Letters to the Editor: Wednesday, November 4, 2009

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An updated parable The health care discussion reminds me of the Good Samaritan story in which a person had been beaten and left to die on the roadside. The first two people to pass, a priest and a Levite, ignore the man. However, when a Samaritan passes, he has compassion and stops to treat the stranger’s wounds, takes him to an inn and pays for his care.

That wounded person is like today’s families that have neither health insurance nor adequate income for medical attention. The priest is like clergy members who remain silent while families struggle with health costs. The Levite is like those politicians who are in denial and claim health care in the U.S. is fine and the richest country in the world can’t afford new taxes. The good Samaritans in 2009 are persons of faith who believe that "right to life” means that every newborn child has the right not just for birth, but also a wholesome life protected from disease by affordable health care.

The Good Samaritan story challenges persons of faith to demand affordable health care for every U.S. citizen, starting with public option health insurance. Yes, this may require higher taxes, but isn’t that what the Samaritan did when he paid for the care of the stranger left by the roadside?

John S. Fletcher, Norman