Identity In Health Care

What kinds of identity conflicts have emerged over the summer in the debates we've seen over U.S. health care reform? Do you think identity plays a big role in this debate?

That's the question, and the real answer is something that will be debated for years. In my opinion identity played a huge role in this debate, just not in the same way most people would think. The easy answer is that political identity is what drove the back and forth debate between the left and right. While that may have merit, the answer is deeper than simple left/right, yes/on identity issues. The greater identity issue here lies with why the debate is taking place in the first place.

The vast majority of people want others to look on them as "good people". It feels good to identify with trying to help the disadvantaged. This want to identify with such a group has widespread unintended consequences. People want to "do something" rather than be seen as identifying with those who do nothing. Doing anything, no matter how ultimately irrational or harmful it may be, makes those who support health care happy because they have may identify with those who tried.

So in this case, the conflict is between those who want to try something and those who would do nothing. This is one of the great underlying themes to the conflict. Because this debate between the "somethings" and the "nothings" was one of the causes of the debate in the first place, identity must have played a huge role in the debate as a whole.

Nick