Reader agrees with editorial, calls out Rev. Price’s columns
Yes to the recent RN-T editorial, “Churches need to avoid political quagmire.” Dr. Nelson Price’s columns underscore the point. His writings have been political, not theological, for years.
His most recent piece, “My Discordant Fellow Americans,” disturbed me the most. He used the rhythm of the pulpit. He attacked the mainstream media that publishes him. He attacked protesters, lumping peaceful with violent. He attacked colleges, college students, and college loans. He attacked protesters speaking for rights they fear are on the line and excoriated those who disagree. Just as he does. He scorned disrespect for military and law enforcement when respect for both is at record levels. He used Old Testament phrases like “sackcloth and ashes” throughout a tirade that ended with “stop whining and griping and give harmony a chance.”
I despaired to see his view of heaven, which he rendered in political terms. “Oh by the way, even heaven has a wall, a gate, and extreme vetting.”
I cannot debate theology with a preacher. But Corinthians said, “No mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” There are only two people who know otherwise. A carpenter from Nazareth crucified because politicians and priests feared him. And a common thief who believed in him. Let the Rome News Tribune use Dr. Price’s space for a better end. Dianna Edwards Haney Rome
Republicans must keep promises on health care
Republicans in Congress and President Trump are trying to come up with something better than the Affordable Care Act. I expect them to keep their election campaign promises. Now, it is all in the hands of Republicans and they must deliver. Lives depend on them. Working people need medical care to continue working and supporting their families.
Healthcare should not be a political football. It should not be dictated by any one political ideology, conservative or liberal or anything in between.
Getting our healthcare system right is probably the most important thing our government can do. And only our government can make it work for all of us. None but the wealthy can afford today’s hospital bills. Starting long before the Affordable Care Act, premiums and deductibles for private insurance have been rising faster than the paychecks of most workers. When we lose jobs with employer-subsidized insurance, we lose the affordable insurance. To replace it with an individual plan, we are forced to pay the full market premium at the same time we have lost a paycheck.
Health insurance companies are businesses like any other. They are not in business to pay for the medical care of all Americans and they never will. They do not make money insuring people who are already sick and need medical care today, tomorrow and for months or years to come.
For these and other reasons, the Republicans’ replacement plan cannot leave it to private insurance companies to decide who gets coverage and on what terms and conditions. Competition will never make insurance affordable for all. Too many working people will be priced out. Too many sick people will be left out or cut off.
President Trump has promised to “make America great again.” A “great America,” the richest nation on Earth, will ensure that every working man and woman and their children get the medical care they need when they need it, whatever it takes, no excuses. Laurie Craw Cave Spring