A health care reform movement that we can ALL get behind. Get ready DC, The People's Voice is on the way; we WILL become part of the discussion on OUR health care!

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The health care reform debate is heating-up in DC, and it's become overwhelmingly clear the special interests are taking over the conversation AND the process. The reports that there has been $1.4 million dollars per DAY spent by the private health industry on 350 lobbyists who are former members of Congress (and staffers) to swarm their former colleagues. Bill Moyers' interview of Wendell Potter (former CEO of both CIGNA & Humana) was very revealing as to how monstrous the campaign against reform truly is too. At first the AMA had rejected President Obama's health care reform proposal; so when the AMA's announced they now approve of the reform (bill H.R. 3200 the "America's Affordable Health Choices Act"), I couldn't help but think that THEY are winning the battle for OUR health care reform! Indeed, if you read into the bill it looks more like "The Aetna/Pfizer Preservation Act" just as the tobacco legislation was essentially be "The Phillip Morris Monopoly Act." What I find strange is that while you'd think these two industries have nothing to do with each other, you'd be wrong.

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I've also heard the more progressive members of Congress (Senator Sanders & Rep Kucinich) practically begging Americans to get more involved by contacting Congress and by getting out in the streets amongst other things. In this interview with Rep Dingell, I was surprised to hear his unequivocal support of Single Payer followed by his statement that Congress doesn't have the votes for it, because they are hearing equally from proponents as they are from anti-reform constituents. This tells me the private insurers' PR team has been equally successful in mobilizing the public to contact Congress on their behalf. I've felt this same nearly desperate desire within me to see an en masse action from pro-reform advocates too; but I've been quite frustrated because of the shoddy or otherwise absent leadership out there. We need the kind of leadership that's required to bring the People's Voice into the media, and most importantly, to DC!

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Don't get me wrong, I'm also feeling like there is a giant monster working against us in DC, and I'll admit it is daunting to say the least. As a Single Payer advocate, I feel even more at odds with the process too, and to speak those words in DC seem to be almost forbidden. But instead of allowing this monster make me believe this it is a futile fight, it pushes me the opposite direction. I truly believe we need to fight for health care reform like we are fighting for our very lives! The truth is, we are doing exactly that; and there is no such thing as an appropriate excuse for apathy when it comes to this issue as far as I'm concerned. As Senator Sanders often says, "Despair is not an option!" I also expected the barrage of lobbyists long before they came though too, and so I started to take a serious look at the different ways to go about combating it a few weeks ago.

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Every time I'd seen notices for a rally or some other type of gathering for health care I thought, "Definitely needs to be done, but that's ONLY in DC; and it won't be big enough or strong enough to get the attention it needs and deserves." I believe rallies can be a powerful means of activism, but in order to be truly effective I think there must be enough "noise" that the media simply cannot ignore it. That's why I was looking for a nationwide rally, in every major city on the same day for example. When I began to explore which organization might actually to take on such a task, it became clear to me there are just as many positions being taken by the numerous organizations as there are policies being proposed in DC. My point being, that even the advocates for reform are too divided amongst themselves to come together for something as important as health care reform. Yet, in spite of this policy division, they can ALL agree there's a serious problem that needs to be resolved. In a way, it's the specific policy of the pro-reform organizations that is driving their actions; and they are fractured in the same way the lobbyists are who are fighting each other in DC to have their own interests be met!

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Now again, I can also understand the impassioned desire to "stick to our guns" when it comes to the specific policy we each stand behind, because the clock is running out on us to get it done (perhaps we have a little more time than expected). On the other hand, I think we all know that the true power lies in the numbers. I think the timeliness of this issue means we are essentially dependent upon our ability to utilize any and all means that are already at hand, and will bring as many of us together as we possibly can. -

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As we all know, the internet has proven to be an incredibly valuable tool for activism, especially when it takes nationwide unity to get something accomplished; precisely by utilizing the power in numbers. I've witnessed some significant progress being made via the internet on the health care issue, and I would say they are by far the most promising and effective movements. There have been calls to actions such as faxing, calling or emailing our representatives on a particular day or week for example.

