit as the source. Return to the Prison Healthcare Menu. Return to the Works by Prisoners and Others Menu. Return to the Main Menu. Go to our site's Search Engine. Send us Your Comments, Questions or Input.