"Why am I stuck over here on the left side of this post?"

KT has brought up an interesting point regarding the contentiousness we are witnessing at the townhall meetings as a direct result of government intervention, or even the specter of government intervention into something that is intensely personal and private in nature.

Milton Friedman spoke of “unanimity without conformity” whereby the free market is allowed to innovate and adapt in order to cater to a variety of needs for a variety of costumers. In a more perfect world, we would all be able to shop around for the healthcare plan that best fit our and our family’s needs with a minimum of government involvement. This would be the optimum situation as our own self-interest would be at the focal point of our decision. Anything short of that leads to pushback, resentment and resistance by corresponding degrees.

And this is what you have with the one-size-fits-all government plan. Unanimity with conformity. Even the threat of being shoe-horned into something else and away from something that the vast majority of Americans are happy with is a baffling concept and becomes an object that is lashed out against by these same Americans.

That Congress and union healthcare plans are exempt from any public option only adds fuel to this fire and further re-enforces the notion of two Americas, though, quite different than what John Edwards had in mind: not so much stratification by socio-economic class but rather politically-privileged class.

H/T: NRO