Some rights should be available to all U.S. citizens

By Paul Sassone

Paul Sassone

Some ideas are like zombies. They’re dead, but still they stagger along causing trouble.

States’ rights is such a zombie idea. It’s the theory that since state governments are physically closer to citizens than the federal government, state governments best serve citizens’ needs.

History shows the fallacy of this assertion. For instance, the greatest calamity ever to befall this country — the Civil War — was caused by states’ rights run wild in defense of human slavery.

As the magazine The Nation wrote in 1865, “The prime issue of the war was between nationality one and indivisible, and the looser and changeable federation of independent states.”

Because of this common feeling, there was serious debate at that time about abolishing states and state governments altogether.

And it was state government leaders who fought integrating African-Americans into full citizenship through Jim Crow laws and other means of segregation.

Even today, some state government elected leaders are attempting to deny the vote to minority citizens.

In the United States, progress in human rights most often has come from and through the federal government. We are one nation, indivisible. And our most precious rights come to us as citizens of

the United States, not as citizens of Illinois, or Idaho or South Carolina.

Yet, today’s Republicans claim that health care — and Medicaid in particular — is best administered by each state.

To do so would fragment health care, its benefits and costs, over 50 states. The quality and amount of health care we receive would depend on where we live.

This makes as much sense as saying the amount of religious freedom we enjoy depends on which state we live in.

Some rights should be available to all U.S. citizens.

Health care should be one of those rights.

And if you need further convincing, look at the condition of our own state — budgetless, massive debt, shredded social services.

Do you trust Illinois and its leaders with your health care?

 

Some rights should be available to all U.S. citizens–