Past reforms also were met with fear

After attending Rep. Dave Loebsack's town hall meeting Aug. 15, I wonder why there is fear and anger about health insurance reform that includes a public option.

Companies could drop present insurance plans. But that has already happened, even without a public option.

Perhaps conservative mindsets have trouble adjusting to change. My father was so conservative he almost refused electrical service when President Franklin Roosevelt implemented the Rural Electrification Act.

Is Red Scare reborn because public option sounds too much like socialism? Is it fear of empowering “have nots” with identical privileges to “haves”? History reminds us of objections to women's suffrage, slaves' emancipation and civil rights. Why, I'll bet if public education were proposed today, it would fail.

Whatever the objections to a proposed public option, many responses have become irrational, non-productive and potentially destructive. I suggest we all step back and look at the benefits a public option will bring.

Elizabeth A. Belden

Alburnett