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In my state of California, I have seen these measures prove to be effective in pushing our reps to take a policy stance one way or another. Even Senator Baucus admitted he had caught hell from his constituents for not allowing a Single Payer advocate join the private insurers at his committee's hearing on reform; and when they had showed up anyway to state their objection, he had them arrested for disrupting the hearing! Senator Baucus' constituency had made it clear to him it was unacceptable to eliminate Single Payer from the discussion, and he said he was wrong for doing it. As a result of constituent feedback, he had invited those very same people he'd arrested previously, to sit before his committee to speak. I'm not going to suggest this means Senator Baucus is going to start acting on The People's behalf, because I simply don't believe it to be the case at all. However, this incident did tell me We the People can certainly influence the direction of the discussions taking place on health care reform, and maybe we can even influence the results too that is, IF we are actually heard! ---

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Consider the kind of press coverage a successful live event can attract, and then add to it the power and effectiveness of the internet. This would be ideal, wouldn't it? It became increasingly obvious to me the problem was that We the People didn't really have the kind of leadership we can ALL depend upon, nobody we can trust to simply carry our voices to DC and be heard. Nor do we have a coalition of pro-reform organizations, all willing to pull together for the sake of being included in the debate on health care reform. Or do we?

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Well, I believe we do indeed have a leader who took the initiative to bring the Voice of the People directly to DC! He's also utilizing the power of the internet AND other devices of modern technology in order to bring all Americans together, precisely for the purpose of fighting the special interests in DC so we can demand real reform. Not only has it proven to gather Americans from all perspectives together who believe strong reform is needed, but it has begun to snowball in the press and is beginning to attract DC's attention as well!

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All thanks to Dr. Ogan Gurel for his recognition that all we needed was this type of leadership, and for taking the "Walk for Healthcare" a 700 mile walk (~24 miles per day) from Chicago to DC in 30 days, and he just left Pittsburgh. The doctor (who prefers to just go by Ogan) had also been looking for an effective means of becoming active in the reform debate, but also found a lack of the kind of leadership needed to compete with what he had seen as a special interests' takeover of the debate. Ogan knew somebody had to do it, so he did! Ogan isn't taking sides with any particular policy either, because he believes the one thing we can all agree on is the dire need for strong health care reform. He is collecting the health care stories from every American that wants to share them along the way, and he is taking them straight to Congress to be heard. There are very few people that haven't fully embraced this opportunity to have their tragic stories told too; whatever their opinion on reform policy, the expression for serious reform as a necessity has been absolutely unanimous. I think my favorite picture Ogan took, of a sign a supporter had put on the roadside inviting him to stop in for a glass of lemonade, says a lot about our desire to be heard and our appreciation for Ogan's willingness to make it happen.

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Clearly Ogan understands the importance and power of "feet on the ground" activism, and he has combined the Walk with an incredibly wide variety of technological features designed for us all to take the journey with him. No matter what your internet-poison is, he's got your dose!

www.Walk4Healthcare.org

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Twitter: -http://www.twitter.com/walk4healthcare --( @walk4healthcare )

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/walk4healthcare

Facebook:

Personal page www.facebook.com/ogangurel-

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Group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=113509038713

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And it gets even BETTER... Throughout each day Ogan's GPS tracking tells us exactly where he is, while the pictures that accompany the updates shows the things he sees, and the people he meets with too! On the website, in what he calls "dispatches" he also tells the stories he has been given full permission to share. All these things combined really do give you the sense of taking the journey with Ogan.

