Visiting your doctor to get your annual physical exam “Wellness Check” (that, by the way, is now “free” under ObamaCare)? Be sure to wear your seatbelt if you drive over!
Oh, not because state laws require their use*, or that Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion (especially number 1 and 3) make it a very good idea in case of an accident. Nope, it’s because now it’s part of your annual “Wellness Check”, according to a recent article in PJ Media:
“I am now mandated by the government to talk to you about your weight, exercise, family life, smoking, sexual abuse(!), and even to ask if you wear seat belts. And I am mandated to record your answers.” – Dr. Peter Weiss, M.D., F.A.C.O.G (bio)
Having read this (and, it isn’t even the most alarming part of the article, which I encourage you to read), I considered commenting on why “preventive” care not only doesn’t work, it doesn’t guarantee “restorative” care, or how ObamaCare inserts Uncle Sam into the patient-doctor relationship, or how ObamaCare may “punish” large segments of the population, or even that patient privacy is now in the hands of the IRS. But, as I’ve already included a link to a well-considered article on each of these points, there’s really no need for me to opine.
Instead, consider the following:
It took about a generation (say, 20 years) to change the population’s collective mindset about seat belt use, speed limits, drunk driving, cigarette smoking, alcohol use, aerosol propellants, littering, saturated fats, Red Dye #2, sodium saccharin, hand washing, and a host of other behaviors I can’t recall of the top of my head. At first, there might have been an article or two in the local media talking about the dangers of each one, which sparks concern among a small portion of the public about that one person/creature/environment/Earth who might have a slight increase in risk of potential total catastrophe. Next, the Federal Government puts out a nationwide awareness campaign to introduce the public to a new way of thinking… followed by the introduction of laws restricting or prohibiting the use or behavior – with a suitable “easing in” period where penalties are waived to make sure everyone understands the consequences of non-compliance. And, finally, the laws are enforced, added to when unintended consequences are found, and expanded when more tax revenues are needed.
Seatbelts? 20 years? Seems to me that under ObamaCare, we’ve now got an infrastructure where the population’s “collective mindset” or behavior on almost anything can be modified at the government’s whim within a few years instead of decades. And, you’ll know when that’s happening, because beginning now your Doctors will ask you: After all, they’re “mandated”!
Thanks for reading!
* in order to receive Federal monies (like this, or this)? But I digress…
