One of the smartest things our Founding Fathers did was resist the urge to follow most of human history and rid this country of the concept of nobility. And thank God they did. If they hadn’t, we’d be “subjects,” subservient to the state and a ruling class. The eternal wisdom of the men who created the United States of America was on full display again this week thanks to the different ways two babies are being treated by our old colonizers.
The Royal Family in England welcomed a new baby this week, little Prince Louis Arthur Charles. And good for them, babies are a joy. They can be a handful, but a joy nonetheless. When you have millions of dollars and a staff, the “handful” part is likely much less, but the joy part remains.
Little Louis is being showered with attention, both by his family (and their staff) and the media. Moreover, the world is following the latest news involving the newborn who sits fifth in line for the throne.
Also in England, a 23 month of boy named Alfie Evans was not in line for any throne. He, too, was getting media attention, but not nearly as much as the newly minted Royal. The attention Alfie received was not a celebration of his life, it was waiting for this death.
Alfie was sick; of what remains a mystery, but the cause of his death is clear – his government. The British National Health Service, the socialized system for health care most often held up as the model to which the US should aspire, is a heartless, cold bureaucracy that would rather an infant die than be exposed for the failure it is.
Doctors had no idea why Alfie was sick. They thought they did, so they stopped looking. Further treatment, they said, was pointless as he would not recover. The best option was to remove his ventilator and let him pass.
That end, these experts assured the court, would come quickly without the aid of machines. The court, against the wishes of Alfie’s parents, agreed that letting the baby die was in his best interest. It was do-over of the Charlie Gard tragedy, where another baby boy was deemed no longer worth treating, against the wishes of his parents, and ordered to die rather than allow him to be brought to the United States for possibly life-saving experimental treatment.
At the time I wrote, “Could Charlie’s life have been saved? Unlikely. But thanks to the UK’s National Health Service, we’ll never know. The government machine managed to delay any hope for that beyond the point of no return. Make no mistake about it, although his disease will be Charlie Gard’s cause of death, it will be the system trying to protect itself that ultimately killed him.”
That system was trying to protect itself again in Aflie’s case. But a funny thing happened on the way to this latest UK infanticide – Alfie didn’t die immediately when they disconnected the machines.
After finding unsympathetic ears through the UK court system and international pressure – including a grant of Italian citizenship, medical equipment at the ready for transport to Italy, and a personal appeal from the Pope – all hope seemed lost. The bureaucracy wasn’t interested, not because it doesn’t care (it doesn’t, no bureaucracy cares), but because, just like with Charlie, they couldn’t afford the possibility of Alfie living.
If Alfie were to have lived it would’ve not only expose the “experts” as being wrong, it would caused people to question the wisdom and compassion of a system they’ve been conditioned to believe is the best the world has to offer. It would’ve lead to questions, like why their government was willing to kill this baby rather than let his parents try anything possible to save him.
Then those questions about Alfie might’ve be asked about other people’s loved ones. Expectations could rise, and who knows where that could lead?
But when Alfie didn’t die immediately after the machines were removed, some of those questions started to asked anyway. Still the courts, the government of the UK, would not let Alfie leave the country or the hospital, insisting he must die.
Socialism is predicated on the concept of “equality,” only it’s a perverted version of that word. Socialized medicine does ensure equality – it ensures everyone suffers equally. If Alfie’s parents were allowed to accept the offer of help from the Vatican, UK citizens would wonder why their government wasn’t willing to do provide that level of care not just to Alfie, but to everyone.
The truth is they couldn’t afford to. The National Health Service is nearly broke. Rationing care is their most effective cost control measure. Everyone suffers equally…
Well, not everyone.
If, God forbid, Prince Louis were struck with some awful disease rest assured there is no stone that would remain unturned to save his life. He would be brought to any corner of the globe that offered the last measure of hope to his parents. No court in the UK would dare block them as no bureaucrat would bring the case in the first place.
There are at least two families in the UK who might take issue with doing so, and likely unknown countless others who simply didn’t know to fight.
This tale of two babies is one no one wanted to see play out, yet there it was for the world to see.
Still, Alfie’s parents fought on, with support from millions around the world, they were standing up for this “lost cause,” and lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for.
Having recently lost my mother, being in the room as her life support was switched off and hearing her take her last breath, I know there was nothing I would not have done, nothing I would not have tried to make that not happen. Even though it was her wish not to be kept alive by machines, it hurts to this day the way it hurt then. I can take comfort in it being in accordance with her wishes and knowing every option was exercised.
It hurts me still to write about it, and I was blessed with several good decades with my mom. I can’t imagine the hell Alfie’s parents have been forced in to by their government over their little boy.
For all the flaws in our health care system, we do not suffer this. Even bankruptcy is a better option than subjugation.
But that subjugation was something that could have made a difference for Alfie. While the Royal Family celebrates their newest member, they remained silent as Alfie was sentenced to die. The Queen could have changed things, she could have intervened. Her official powers may be limited, but her power is not. She chose not to use it, though her subjects attempted to pressure her to. As a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother you’d think she would have.
But she is the Queen, everyone else is her subject.
Article 1, Section 9, Clause 8 of the Constitution reads, “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.” With that brilliant stroke, we were freed from having to beg our government, our “betters,” for anything, and the rest of the Constitution freed us to make of our lives whatever we can. Was it really too much to ask of the Royal Family that the same be extended to the parents of a 23-month-old boy simply fighting to live?
The system got its wish. As you can tell by this being written in past tense, Alfie passed away early Saturday morning. May God show his soul the mercy and love the government claimed to have for him, but was uninterested in acting upon. And may everyone else gain the wisdom not to look to government for such things.
On a more positive note, I wrote a book that will be coming out in June. If you’ve been reading my stuff here at Townhall over these many years and liked it, or even hated it, you will enjoy the book. It’s about how the liberal mob bullies, lies, purges, and manipulates damn near every aspect of life, both blatantly and subtlety, to advance their liberal agenda. It’s well researched, funny, and scarily true. And none of it would have been possible had you guys not read and shared my columns, so thank you for that. Please consider ordering a copy, or many (students especially need to understand how the liberal mob works so they can grow to become independent thinkers and avoid indoctrination in high school and college). It’s called Outrage, INC: How the Liberal Mob Ruined Science, Journalism, and Hollywood. Check it out. Thank you.