Rather than Canada becoming the 51st state, perhaps we should become the 11th province of Canada. The healthcare system is better than that in the United States, each province having its own system and the cost of health care is cheaper through its single payer system.
Then, of course, there’s Greenland, which has had its own publicly funded healthcare system since 1992. The system provides for transport of patients who need specialized treatment not available in this small autonomous region of Denmark, which has one of the best healthcare systems in the world. Being annexed by Greenland means we would become part of the Kingdom of Denmark and the European Union, of course.
There’s Panama, of course, where healthcare is cheaper but not as good, and then by being annexed by a country that’s not contiguous with the United States might cause some problems. Perhaps we should just leave well enough alone.
Prayer for the Day
Seeking to find our place in the world,
We come to you for guidance, O God;
Searching for ways to be faithful to your Word,
We look to ways to eliminate poverty around us.
Be with us, O Lord, as we continue our journey,
Knowing this is an uncertain time.
In the name of the One who journeys with us,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
Let reverence for the laws…become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.
Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838, Lyceum Address (1809-1865)
At his best, man is the noblest of all animals. Separated from law and justice, he is the worst.
Aristotle, Greek philosopher (384-322 BCE)
Call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.
But to the wicked God says: “What right have you to recite my statutes,
Or take my covenant on your lips? For you hate discipline,
And you cast my words behind you. You make friends with a thief when you see one,
And you keep company with adulterers. You give your mouth free rein for evil,
And your tongue frames deceit.
Psalm 50: 15-19