Often on this blog, I've complained about all the misinformation about other countries' health care systems that U.S. opponents of health care reform - from the Senate to the boardroom - have used in their statements, websites, and newspaper advertisements. I've puzzled over how so many people could believe all those ridiculous stories about "rationing" and long lines and such.
Now, I think I've found the answer. The American public will believe those things because they have so little ken or concern regarding what goes on outside U.S. borders. This was brought home to me recently when I heard about the comic oeuvre of Canadian Rick Mercer, in particular his series called Talking to Americans. It is well worth a look for an explanation of why average Americans will swallow any exaggeration about foreign health care systems. The unknown is always scary, and for some folks, nearly everything is unknown.
I particularly like the one in which Mercer persuaded Americans -- students and professors at Columbia University, no less! - to sign a petition calling on Canada to ban the practice of floating the elderly out to sea on ice floes to die. (Seems Sarah Palin may have bought that one?)
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