May is Health Care Month in Connecticut

Connecticut is on the cutting edge for health care in our nation. The dawn of community organizing that began with this past presidential campaign sparked a new era of involvement and unity of people on the ground, spreading the message of hope and possibility from the bottom up and sideways. Never before have so many groups united together under one banner than what we are seeing happening in Connecticut on health care reform.

Make no mistake, we've played this song before on health care. But this time is different. We are so close. We have come beyond the point of turning back.

Last night, John Murphy (CCAG and HCAN) gave an insightful presentation on HB6600 (AAC the SustiNet Plan). Of note was that we have been at this for the past 100 years. When I heard John say that, I thought of my favorite quote by President Obama, "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for." And then I think about what my mentor in life says about taking action:

"I place a high value on personal initiative. Spontaneity underlies the spirit of autonomy and independence; conversely, taking action because one is told to amounts to slavery of the spirit. [World peace] will be advanced by brave people armed with the spirit of independence who voluntarily strive to fulfill the vow they made at the time of [the infinite past]. Because they struggle of their own volition, they have no complaints or grievances. The greater the obstacles they face, the greater the courage, wisdom and power they muster from within." Daisaku Ikeda.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is our time, our moment to act. We fix health care, we are well on the road to fixing our economy. Join us and be a part of this great time in history.

Check out these links:

"The Costs of Doing Nothing: What's at Stake Without Health Care Reform" by AARP

The Cost of Doing Nothing: Why the Cost of Failing to Fix Our Health System is Greater than the Cost of Reform by The New America Foundation

The Uninsured: A Closer Look. Connecticuters without Health Insurance by Families USA