Healthcare Debate and Scare Tactics - Essay Example

? Health Care Debate and Scare Tactics of the of the Concerned March 9, Health Care Debate and Scare TacticsIntroduction Irrespective of the reality that 21st century is accredited with the title of being a harbinger of information revolution, there is no denying the fact that each and every bit and byte of information has an inalienable emotional content tagged to it. Contemporary Americans may prefer to think that their politico-social views and decisions are based on facts and valid statistics, yet, sad but true, they are as much vulnerable to psychological influence tactics as their counterparts of the yore. Health Care Debate is one such issue that is fast getting associated with such influence tactics. Part I “In Health Care Debate, Fear Trumps Logic” aired on NPR on August 28, 2009, is an apt example of the usage of scare tactics by the anti-reform camp to scuttle the health care reform initiatives and to make the general public, and especially the senior citizens, more apprehensive and weary of the proposed reforms. The anti-reform vested interests are actually manipulating the deep seated fears of the target audience to turn them against the health care reforms. The scare tactics relies for its success on the fact that fear is the most common and universally shared human emotion. Humans tend to learn from their past experiences and mostly store the information in their mind as to which things are to be feared and avoided (Goleman, 1996). So associating a proposed change with something that is already feared by the target audience is bound to generate feelings of fear and hence revulsion. Thus, linking the health reforms with communists, involuntary euthanasia, lack of access to healthcare and other such things is an exercise in scare tactics. May sound enervating, but scare tactics do enjoy a fare degree of success rate. A large share of this success could be attributed to the biochemistry of human brain (Goleman, 1996). People are automatically programmed to a ‘fight or flight’ response to the things they fear (Goleman, 1996). It is seldom that people stop to recheck the facts pertaining to a situation that triggers fear, because this strictly goes against their instinct for self preservation (Goleman, 1996). Besides, the essential human gregariousness motivates people to spread the fear psychosis, so as to protect as many fellow humans as possible (NPR, 2009, a). Thus it is the human physiology that assures a partial if not complete success of a scare tactics. Such scare tactics do have the potential to drag the relevant public and political issues like health reforms into the realm of the impossible, and hence prevent formalization of the intended reforms or changes into statutory provisions or laws. The usage of such influence tactics does have the potential to distort the very nature of a political process or debate and to discourage the social and political leaders supportive of a change. Owing to the very nature of democracy, political leaders are required to be sensitive to the majority opinion. The coercion of majority opinion through the subtle approaches like scare tactics may willingly or unwillingly force the courageous few to tow the popular line, when the facts point to the contrary. Part II In that context, “Senior Groups Reject Health Care ‘Scare Tactics’”, aired two days later on NPR that is on August 30, 2009, is a predictable outcome of the scare tactics used by the anti-reform camp, especially in a modern context when the authentic information and data are readily accessible. As previously told, humans are programmed to a ‘fight or flight’ response to the things that portend to be dangerous (Goleman, 1996). However, the thing to be noted is that ‘fight’ is as much a possible response to a scare tactics as a ‘flight’. Moreover, the interest groups and individuals that have much at stake, are posed to offer a tough fight to dispel the danger posed to their long term well being, by the intended outcome of a scare tactics. In this case, the Senior Citizen Groups, who tend to benefit from some of the proposed reforms and constitute a formidable voting section of the society, choose to fight against and resist the scare tactics being resorted to by the anti-reform lobby. The tactics being resorted to by the senior citizen groups is to educate and inform the target audience regarding the scare tactics being resorted to be the anti-reform camp. Their approach is two pronged. First they are resorting to educate their target audience regarding the intended motives and dynamics of the scare tactics being unleashed by their opponents. Second, they are trying to dilute the gains of the scare tactics by informing the target audience regarding the exact and credible details, contents and ramifications of the proposed health reforms. To speak realistically, the scare tactics being resorted to by the anti-reform camp will prevail, in the short run at least. If one goes by history, this scare tactics related to health reforms has always succeeded, be it in 1915, or in the 40s, or during the Clinton era (NPR, 2009,a). Besides, over the years, the anti-reform camp has been continually building on the success of this fear tactics, with varied stratagems like linking reforms to national risks and personal apprehensions, using social and political leaders for propaganda purposes and the like. The anti-reform camp already has a strong success record, on which it can build. Conclusion The anti-reform camp can further streamline its tactics and counteract the information tactics of the senior groups by supplementing its scare tactics, with suitable, convenient and verifiable facts and data, open to multiple interpretations. An element of statistical amorphousness will definitely make their scare tactics look more realistic and will add to its potency. The senior groups in contrast can learn something from their opponents. They are doing well on their information tactics. They need to supplement it with a degree of scare tactics, by making their target audience feel scared and apprehensive of the essential benefits they can lose or have been deprived of, if the reforms fail. Every person is not a well informed person. Not everyone makes efforts to update one’s facts. But, fear is something that is universal. References Goleman, Daniel (1996). Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books. NPR (2009, August 28, a), In Health Care Debate, Fear Trumps Logic, Retrieved March 8, 2011, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112315433 NPR (2009, August 30, b), Senior Groups Reject Health Care ‘Scare Tactics’, Retrieved March 8, 2011, from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=112384526 Read More