President Obama: Trust Young Americans to Relay the Healthcare Message!

Many people are asking right now: “What happened to ‘we are the ones, we’ve been waiting for’?” And, in many ways, rightfully so. Where are the young Americans who flooded the streets and voiced their support for Barack Obama and his solutions for our country? As a young person, I know that these supporters have not disappeared. Day after day, young Americans continue to voice their support for real health care reform, but are merely being shouted over by those who wish to see nothing changed.

If the president is to pass his health care legislation, he must tap into the core base of support the helped him win the 2008 elections—a core that consists significantly of young Americans. As of now, the conversation has been hijacked by lies of death panels and misinformation about Medicare reimbursements. The opposition has taken abstract terms and turned them in fear tactics to scare those who are already frightened by the unsustainable path the private health care insurance industry finds itself.

President Obama must counter this by framing the health care legislation as an investment in the future and need not allow the opposition to call it generational theft. He must continue to use his intelligent, professorial nature to explain to young people the benefits of the program for the future—not only the present. He must cite specifics and debunk the rumors with clear and practical fact. After all, young people were impressed by his knowledge and gravitated towards him as a candidate for this reason.

There are those who say young Americans supported Obama only because of his rhetorical prowess. I beg to differ and express that our generation is much smarter than that. While his rhetoric definitely attracted us to him, students and young Americans across the country looked deeper and found his policies to be a contrast to the last eight years, sensible, practical, and in-tact with the core values they see for their own country. I challenge anyone to tell a member of our generation that we only support the President for his rhetoric.

With that in mind, the President must revert back to his rhetorical skills to reengage young Americans. We are among the most effective in mobilizing his message and proved this during the campaign. We are not dumb and most importantly we do care about our futures and the problems that our country faces today. And, the president knows that.

So, why not continue to speak to us? We ‘baracked’ the vote for you in November, now please include us in this pivotal debate about health care! For, when Barack Obama speaks, young people listen. And if he spoke to us, we could do the job for him.

One of the major tenets of Obama for America was to use trust in spreading the campaign’s ideals and policies. Now, we are tasked with convincing a rather fed up American public that the health care problems we face today can in fact be fixed. Why not revert back to this policy and mobilize young people to speak with their parents, their grandparents, their friends, and families? After all, I’d venture to guess older Americans would be much more likely to understand the gravity of this issue when young Americans come to them alarmed about the state of their future health care system.

On a final note, young people must also understand some core elements of the president’s proposal to do this and must passionately believe in them for this legislation to pass. First, while we are among the healthiest in the country, we have an obligation to purchase health care. This is not some lifeless government mandate, but a practical and sensible necessity that affects the lives of millions of Americans. If we get sick, which we cannot predict, it is not fair for us to inflict the cost of our sickness onto other American’s pocketbooks. As the president says, and as so many of us believed during the campaign, “we are our brother’s keeper, we are our sister’s keeper.”

Second, we must turn the tables on the opposition by pointing towards the unemotional health insurance companies for turning down preexisting condition patients and rationing care amongst our loved ones. Young people are not as cynical about government as older Americans can tend to be and quite frankly we must express that fact. We are not looking to place government bureaucrats in between patients and doctors, but will not stand for private industry bureaucrats to play that same role either.

Third, while I personally believe the public option is key to real reform, we must not hold it so close as to forget about the above reforms that will literally change lives. It would be a shame for Americans to continue to be turned away and rationed care by the health care insurance companies only because we could not agree on one key component of a much larger bill. We need not get caught up on the public option, as much as we want it, or risk losing all progress. Let's get key elements of real reform and not lose everything for one component.  

In conclusion, the president must start talking to young voters or is potentially losing a final push that could put his legislation through the Congress. The message, as convoluted as it is, is far too geared towards things that do not relate to young people—like Medicare, death panels, and 'rationing' by the government. The president must give us the talking points we need about affordability and coverage to speak with the individuals who trust us in our lives and tell them why we support the president. It’s his last chance simply because he has, to this point, failed in communicating with those that we hold closest to our hearts—our family members and friends.

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Comments

[MinervaLA]

Barack Obama will not be "calling on" the youth of this country for their support with his healthcare plan. If you know anything whatsoever about this bill, then you would know that those who are 25 years of age and under, really have no say when it comes to healthcare. He knows this, which is why he's not rallied his "youthful troops" on this particular issue. Those young people that fell for the spell known as "Obama" will eventually realize that he used them to get in to office. Nothing more, nothing less.

