San Antonio College students' network for the 2008 election
Barack Obama "Mother"
A Plan for Health Care
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZSY2YG-cSk
The video I chose was on Barack Obama “Mother.” This video is about his mom who had cancer; the experience and struggle she had went through with paying high medical bills and buying prescription medicine. His mom was so overwhelmed and more concerned on how to pay for her bills and medicines than her own personal health. What Barack Obama is trying to get across in this video is that he knows first hand how it is when a person can not afford to pay for high medical expenses. He also goes on saying, “The United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet more than 46 million Americans have no health insurance. Too many hard-working Americans cannot afford their medical bills, and health-related issues are the number one cause for personal bankruptcy.” In this statement he says that American should not be in this situation as far as healthcare. In the book of Metaphor, Morality, and Politics by George Lakoff, there are a few examples I related with Senator Obama’s video. In my opinion Obama is seen as a moral authority, the strict father model and morality as empathy.
First of all, as I read the Lakoff’s interpretation on moral authority it talks on a parent who has a child’s best interest at heart and knows what is best for that child. This being Barack Obama the parent and the child would be all citizens of the United States. In a community blog, Matthea Little Smith writes, “He believes the reason people are uninsured isn’t because no one’s forced them to buy health care, it’s because no one’s made health care affordable.” Senator Barack Obama being of moral authority wants to try to bring Democrats and Republicans together to make this plan happen. He has already done this for one state and now he wants to do this for everyone when and if he becomes President.
Secondly, I see the strict father model as being a parent giving or showing tough love. In Lakoff’s book the strict father model also provides “nurturance and expresses his devotion to his family by supporting and protecting them. (10)” On the other hand, as I read the book I see it as a father’s primary duty and responsibility for setting an overall family plan. Lakoff also goes on saying, “Conservatives speak of the government meddling in people’s lives with the resentment normally reserved for meddling parent.” Even though Obama is not really considered to be a conservative, in his video he also points out how we need to,”stop the bickering and lobbyist” in order to succeed in making these changes happen. The meddling and the bickering talked about are all done by government. Again, Senator Obama showing his dedication to the United States and how he would maintain and care for us.
Finally, my last example I chose was morality as empathy. In this section, George Lakoff talks about how a person who has been in the similar situation can understand because they too have experienced the same thing. It was not really Senator Obama who went through it, but he saw it happening to his mother. Barack Obama talks about it on a website On the Issues,” you know, my mother died of ovarian cancer when she was 53 years old. And I remember in the last month of her life, she wasn't thinking about how to get well, she wasn't thinking about coming to terms with her own mortality, she was thinking about whether or not insurance was going to cover the medical bills and whether our family would be bankrupt as a consequence. That is morally wrong. It's objectionable. That's why I put forward a comprehensive legislation for universal health care so that all people could get coverage. My attitude is, that since you are paying my salary as taxpayers, you should have health care that is at least as good as mine. And the key to that is not only a good plan, but we've also got to overcome the drug & insurance company lobbies, that spent $1 billion over the last 10 years to block reform. As president, I am going to take them on.” As I read his comment to the interviewer’s question I felt he takes this healthcare issue personally.
In conclusion, as I saw this video I saw a how Senator Barack Obama found this issue on healthcare to be a battle he wanted to overcome and conquer. As I interviewed Miguel Cruz, retired Air Force, he “thought it was a powerful commercial. This is a topic that everyone wants to be a part of. It is a major political issue that has been ongoing between Democrats and Republicans. It’s a continuing struggle on who has the better solution for healthcare. The question is who is responsible for their own well being? Is it the government or is this a private issue?” Cruz also adds that, “Senator used this video as a good marketing tool to get his point across.”
Works Cited
Cruz, Miguel. Retired Air Force. www.http://airforce.com/
Lakoff, George. “Metaphors, Morality, and Politics” 1995. pp1-22.
