Stephen Hawking: I wouldn’t be here without nationalized medicine
Posted by Mike E on August 12, 2009
Investor’s Business Daily dragged the scientist Stephen Hawking into the health care debate saying the British system was “orwellian” and Hawking “wouldn’t have a chance” if he was British.
Britain has a nationalized health service (NHS), and Hawking’s suffers from the debilitating and progressing Lou Gerig’s disease.
Hawking (who is in fact British) quickly replied in public that
“I wouldn’t be here today if it were not for the NHS.”
It has to be noted, of course, that the U.S. administration is not arguing for a British system (or what is called a single payer system), and it insists that it intends to keep private profit motive, private insurance companies and the special “choices” of wealthy people in any future U.S. reforms.
bill martin said
Such admirable restraint, Mike, in not saying directly what idiots we are dealing with who would not know that Stephen Hawking is British. It is hard to imagine that these anti-health care yahoos give a flip who or what Hawking is, and of course there would be no Stephen Hawkings or Albert Einsteins in their Malthussian anti-intellectual (or just anti-intelligence) world. Perhaps it is high time to finally stigmatize these people for being both idiots and mean-spirited. I know the “politics of intelligence” is a tricky thing, and there is a difference between simple ignorance or lack of access to education and a proud know-nothingism. And in fact there is a kind of “intelligence,” purely instrumental, that will knowingly deploy ignorance and the encouragement of stupidity–this is part of the ideological arsenal of fascism or at least something in the vicinity of fascism. We need to understand this better, as well as ways that we can not only respond to it, but also light up the sky in response.
jp said
Mike, can you correct the misspelling of Hawking’s name in your title? It may be affecting your google hits.
Hawking is a decent guy. see:
http://openanthropology.vodspot.tv/watch/2019828-stephen-hawking-solidarity-with-gaza
Mike E said
[moderator note: We appreciate all help with proofreading of this site. (Sometimes quick postings leave typos in place. Thanks.]
Timo said
He is a remarkable man, but he doesn’t have a British accent. I bet that is why many people don’t relies hes British… Jp I enjoyed that youtube video, hearing Stephen Hawking talk about Gaza was new to me. When I hear the name Stephen Hawking I think physics not politics. Thanks.
Radical Eyes said
Similarly people don’t tend to know that Albert Einstein became an outspoken socialist…As did he famous Hellen Keller….Really someone should put together a poster/graphic for circulation that takes people like this–authorities in scientific fields and other professions–and puts them together into a collage under the banner, “We were Socialists…Why aren’t You?” or “The Face(s) of Socialism”…Does Stephen Hawking identify as a socialist btw?