Healthcare

[Angrboda]

One of the reasons is that the right in America has become extremely effective at marketing its message.

I think a more important clue is to be found in the histories and unique cultures of nations. All nations, because of their unique histories, develop unique values and mythologies which are as likely to influence political processes as any rational cause. The example of contemporary Germany is a good case in point. Any country that has seen the ravages of fascism as they have is likely to be shy of even weak nationalism. The U.S. is the same way, inheriting values which were both useful in its development and fostered during it. The reinvention of lives by immigrants, as well as a continual western expansion across an untamed landscape led to values of strength, rugged individualism, and self-reliance. These are the same values being pushed in the current healthcare debate. And while it's certainly a distortion to call it socialized medicine, the message is still a potent one in a country that is still fearful of anything remotely Marxist or Communist.