Letter to My Senators

This is a short letter I sent to my senators regarding the current health care bill. It is written in the Social Contract style, with repeated references to the beginning of the Declaration of Independence and the three rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Thus it lacks any moral force beyond what is inherent the Declaration. Still, it should cause my representatives to realize that they may not be re-elected if they continue to be so devoted to alienating our rights.

According to the Declaration of Independence, I have a God-given right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Unfortunately, the Health Care Bill currently being debated in the Senate is an assault on all of these rights. Firstly, it has no protections for the right of unborn babies to live. By actively encouraging and supporting the termination of one group of American's lives, this bill also threatens my own right to life. If it is acceptable for the government to fund the murder of thousands of American babies, why should it not fund the murder of Americans twenty-one year olds like myself? In comparison to the violation of the rights of Americans to live, the violation of the other two God given rights seem less important. However, your voting record leads me to conclude that you may not be concerned with the lives of your constituents. Therefore, I will discuss the topic of liberty, especially as it has to do with money. By forcing Americans to buy health care, whether they buy it from private or public entities, you actually force Americans. Do you comprehend this? You would actually force Americans to take an action. We could argue about the need for health care in this nation. However, it is not the duty of Congress to make this kind of choice for American citizens. It is a brazen affront to the rights of American citizens to make their own decisions. Which leads me to the final right discussed by the Declaration. This bill would tell me how I should pursue happiness. It would tell me that I can only be happy if I spend my money in a certain manner, unless I happen to enjoy tax prison. It completely ignores the fact that I may think that I could be happy by spending my money in some other pursuit than health care. Therefore, it infringes on my right to pursue happiness in the way I see fit. All in all, this bill is a sore offense against my rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As my elected representative before the government of the United States, I ask you to defend my rights by voting against this tyrannical bill. There may still be time to act before America's freedoms return to the state they were in when King George III ruled our land.

Thank you,
Jeremy VanGelder