Smith, Little Matthea. Blogs. 2007. MNSD 62. www.http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/group/MNSD62ObamaforPresident
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZSY2YG-cSk
The video I chose was on Barack Obama “Mother.” This video is about his mom who had cancer; the experience and struggle she had went through with paying high medical bills and buying prescription medicine. His mom was so overwhelmed and more concerned on how to pay for her bills and medicines than her own personal health. What Barack Obama is trying to get across in this video is that he knows first hand how it is when a person can not afford to pay for high medical expenses. He also goes on saying, “The United States is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, yet more than 46 million Americans have no health insurance. Too many hard-working Americans cannot afford their medical bills, and health-related issues are the number one cause for personal bankruptcy.” In this statement he says that American should not be in this situation as far as healthcare. In the book of Metaphor, Morality, and Politics by George Lakoff, there are a few examples I related with Senator Obama’s video. In my opinion Obama is seen as a moral authority, the strict father model and morality as empathy.
First of all, as I read the Lakoff’s interpretation on moral authority it talks on a parent who has a child’s best interest at heart and knows what is best for that child. This being Barack Obama the parent and the child would be all citizens of the United States. In a community blog, Matthea Little Smith writes, “He believes the reason people are uninsured isn’t because no one’s forced them to buy health care, it’s because no one’s made health care affordable.” Senator Barack Obama being of moral authority wants to try to bring Democrats and Republicans together to make this plan happen. He has already done this for one state and now he wants to do this for everyone when and if he becomes President.
Secondly, I see the strict father model as being a parent giving or showing tough love. In Lakoff’s book the strict father model also provides “nurturance and expresses his devotion to his family by supporting and protecting them. (10)” On the other hand, as I read the book I see it as a father’s primary duty and responsibility for setting an overall family plan. Lakoff also goes on saying, “Conservatives speak of the government meddling in people’s lives with the resentment normally reserved for meddling parent.” Even though Obama is not really considered to be a conservative, in his video he also points out how we need to,”stop the bickering and lobbyist” in order to succeed in making these changes happen. The meddling and the bickering talked about are all done by government. Again, Senator Obama showing his dedication to the United States and how he would maintain and care for us.
Finally, my last example I chose was morality as empathy. In this section, George Lakoff talks about how a person who has been in the similar situation can understand because they too have experienced the same thing. It was not really Senator Obama who went through it, but he saw it happening to his mother. Barack Obama talks about it on a website On the Issues,” you know, my mother died of ovarian cancer when she was 53 years old. And I remember in the last month of her life, she wasn't thinking about how to get well, she wasn't thinking about coming to terms with her own mortality, she was thinking about whether or not insurance was going to cover the medical bills and whether our family would be bankrupt as a consequence. That is morally wrong. It's objectionable. That's why I put forward a comprehensive legislation for universal health care so that all people could get coverage. My attitude is, that since you are paying my salary as taxpayers, you should have health care that is at least as good as mine. And the key to that is not only a good plan, but we've also got to overcome the drug & insurance company lobbies, that spent $1 billion over the last 10 years to block reform. As president, I am going to take them on.” As I read his comment to the interviewer’s question I felt he takes this healthcare issue personally.
In conclusion, as I saw this video I saw a how Senator Barack Obama found this issue on healthcare to be a battle he wanted to overcome and conquer. As I interviewed Miguel Cruz, retired Air Force, he “thought it was a powerful commercial. This is a topic that everyone wants to be a part of. It is a major political issue that has been ongoing between Democrats and Republicans. It’s a continuing struggle on who has the better solution for healthcare. The question is who is responsible for their own well being? Is it the government or is this a private issue?” Cruz also adds that, “Senator used this video as a good marketing tool to get his point across.”
Works Cited
Cruz, Miguel. Retired Air Force. www.http://airforce.com/
Lakoff, George. “Metaphors, Morality, and Politics” 1995. pp1-22.
Smith, Little Matthea. Blogs. 2007. MNSD 62. www.http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/group/MNSD62ObamaforPresident
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