Give a Man a Fish...

I've seen this posted everywhere recently. It's a simpleminded, aphoristic take on Health Care Reform.

"Give a man a fish, and you'll feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you'll feed him for a lifetime."

How about this:

"Teach a man to fish, and you'll feed him for a lifetime. Unless, of course, you can stop him doing so by forcing him to pay huge fishing license fees, preventing him from dropping his hook in the best fishing grounds, taking away his fishing tackle if he develops an illness, and assaulting his self-worth and self-respect if he dares to comment that perhaps - perhaps! - just knowing how to fish might not be enough to get by and feed him and his family for a lifetime.

Health Care Reform isn't about learning to fish. It's about learning to share opportunities.

Give a man to fish, and you'll feed him for a day. Give a man the opportunity to fish, and you'll feed him for a lifetime. That's mine. You can quote me.