As much as I am an advocate for Canadian-style Health-Care in the United States (as a Religious Conservative as informed by Roman Catholic Social Teaching), there are, however, serious hidden dangers involved.
First, whenever the 'state' is the primary source of hope, the human soul (psyche in Greek) withers, and is in a state of depression.
Second, socialism, although at times necessary for maintaining basic infrastructure, to include, at times, even housing, the bus system, power companies and public libraries, still results in a dampening of the human spirit.
Third, from a religious perspective socialism is not anti-thetical to Christianity, and in fact, is largely the secularized version of the original Christian emphasis upon the communal sharing of resources as found in the ideal early Christian community as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.
Finally, although acceptable in some measure (Canada, parts of Western Europe), socialistic thinking always runs the danger of slipping into a form of communism. Socialistic thinking mixed with a political coup is all that it would take to turn a Great Britain into a Soviet Union or China. Pretty scary actually . . .
But, having stated these hidden dangers of socialism (dangers to the soul, dangers of becoming a form of state-enforced communism as opposed to a Mennonite or Amish-style communitarianism!), some forms of governmental socialism are acceptable, and within the context of the U.S., socialized medicine may, in fact, be one of these acceptable forms.
Blessings in Jesus,
Rob J. King, Health Care advocate :-)
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Pastor J's comment: I believe that turning the health care business into a socialism is a scary part (Sorry I don't agree with you, I usually do). I don't have my resources available at the moment but I read a lot into socializing healthcare after hearing (not watching!!) Michael Moore's film in healthcare. The problem that Canada has is that there is no completion and people do not have the liberty of going to a specialist if is not approved by a doctor, it comes to a dead stop. Here in the U.S, if a doctor diagnoses a person with a sickness, that individual has the option to get a second opinion but not in a social med program. Not only that, Hilary Clinton is all for it! That itself keeps me away from it (SCARY!!)
Jesus,
I agree with you about socialism in general and to be frank, I need to do more research on the Canadian Health Care system. Right now, much of my judgment is on 'word of mouth' in that I know of a Canadian Mennonite Evangelical family who really loved the Canadian system.
The real issue is to what extent society should provide such services and at what 'levels.'
Blessings in Jesus,
Rob J.
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