The ancient Greeks had some profound sayings about human friendship. Aristotle defined friendship as “one soul dwelling in two bodies.” Plato spoke of the practical consequences of this ideal. He said, “Friends have all things in common.”
A few weeks ago on Good Friday, nearly 2,000 people crowded the city streets of Paterson. With great devotion, they reenacted the Way of the Cross. Their public act of faith could not go unnoticed. A local newspaper reported the event. However, the newspaper numbered the crowd at 200 people. A mere mathematical mistake?
Following a White House tradition that goes back to Franklin Roosevelt, President Obama signed the 2010 health care reform bill with twenty-one pens. He then gave twenty of them away to those who worked hard to pass the new legislation.
With the stroke of a pen on March 23, 2010, the Affordable Health Care for America Act became law. The debate over health care in America has raged for almost a year. The stakes have been high. Nearly $400 million have been spent just in lobbying by drug companies, hospitals, health care providers and Planned Parenthood.