Lately, my friends have been subject to my long and rambling diatribes about the health care situation in our country. I felt that it was time that my readers also got to sample some of my ideas on this critical topic. Other posts I have written on this topic are here and here.
Today’s ramble is on FUD. In sales, if you don’t have the superior product or service, you might likely resort to spreading FUD – it stands for Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt. It is a highly effective, although morally bankrupt way to try to sell your product or idea. The idea is to make the status quo something that is so unpalatable that your customer must buy your product, no matter its qualities. The Right has been making hay with the concept for a while and has now driven the volume of the rhetoric on the health care debate to new levels.
If you have not been personally affected by the health care issues then it is only natural that you will pay attention to the loudest voices. But, if you have tried to get personal insurance only to be denied for no good reason or for a pre-existing condition or have been denied coverage for a needed procedure or your COBRA ran out or you were otherwise affected, you have a stake in knowing the truth.
This is a critical time for us as a nation and it behooves us to take a little time to really understand what our elected officials are trying to do. I found this article compelling to help separate the wheat from the Rush Limbaugh (and others) chaff and FUD.
I could not agree with you more. As someone who for the first time is actually experiencing the darker side of our health care system, it has become increasingly (and painfully) clear to me that the vast majority of those hawking fear are tragically uninformed, ignorant or just plain selfish (or, quite likely some combination of all three). Indeed, I would posit that the right is resorting to FUD in an attempt to avoid facing the true state of health care in the U.S., which can be aptly summed up through the use of another nifty little acronym : FUBAR.