One of the most baffling occurrences from the SiCKO documentary, to me, was the opposition to universal healthcare. Throughout the film, the audience sees that the arguments against free healthcare view it as a sign of communism and a danger to the values of the US. I found it baffling for many of the same reasons the authors of the documentary did – many of the US social systems are already socialized, and they did not advance the country toward communism (Moore, 2007). Furthermore, other nations around the world also pursued universal healthcare, which did not turn them into communist countries. The fixation on the red scare and its effect on national policies astounds me. I think the value of individualism most closely aligns with this occurrence. American citizens and their leaders like to espouse the importance of achieving things with one’s own power, creating a path, and following it (Brooks). As a result, it is generally believed that one should only receive what they have earned themselves, and outside help or support is somehow demeaning or condescending.
For this reason, many Americans feel that they should only rely on their own money and influence in receiving healthcare, an approach that distributes goods according to perceived merits. According to materials, individualism also largely supports limited government interference and skepticism toward collectivism, both of which can be seen in the strong opposition to communism-like tendencies (Brooks). I think the definition of exceptional as deviating from the norm would fit this case best because American healthcare and its fixation on denying its people high quality of life for the sake of a meritocratic view of society is not often seen in other developed nations. Most societies seek to safeguard and protect the lives of the many, while the US healthcare system only provides for the few.
Work Cited
Brooks, Stephen. American Exceptionalism in the Age of Obama. Routledge, 2013.
Moore, M. “SiCKO.” Vimeo, 2007.