Sorry, this is just me ranting.
While having a debate with a conservative about health care, I mentioned I had friends and family with diabetes.
He replied that diabetes (at least type 2) is "self inflicted". I have heard this before. A person with diabetes has only themselves to blame because they made bad choices. So they deserve neither sympathy nor help. Certainly public money should not be used since they brought their misery on themselves. IF they hadn't been so "irresponsible" then they would have avoided getting diabetes (or any other medical condition I guess. I have heard others make the same argument for cancer)
At first I was angry. Then I thought about it. While not entirely true it's not entirely false either. Choices we make and do affect our health, often much later in life. Here are some choices that can negatively affect your health:
Smoking
Eating fast foods, especially as a child
Living with a smoker (especially as a child)
Drinking water out of a plastic bottle
Being an auto mechanic or working on your car.
Having ever joined the military (even if you never actually fight)
Living ina city.
Working on a farm.
Working in an office.
Living in certain other parts of the world.
In fact living on any part of the world.
Handling paper receipts.
Having children
Not having children
Having sex with anyone ever.
Having a cat
Getting an X ray
Taking antibiotics
Eating meat (any kind of meat)
Eating vegetables (any vegetables)
Breathing or drinking the water in many places
And on and on. I could probably think of a thousand more. Point is, I don't think the "personal responsibility" thing as conservatives I have talked too defined it really works for health care. Since everyone is going to make some bad decision at some time that may effect their health (and some really are choice less choices) then no one could ever meet that standard.
Am I right in thinking that? Because that is a central theme among conservatives: problems are personal problems, not societal. You have only yourself to blame. yadda yadda. On the surface the argument can seem appealing since we don't want to reward bad behavior.
But everyone makes bad decisions even if they don't realize they are bad at the time? (I certainly didn't know fast food was addictive when I was five)
Which means that yes, we have to help people even those that made "bad decisions"