I watched the Olympic Opening Ceremony on Friday. Mostly because I did not believe the hype that 50 Mary Poppins were going to fight Voldemort. As usual the Brits, with their tongues firmly in their collective cheeks, did just that. In fact, not only that, they even got Her Majesty (rumor says she has a great sense of humor) to go along with a James Bond gag that involved her, supposedly, paragliding out of a helicopter. I was having some reception problems as there were storms in the area (no rain for me, alas) but I stayed tuned in as best we could because I was having so much fun watching this pageant of English History.
And then it happened. The United Kingdom said a big FU to the good old USA. It may not have been their intent but I cannot frame it in any other way. They did a salute to their National Health Service. Yes, they are so happy with their universal healthcare plan that they chose to celebrate it with dancing Nurses and Doctors, pushing hospital beds with pajama’d children along for the ride, right in the middle of the worldwide telecast of their Olympic Extravaganza!
Hurrah for you, you cheeky blokes. Just hurrah!!!
You see, the English people recognize what health care is all about: it’s about caring. As George Lakoff puts it: “ … if health care is seen as protection—on a par with police and fire protection, food safety, and so on—-then it becomes part of the moral mission of government, where the role of government is protection and empowerment, which in turn is based on a morality of empathy and responsibility. In this case, policy proposals will look more like Medicare for all.”
I am optimistic. I think that this display on primetime TV might have changed some hearts and minds and that we can now move apace to MEDICARE FOR ALL. My friend Holly says this may be part of the reason Mitt the Twit (as the newspaper headlines screamed) has such a stick up his butt about the British. He doesn’t have a caring bone in his body. It pains him that the English have had a successful healthcare system for almost 65 years. One that they are so proud of that they feature it when they have the attention of the whole world focused on them.
Oh, and the “Marys” did defeat “He who shall not be named” and saved the children. The Nutrturant Parent defeating the strict father patriarchy. Again, I can only say Hip Hip Hurray!!!!!
The Populist Farmer 
Posted by small farms matter big on July 30, 2012 at 8:44 PM
I didn’t see the Olympics you saw, and I not nearly so optimistic. However, count me in on Holly’s “stick up the butt.” The man has genuine butt stick. He also has genuine Mormon ass dumb. May he and his bain follow J. Smith into a sustained eternally of senility.
Posted by The Populist Farmer on July 31, 2012 at 3:42 PM
I don’t much care for the games themselves (except for bobsledding and Hockey in the Winter Games) but these had to have been the all time greatest opening ceremonies!!!! My BFF who spent two years living near Liverpool says they made her cry with nostalgia for the Isles.
Posted by Tammy on August 4, 2012 at 12:41 PM
I really didn’t see it that way but am totally tickled that you did. Like your BFF, I spent years living there and between this and the jubilee, miss it terribly.
Posted by The Populist Farmer on August 4, 2012 at 7:05 PM
Thanks, Tammy, my BFF actually got teary during it. And one of my British friends said she had been hearing a lot of nay saying about it on the interwebs so I was glad to put out something positive if only for her sake.