If It Works For America's Heros...

 

We are big...HUGE Firefighter fans in this household.  With a respect bordering on reverence, the men (and some women) in this profession are a topic of conversation nearly every day.  Out of the mouth of our three year old, the praise is real and we are all in accord.

Perhaps that is why THIS opinion piece by Nicholas Kristof captured my attention today.

It is a piece about HEALTH CARE in which he recounts all the single payer government programs that WORK in our country.  The ones on which we rely daily (as in every time you get your mail...).  Among them, he reminds, is our nation's vast network of FIREFIGHTERS.

It is well worth a read.  I learned something I did not know: 

Until the mid-19th century, firefighting was left mostly to a mishmash of volunteer crews and private fire insurance companies. In New York City, according to accounts in The New York Times in the 1850s and 1860s, firefighting often descended into chaos, with drunkenness and looting.
So almost every country moved to what today’s health insurance lobbyists might label “socialized firefighting.” In effect, we have a single-payer system of public fire departments.

I dare say that if we stop listening to all the fear mongering...or Glen Becking...and begin thinking a bit more clearly about all the good government does for this country, we may well end up creating a generation of politicians as trustworthy and heroic as firefighters.

 

A Visit To The Brattleboro Fire Station, Vermont