Postmortem - Medicare for All (And all other similar policies)

Fact
We still do not have Universal health care or Medicare for all. Or any of the policies on climate change or any other policy we yearn for.

Let us look at Medicare for all to understand why we keep failing.


Fact
All of us know that is the best way to provide health care to the people in the USA. This includes Health care providers, general public and policy makers.

Fact
In the current environment public opinion does NOT matter.
We should have learnt that after the Sandy hook massacre.

At that time 92 % of people in the US supported background checks.
Despite all those parents pleading with the politicians, despite having a President who wanted to get it done, we were not able to get this law through congress.

So let us STOP wasting our time and our limited resources on trying to educate the public.
It has NOT worked.
And it will NOT work now.

Want more data ?

According to a Princeton University study, in the last 20 yrs, public opinion has paid NO role in public policy. According to their study, there was a 30% chance of a policy getting approved whether the majority hated an idea or supported it 100%
It is a FLAT line.
(there is a link to a you tube video in the reference section)

There is a 70% chance of a policy being approved if the 0.01% approved it.

Why is this happening ?
The reason is a very simple one.

Just like all of us, politicians do NOT like to loose power or become unemployed.

95% of the elections are won by the person with the most money.
And the politicians know this well.
And only 0.01 % of the population has the kind of money the politicians rely on.

Even the so called SMALL Political PACS that we have  DO NOT have the kind of money the Politicians need.  So the politicians will "listen" to these small PACs ONLY IF the policy is okay with the 0.01% of us who are the very rich and the large multinational Corporations.

Fact
"Power corrupts"
People loose empathy after about 10 yrs after they have been in power



So what can we do ?
Step 1
Follow Sun Tzu

Know your weaknesses #1

Most of us are born with certain personality traits. I call them warrior trait and Caregiver trait.  (Check the reference section for a one page blog on this concept)

Most of us who are trying to 'make this world a better place' have the caregiver trait.
We are very empathetic - and this makes us emotionally and physically exhausted to see people suffer.

And most of us are in the bottom 99% - so our activism starts after a hard day of work. 
Most Caregivers are 'lousy' team players
And we do not like top down leadership - we like everyone to be 'equal'


This makes our team VERY WEAK  and we have tendency to leave our Team and start our own group - weakening our ability to achieve our goal more and more.


Most of the folks who are against Medicare for all (or any policies that help the majority) have the Warrior trait.

They lack empathy - so pleading with them to alleviate suffering does not really bother them or affect their decision making.

They are GREAT Team players.  They respect and literally worship their leaders.
And they will 'take one for the team'  - even when they do not like whatever it is that they are asked to do.

And just now they have a lot of money - so unlike us they can afford to spend the WHOLE DAY planning to achieve their goals.

And they can study a situation and focus on one or two politicians at the top to do their bidding (That is what happened in California health care for all bill - they just had to influence ONE person)
And they can do this forever and forever ...

And one more thing
They do not mind going back on their word - as long as their team is protected. This is something Caregivers keep forgetting ...

Know your weakness #2
Know how Cognitive Dissonance is affecting our decision making

Acknowledge our own Cognitive Dissonance about 'educating the public' as a method of changing the politician's mind.

Know your weakness #3

Because we are NOT great team players - our efforts are diffuse.
And we are easily distracted .
And it does not take a lot for us to leave the team.


In summary
We are exhausted both physically and emotionally
We lack money to 'buy' our politicians
And our efforts are diffuse



So what can we do ?
Step 2

We have to join hands with ALL the activists figure out a way to elect leaders that care about humanity

Activists that are working on
Health care for all
Environmental groups
Gun regulations
Citizens United, Move to Amend
Move on
Common Cause
Unions etc etc

Come up with a 50 state, proposition (identical)  AND STICK TO IT
Make a commitment that we will NOT leave our Team

Keep reminding our selves about our weakness of wanting to leave if a policy is 'not perfect'

The proposition should address ALL of this 

We can call it #WinningbackDemocracy  or 
#MAGA  (This way we are assured of the Republican vote and they will have to spend time trying to inform their supporters not to vote for this proposition - that would be hilarious)

a. Public financing of our campaigns
b. Vote by mail (like Oregan does)
c. Automatic voter registration (like what Oregan has)
d. +/- money is not free speech

So what can we do ?
Step 3
Once we have achieved Step 2

We can come up with a new plan

#1 We need to share this knowledge with each other.  And keep reminding our selves of our weaknesses at the beginning of every policy meeting.

#2 Then try to UNITE all the folks - who are now separately 'fighting' for the same thing.

#3  Come up with ONE plan.  And stick to it.


This is how we are going to get Medicare for all by 2020



If you agree with this premise, please join us by clicking here



References :

1. Blog on Warriors and Caregivers
http://unitingtheusa.blogspot.com/2017/07/warriors-and-caregivers.html


2. Public opinion really does not matter to the politicians
(This is a great video - except I think we need to do a lot more than they outline as their solution)
https://youtu.be/5tu32CCA_Ig


3. The Princeton Study
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B


4. Empathy and Power
https://hbr.org/2015/04/becoming-powerful-makes-you-less-empathetic

Warriors and Caregivers

Did you know that we are born with certain traits ?

