There have been many great debates over the last 80 years on social issues in this country. In the early 1930s there was the debate over Social Security, which came into being in 1935. There was the debate over Medicare in the 1960s, which ended with the signing of Social Security act of 1965, which brought Medicare into being. Now we are having the debate that will mark our place in history, on the issue of health care for all Americans.

I have heard all of the rhetoric that we as Americans do not and should not have the right to affordable health care. I could not disagree more. In the Declaration of Independence it is stated that all men are created equal. Yet I am afraid that in today’s America this may not be the case. I fear that we have become a country of haves and have-nots. As a country that stands up for freedom and human rights throughout the world, is it right to be a country that turns away our sick and poor because of their inability to pay the high cost of health care?

The time is now for this country to do what is right for its citizens. It’s time to find a solution to the health care crisis and to make sure that every person has access to affordable health care coverage.

Mike Lee

Albert Lea