A Little Visual Flair for Universal Health Care

By: Aaron Datesman, A Tiny Revolution

Point #1: According to a Harvard study, 45,000 Americans die every year because they don’t have insurance and can’t get access to health care.

Point #2: There’s around a gallon of blood in the human body. The blood of 45,000 people would fill a swimming pool 20 feet by 30 feet in size to a depth of about 7 feet, which is pretty gross.

Point #3: They approach politics with a bit more visual flair in Thailand.

Anti-government protesters poured a small amount of blood at the headquarters of the government in Bangkok on Tuesday, but the demonstration did not live up to their threat to douse the ministers' offices in blood.

The protesters intended to collect 1,000 liters (1 million cubic centimeters) and then throw the blood on the grounds of the Government House, which houses ministerial offices, at 6 p.m. (7 a.m. ET).

Point #4: The US Capitol Building is very pretty, and (like the Founders) very, very white. Why is this? Was this a good idea? It seems to me that ten thousand or so pissed-off health care activists armed with gallon jugs of pig’s blood could create some very arresting imagery.

Although I like numbers, they don’t move me. Why can’t we take a page out of the Thai playbook? The Reflecting Pool filled with blood - that would grab my attention. Hopefully, it would also bring to the fore the idea that the failure by Congress (and by the Obama administration) to enact universal health care IS KILLING TENS OF THOUSANDS OF AMERICANS.

— Aaron Datesman