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Of course, these web pages are also used to organize gatherings along the way, and recently there was a call to action for supporters to contact their members of Congress to encourage them to meet with Ogan during the week after he arrives in DC, on the 26^th. He already has some appointments set, but there really needs to be as many of them as possible taking the time to listen to what Americans have to say about their health care needs. -

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Because Ogan took the initiative on his own and (I believe) due to his not endorsing any particular policy on reform; all the costs have come out of his own pocket and logistics have been tricky at times. There are a couple other volunteers besides me, who have arranged some free hotel stays, supporters have made donations, and some people he has met have been generous with their hospitality as well. However, there is a bit of uncertainty from day to day with various details, and he's about to enter into the Appalachians, a very remote area, and especially unfit for somebody on foot! Just to give you a little idea of what this Walk for Healthcare entails, here are -a few things that happen daily: Morning prep includes treatment for his blistered feet, a "courier" drives him to the next hotel to drop off his bag and then to the point where he stopped the night before, walking along the Lincoln Hwy (HWY 30) means there may not even be shoulder-space to walk on, he meets with about a dozen people throughout the day, speaks with reporters from both newspapers & local news stations, occasionally attends events too, and all ending with a ride back to the hotel or host-home where he uploads the day's news and then to sleep.

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We are more optimistic than we had been about his being able to gain the extra support he will need while traveling this next treacherous bit of his journey, because of a rather interesting development of late that was a result of this well-interconnected movement. The night Ogan left Pittsburgh there had not been a ride arranged back to his next resting stop. So Ogan Twittered that since this was the case, he had decided to tread on into the night onto to his next stop. One of his followers had seen the post, and drove out to the highway where Ogan was to give him a ride to his next destination! It's clear that this could not have happened without the ability to share it so readily with the entire group of Walk for Healthcare supporters. ----

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I believe that by the time Ogan arrives in DC on the 26^th, considering the amount of press and steady increase of supporters this brilliantly orchestrated movement has already had; The Hill will not be able to ignore the Voice of the People

I've finally found a health care reform movement that incorporates all the elements of activism that I know actually work, and I hope everybody reading will join in support of it too. This really is where the tech-rubber meets the activism-road.

And I dare say, I believe, "It's just what the doctor ordered!"

Authors Bio:
Formerly a News & Politics columnist for an online magazine for a little more than three years, Heather quit to emerge herself in representing an eco-friendly & Fair Trade, Jewelry & Homewares designer/producer out of Bali, Indonesia. However, she continues to publish her column under the same name, "Progressive Mews" (website below) as a blog.

You can fairly simply sum up the solutions to all the issues Heather believes to be most pertinent to Americans' today, in a list primarily made of these six points:

1) Publicly funded campaigns; for a more productive Congress, with no need to spend half their term pandering for funds, that would also no longer be dependent on nor beholden to lobbyist donations (i.e. not sold out to lobbyist interests).

2) Run-off voting; the end of the sole two party system, as well as the two candidate race. An opportunity to vote our conscious, instead of strategically or for "the lesser of two evils."

3) FAIR Trade, not "free" trade; in order to bring commerce, jobs, and affluence back to middle America. We've gone from more exports to more imports over the last 40 years, and to a trade debt that overshadows the national debt!

4) Universal health care; to put a halt to the third of all bankruptcies due to medical issues - of medically insured people. One of the most rapidly growing homeless populations in the US, after vets.

5) De-privatize the military; to provide better support of the troops & vets, while simultaneously creating job openings for the 60%+ male population of Iraqis in rebuilding their own country (as opposed to turning to terrorism to survive).

6) Media Reform; to legally enforce and institutionalize journalistic standards, so that the public is well aware of the quality/validity of the content being provided by their chosen resource. This very well may be the most important issue; as public opinion of all other issues are largely shaped by our media.

Aside from her vast interest in politics and activism, Heather also enjoys painting, reading, writing, learning about different cultures and traveling. Her studies included such as psychology, theology, and philosophy; and she has a general interest in just about everything to do with humanity in general.