You may be a Caregiver or a Warrior 

              

      
These same traits are seen all over the world - in the US, The Middle East, Asia and in Africa.

Most of us have a combination of both traits (but a very small percentage of the population will have one or the other)

In the USA people with the Warrior trait are called Conservatives.  And Caregiver trait are called Progressives or Liberals.


Values of a Warrior :

• Avoid Harm and Protect the weak 
• Be Fair
• Respect Authority - this is a good trait as long as the folks in a position of Authority are good people.  Otherwise Warriors can be mislead by a person they respect.
• Group Loyalty - This may lead a person to abandon right and wrong in order to safe guard the interest of the group 
• Purity 

Values of a Caregiver :

• Avoid Harm and Protect the weak  
• Be fair
• Instead of authority, they believe in equal power - This can make their team less efficient as they try to accommodate everyone's point of view
• Instead of Group Loyalty, they are willing to invite others in 
• Highly Empathetic - Sometimes can be mislead
• Purity 

This has been the moral truth for centuries.


Each individual looks at life through their own set of values.

And each individual ALWAYS thinks that THEY are right and the other person is wrong - that is our default.


Another way of saying this is that we all have what is called Cognitive Dissonance.

So, what is Cognitive Dissonance ?

This has been the moral truth for centuries

So, why does it feel like there is more anger and hatred among us now ?

Well, that is because something HAS changed...

What HAS changed is that a lot of organizations mostly in the US have tried and (in my opinion) succeeded in defining folks with a different ideology as 'THE ENEMY'

This has created a massive imbalance and anger and a disregard for people with a different ideology both in the US and in other parts of the world.

This anger and hatred is destroying ALL of us
Both as Individuals
And as a Nation

When we are angry and frustrated the part of the brain that is most active is the 'fight or flight' part.  And the activity of the Frontal lobe which governs reasoning goes down.

That is why conversations about Solutions to the problems we face are ending up as arguments and heated fights ...

We are not able to make good decisions if our main emotion is anger.

As most religions state, the best decisions are made when we are calm and at Peace.

In a flourishing democracy the leadership of a country will have some folks that are Warriors and others that are Caregivers.  

Unfortunately this balance is no longer present in the USA and also in some other countries in the world.  The reasons for this are many.

But the main reason is that a group of organizations have tried and (in my opinion) succeeded in defining folks with a different ideology as 'THE ENEMY'

Rather than a Fellow American with a different point of view.

So what should we do ?
How can we resolve this issue ?
How can we Unite the USA and the world ?

The SOLUTION  is Simple

We need to UNITE and bring people with different political ideologies together.

And there is only ONE way to do that.  That is by educating each other about these concepts.

One person at a time.

Please click here to learn the 6 steps that you could take to have this conversation.

Please click here to join our Facebook Group

Yes it is an uphill battle
But it is a battle we can win

We have to have this conversation with one person at a time

Together we can create a ground swell that will be hard to defeat

And that my friends is the only way we will win this battle ...

References
1. TED talk from Prof Haidt
http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind.html

The Conversation #UnitingTheUSA

Dear friends
Please try to have this conversation 

• Face to Face
• At a time when both of you are relaxed.

Chats do not work
Texts do not work
Long face book comments do not work
(This is becuase 93% of human communications are non verbal)


Our Goal
Is to Unite The USA


I usually start by stating that I have a couple of facts to share.  Here are the facts


Fact #1
You love the United State of America
I love the United State of America

Powerful forces are trying to divide us

If we are to save our Beloved Country, we need to put aside our political ideologies and WE NEED TO UNITE ...

Fact # 2
I cannot change you
You cannot change me
But, You can change your self 

Fact #3

We are born with certain traits.

These traits lead us to have either a "Caregiver" or a "Warrior" outlook in life.

These same traits are seen all over the world - in the US, The Middle East, Asia and in Africa.

Prof Jonathan Haidt, a Social Psychologist has done a lot of studies on this (see a link to his Ted Talk in the reference section)

According to Prof Haidt, we are born with a basic set of values.

Warriors seem to emphasize five Values :

• Avoid Harm and Protect the weak 
• Be Fair
• Respect Authority - this is a good trait as long as the folks in a position of Authority are good people.  Otherwise Warriors can be mislead by a person they respect.
• Group Loyalty - This may lead a person to abandon right and wrong in order to safe guard the interest of the group
• Purity 

Caregivers seem to Emphasize Six Values :

• Avoid Harm and Protect the weak  
• Be fair
• Instead of authority, they believe in equal power - Since they do not like leaders, they may fail as a team
• Instead of Group Loyalty, they are willing to invite others in 
• Empathy - This makes it easier to mislead Caregivers
• Purity 

This has been the moral truth for centuries.

