by Sidney Sweeting, DDS

As a member of the National Coalition for Health Care Reform I have been exposed for the first time to the lying, conniving and scheming that is so much a part of politics. It has truly been an eye-opener. It has caused me to recall the quote by Robert Byrne "A promising young man should go into politics so he can make a career of promising."

Time and time again the Coalition has been promised information pertaining to the NHI plan and I personally have given up ever seeing it. Either the information does not exist or they just got their figures for this plan by divine inspiration or the flip of a coin.

Yet the Ministers of Government have accused those opposed as being unpatriotic and opposing their grand scheme out of self-interest. Rev. Dr. Thompson even accused us of being "spiritually immature."

President Theodore Roosevelt said "Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the President"(for the Bahamas read Prime Minister, Minister of Health).

Further, Thomas Paine said "It is the duty of the patriot to protect his country from the government."

Finally, Barry Goldwater said "If a Government is big enough to give us everything we want then it is big enough to take everything we have."

I ask my fellow Bahamians who believe that this Government can honor the promises being made by Dr. Nottage in support of NHI to take a tour of the PMH and after they have seen the long lines of patients waiting to be seen and the wards full of patients and at times some having to be put on cots for want of space, and listen to the tales of operations having to be postponed for want of an available theatre and then I am sure they will understand why we are oposing this plan. It simply will not work, if no other reason than the fact that the infrastructure is just not there to support it.

The plan that they have rushed through Parliament with an election on the horizon is non-sustaining and non-viable.

So, who then is the patriot – those who are pushing the Bahamas toward a health care nightmare and a financial burden or those who have been urging Government to listen to the voices of history and not rush toward the same mistakes made by Canada and the UK.

Perhaps the Bahamian people will give their answer in the voting booth