In January of 1838, a young man in Illinois speaking to a community organization (known as the Young Men’s Lyceum) in Springfield made the argument that an ambitious leader sometime in the future of the United States would leave the “beaten path” trod by previous leaders in order to gain distinction for himself. That “towering genius,” he said, would seek distinction and if possible, have it “at the expense of emancipating slaves or enslaving freemen.”

That speaker was none other than Abraham Lincoln, our 16th president, who would gain great distinction by keeping this country on a path to live up to its founding principles that “all men are created equal.” We continue to have much for which to thank him.

Today in the state of New York, a pack-a-day smoker spends $250 of his disposable income each month and destroys his health in the process. He then seeks medical insurance and finds it “too expensive” — after all, insurance is a form of sharing risk and his is a risky and expensive future — and then he cries out to the political leaders of his country for medical coverage regardless of “pre-existing conditions.” Other examples of self-destructive beh

avior can easily be substituted.

Those leaders then turn to those of us who act wisely to protect our health. They reach into our pockets under the guise of compassion to buy votes to stay elected and in this way they subsidize unhealthy behavior. By mandating that health insurance companies ignore risk and pay the cost of self-destructive behavior, they force-feed the poison pill that will bankrupt the health insurance industry and eventually speed the bankruptcy of our nation.

How ironic. One president sets free slaves of African descent. Now a president of African descent seeks distinction and tries to enslave free men by forcing them to pay for the destructive lifestyles of their fellow citizens. And our senators and representatives are only too happy to go along. Shame on them.

Young Lincoln went on to say that, “It will require the people to be united with each other, attached to the government and laws, and generally intelligent, to successfully frustrate his designs.” Any politician at any level of government who would vote in favor of such a plan understands neither the blessings nor the responsibilities of American liberty, and they have no place in public office.