Each individual looks at life through their own set of values.
And each individual ALWAYS thinks that THEY are right and the other person is wrong - that is our default.

Fact #4

Just now there are a lot of forces that are dividing us

These organizations have succeeded in defining folks with a different ideology as 'THE ENEMY'

And they are using a basic Clinical Psychological concept call "Cognitive Desonance"

Scientist have found that the part of the brain that is most active during this time is NOT the "reasoning" part but the 'fight or flight' part of the brain

That is why most of these conversations end up real quickly in arguments and heated fights ...

Now that you understand why this is happening to us, let us do something to reverse this.

And Unite the United State of America and the world  ...

The Plan ...  

# 1  -   Please shut down the TV for two weeks.  Stop reading blogs, emails and listening to any Radio program that are trying to divide us.   This will give you a reprieve and clear your mind.

#2  -  Know who you are.  Know what your ideology is.  Then realize and accept that your perception of a problem may be different from the perception of another individual.

# 3 -  Spend some time thinking about this.

Remember - the "facts"  you may believe in may not be the "whole truth"

There may be additional facts that you have not heard.

#4 -  Learn the art of "Active Listening"

#5 - Please click here to join our Face Book group

Please Click here for our Face Book page to take the Pledge today

Pledge to
Respect Everyone

Love Everyone

Actively Listen to Everyone 

Or if you do not have a face book page please Click here to take the pledge


#6 - Please share this with everyone you know.  
And keep the conversation going. 
Yes it is an uphill battle.  
But we CAN win this battle if we all Unite...

Now let us spend time finding solutions to our problems TOGETHER ...

Now you are ready 

Start to talk to one another

First identify the problem - different folks will frame the problem differently

Remember to actively Listen during this process

Then write down all the solutions

Choose the best solution using ALL political ideologies

That is how we will be able to #Unite The USA

References :

1. Ted Talk by Prof Jonathan Haidt

http://www.ted.com/talks/jonathan_haidt_on_the_moral_mind.html

2. Most human communications are non verbal

http://www.nonverbalgroup.com/2011/08/how-much-of-communication-is-really-nonverbal/

3.  Why facebook arguments are useless

https://youtu.be/Qe5pv4khM-Y

There is a better way

Long ago doctors used Penicillin to treat Pneumonia
Now most bacteria are resistant to Penicillin - So most doctors have stopped using Penicillin to treat pneumonia. They use other Antibiotics.

When it comes to implementing and enacting Public Policies the ground game has changed.

So, why are we using the same OLD tactics to get things done ?
Obviously we are not going to "win" the game.
 - That is like using Penicillin for Pneumonia - The patient will die :(

So how can WE THE PEOPLE get the politicians to listen to us ?

Let us look at the facts on the ground (I know these facts are NOT FAIR - But we have to remember that these ARE the facts.

• 95% of the time the person who wins an election is the person who has the most money.
• And only 0.01% of us have the kind of money the Politicians want.
• Therefore Politicians are forced to hob nob with the 0.01% and make them and the multinational Corporations happy.  Otherwise THEY are going to loose THEIR job.
• Do not believe me ?  Please click here to see the daily change in net worth on the top 100 Billionaires on bloomberg.com  (For example on the 27th of February, Mr Koch's net wealth increased by 50 million in one day and Ms Walton's net wealth increased by 46 million in one day)

Even the so called SMALL Political PACS that we have  DO NOT have the kind of money the Politicians need.  So the politicians will "listen" to these small PACs ONLY IF the policy is okay with the 0.01% of us who are very rich and the large multinational Corporations.

Conclusion - Money IS NO LONGER our Strength


And those $5 to $500 donations - think about what happens to them - they will be used to buy advertisements in the Main Stream Media - currently owned by 5 Large Corporations.  So basically YOU made these large Corporations and their owners richer.  And YOU lost the $5 that you need to buy food for your family :(

So WHAT IS OUR STRENGTH ?

Our strength lies in NUMBERS

That may be why there is a constant attempt by some to divide us

Conservatives vs Liberal

Muslims vs Christians

Male workers vs Female workers

Pro choice vs Pro life

Union workers vs Non Union workers  etc etc etc

For the first time in the US we have been brainwashed into thinking that a person with a different ideology is "OUR ENEMY" 

Not a fellow American with a different point of view

We in turn play in to this theme by demonizing folks that have a different point of view.  And this theme gets reinforced.

We HAVE TO CHANGE this division NOW

As medical doctors I believe that this is the biggest Public Health problem we face today.

So what can we do ?
We need to do everything in our power to Unite the USA.

I strongly believe that we should use the resources of our small political PACS for this purpose. 

Trying to support individual Politicians by giving them money is NOT going to get us any where.

Please will you join me ?

Please click here to learn the 6 steps that you could take to have this conversation.

Yes it is an uphill battle

But it is a battle we can win

We have to have this conversation with one person at a time

Together we can create a ground swell that will be hard to defeat

And that my friends is the only way we will win this battle ...

Thank you