Altruism, Personal Responsibility, & Willfulness

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I think that there is three aspects (not the entire argument) but three aspects of the healthcare debate that has to do with altruism, personal responsibility, and willfulness.

Lets start with willfulness:

There are many people against Obamacare because they perceive (and rightly-so) that it will lead to government mandated healthcare that we all must participate in and pay for others who can't/won't on their own...and that makes them mad because they don't like being told what to do...

Then there is personal responsibility:

Aren't adults responsible for their own needs?  Aren't adults responsible to make right choices?  Doesn't Freedom run both ways: Freedom to have and Freedom to have-not?

Then there Altruism:

Isn't it in us to feel compassion?  To lend a helping hand?  To look after those in need?

I believe each of these truths, when thrown into the debate, act like oil and water.  They don't mix.

All three are correct, but unbalanced.  All three  must coexist and actually support each other.

So much of our altruism has been turned into a corporate or federal affair that our personal altruism is an atrophied muscle.

The Church has the mechinism for altruistic-action in the world for the last 2000 years.  I woud imagine that the Catholic Church has supported more charities and relife efforts than all the other countries in history combined.

But now the church is "on the outs" and there is a portion of the population looking to the federal goverenment.

What if three christian families (a small group at church perhaps) got together to pay for the healthcare preimiums for one other family for a year.  What kind of impact would that make?

Honestly, the feds would probably work against that kind of plan.

...as would the church I'm afraid.

chris