The Health of Nations

So, the Democrats are in charge of, well, everything, at the moment and what they want is healthcare reform, dammit. Unfortunately, they, led by the Pres, have run into typically staunch opposition from the American right.

Ever was it so, but this fight is of particular interest to Britons (well, a couple of us) because one of the weapons in this particular war happens to be our very own National Health Service. Derided by the right, or, specifically, by the Club for Growth (as opposed to the ever popular Club for Recession), the NHS is being held up as the very model of "socialism" and all things godless and evil.

Now, there's more than enough commentary out there in support of the NHS, so there's no need for me to dwell there, but I would say that this has just been a fascinating case study in cultural difference. Of course not everybody in the States thinks of the NHS as a Stalinesque socialist monstrosity and neither does everybody in the UK think particularly highly of the system, but the coming together of even the more moderate right-leaning political analysts with, frankly, the majority of the British people is something to behold. There is absolutely no common ground between these groups (language aside). There is very, very little trust towards anyone approaching the US right in this country. It seems they've all been tarred by association with their swivel-eyed extremist ideological associates. It makes me wonder whether this country was ever particularly pro-American, as is often said. We are literally and figuratively miles apart.