[creolechild]

If you are concerned about receiving "real" health care reform in this country, please take the time to watch a video on our current system. The video was created by Oregon physicians who are advocating for the single-payer option. The video is very informative and helped me to gain a better understanding of various aspect of health care, as we know now it.

https://www.madashelldoctorstour.com/Mad_as_Hell_Video.html

These Oregon physicians are in the process of organizing a caravan designed to inform the public about the benefits of the single-payer option. At last count they will be stopping in approximately 23 states, on their way to demonstrate in Washington. They need volunteers and our support. Please spread the word.

[billhodges]

Yes it is time for a youth movement and that movement should start with the youth of America learning what the Constitution and our founding fathers are all about.

Read and learn before you follow others that failed to learn what this country is really is and how great our freedoms are. Read the history of the US and learn!

"A government big enough to give you everything you want, is strong
enough to take everything you have." Thomas Jefferson

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.
George Washington

[sociocanuck]

It is time for a youth-driven movement.

The problem is that, if the pictures and video from anti-reform events are in any way indicative of reality; they have a lot of young people on their side. Some probably legitimately believe it's all wrong, others just don't have a choice about the matter given where they live or what their family believes. Even a youth movement from a progressive side would likely be countered by an anti-reform youth movement - whether real, or once again stoked by special interests.

Organization of such a thing will just have to work smarter; using the tools and technologies young people have integrated into their daily and social lives. Obama proved that works, when guided in the right way. We just need to find that 'right way' again.

[ClaeDulls]

I'm encouraged by your post. As a group, young folks have not been utilized in this health care debate. In fact we haven't been utilized much at all. An organized youth movement may just be what is needed to really move this new agenda.

Some have despaired at Obama's performance so far, upset at some reversals, saddened at the pace of change, bewildered at his lack of oomph. But we're the oomph! We can't expect him to call back in response to our collective murmur!

We absolutely need Obama to engage us, and articles like this are a start. But he has to know we're listening, ready to engage and mobilize on this and many other issues. I mean no disrespect to my older fellow liberals, but our Moms and Dads had their shot - and failed - to change many of these issues. And we'd be fools to let selfish Senators, or crazed wingnuts, to steal victory we know is ours. We need to take this conversation back.

I'm confident this debate hasn't even really started yet. It will, from this point on, be a lopsided affair. the other side has discredited itself and falls farther into lunacy with every passing day. A hopeful, inclusive youth-powered campaign is what is going to move this debate, new agenda, and country onward and upward.

[Haitians4Obama]

We are here!!! HELP US


http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpfkpy
http://partybuilder.collegedems.com/page/event/detail/4v348

[kylennblack]

If we don't get real reform now, I'm hoping the Y-gens will resurrect it when they come to power.

[Aaror]

sign me up...

[JuniperSunshine]

Frankly, I am not surprised that seniors and aging Boomers have hijacked the heath care debate. They think everything else should be all about them, too. News Flash: You already HAVE health care. This debate is about all the other people in the US who are filing for bankruptcy because they had a C-section, or who now can't buy a house because their insurance company scammed their way out of paying for something. Now these young folks are starting out in life saddled by huge debts and ruined credit.

The only way to solve this problem is to cut out the insurance companies. They literally are making life and death choices for Americans. Our governments FIRST responsibility is to protect our basic rights. Protecting us from insurance company "death panels" is the clear place to start. If, and only if, we go to a single payer, non-profit health care system, available at no cost to every American, we will save money and save lives.

If seniors think living without healthcare is fun, let them refuse the free Medicare they love so much, (and we pay for) and try it. The least they could do is say THANKS to young folks for paying. How about, "What do you young folks think we need to do?" Not "nyah, nyah, I've got mine,but to heck with you getting in on this sweet deal! And keep paying for my benefits, please, while you forgo even simple doctor visits for yourself."

[ClaeDulls]

I totally agree, but keep it positive.

We need to educate. Sadly, what parts of the social safety net many Americans find acceptable (Senior SS benefits, Medicare, etc) we think we "prepay" for. It's a conservative idea, but one that persists. Getting people to understand we all pay, so we can all benefit is important - it reframes other debates going forward.

On "death panels," you're totally right. We need to get people to realize insurance companies, who make crazy profits, dole out hefty exec compensation, and manage sickness care - operate as the actual death panel. The gov is simply advocating end of life counseling/living wills. How? repeat. correct. repeat.

By taking back the conversation - armed with the facts - I'm hopeful there's room for single payer to be part of the conversation. If we make health care the civil rights issue of our time, there's no telling what we can accomplish over the next decade. Will it happen tomorrow? no chance. you see the violent ignorance on display every night as well as I, but if we start now, who knows?