Post #356 Defending Obamacare....

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness -- that to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed."

Are all men created equal? Absolutely: The Declaration of Independence, like the Constitution, does not classify people according to sex or race. The Declaration of Independence's central proposition -- equality -- applies to men and women alike, regardless of skin color (or religion, for that matter). The observed inequalities of individual men and women -- in intelligence or strength, for examples -- are insignificant and dramatically underscore the ways in which all human beings, as a species, are equal in their nature. The Declaration of Independence speaks of "all men" and not "all human being" because the former is a more rhetorically powerful way to describe mankind.

Yes, the preceding paragraph came, word for word, from the American Heritage website. If the preceding paragraph does not match your own bigotry, take it up with the American Heritage folks. Another way to think of this is that all humans have equal value -- everyone has an equal standing before the law.

The Declaration of Independence enshrines three basic rights: the rights to Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. The right to Life protects the individual's ability to take all those actions necessary for the preservation and enjoyment of his life -- buying health insurance, for example. There is only one fundamental right, from which all other rights are derived: A man's right to his own life. Life is the vessel which carries both our Liberty and Happiness. Therefore, our government's #1 responsibility is to secure our unalienable right to Life.

Obamacare promotes freedom by giving real choices for all responsible citizens (those with health insurance) and targets the irresponsible (those without health insurance). If you have ever been mugged by Life, you will understand the tyranny -- the despotism, not of government, but of the social dynamics that define our health care system.

Continuing with Mr. Jefferson: "But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce [citizens] under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security." To do less than securing our unalienable right to Life is sowing the seeds of discount and an eventual Revolution!

That President Barack Obama was not able to better -- simply and clearly, defend Obamacare at the debate was disheartening. I do not want a President who 'stays above the fray;' I want a President who brings the passion. Of course, Mitt Romney remains part of the problem.