Shaking my head at a Facebook discussion I've had with a friend.

Just as a background, for what it's worth, my friend's a nice enough guy. We have fun talking sports. He was in my scout troop back in the day. He went to my church, his sister was good friends with my sister growing up, etc. So I like the guy, personally.

But he definitely leans right. Not obnoxiously so, but still it's clear which side he breads his butter on.

So anyways, today he starts talking about the ACA and healthcare, and basically why he believes the President's health care reform was a bad thing.

When I pressed him for details as to why he believes it was bad, he told me he doesn't want his money going to pay for other people's healthcare. I pointed out that under the pre-ACA system, that is exactly what was happening. People were choosing to remain uninsured, and then after they got hurt or sick, they'd go to the emergency room, and after they didn't pay the bill, costs went up and those who were insured saw their premiums rise.

He agreed that was a problem, but he said instead of the ACA, they should have just made it where everyone should have to buy at least a minimum level of insurance, and if they refuse to pay, there should be some sort of penalty.

I told him that he's just described the ACA's mandate to a tee.

He then sidestepped that glaring fact, insisting that he wasn't describing the ACA mandate because he opposed subsidies. He claimed that he shouldn't be forced to pay for other people's services, that other people should have to pay for services themselves and not be "given" it.

Then he said he had to go to work.

But here's the irony. Guess what he does for a living?

Answer: He's a school teacher. A public school teacher.



The cognitive dissonance is maddening at times. Especially when you have otherwise good people agreeing with crazy things that contradict everything else they happen to believe in.