As the final days of the fight over Obamacare tick by, there is no doubt that we are living in historic times. Those on both sides of the issue agree that if the current bill passes, it would affect the lives of virtually all Americans and could be just the beginning of more radical change. But pass or not, the battle over this legislation has stimulated a change in many of the American people themselves.

Continued...

As the tragic events of 9-11 spurred a resurgence of interest in foreign policy and national defense, Obamacare has prompted many American citizens to not only pay more attention to domestic issues and political ideologies but to get involved in more ways than voting. Citing the old adage 'no one wants to know how the sausage is made' used to be enough to stop constituents from asking how or why their elected representatives are doing their jobs. But the bribery, arm twisting and parliamentarian rule bending involved in the health care reform debate has made citizens demand the legislative transparency Candidate Obama promised and then refused to deliver.

What started last spring as a small grassroots effort grew to include impassioned statements at Town Hall meetings and became an undeniable political movement. That movement has given birth to a more involved and better informed citizenry overall. Ironically the former community organizer has been primarily responsible for the organization and motivation of a very large segment of the national community to take action against his signature domestic issue and the rest of his far-left agenda.

Of course there remains an embarrassingly high number of Americans who are either completely apathetic or pay just enough attention to stick with the cynical attitude that "all politicians are the same". That attitude would be amusing if the stakes weren't so incredibly high.

Highlighting the difference between parties and ideologies is a recent comment by House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio). If Boehner is "lucky enough to become speaker," he says he plans to work to repair the "damage to the institution” that the health-care debate has caused over the past year. “It will be different,” he pledges. “We’d run this different than how it is run today, and from how my predecessors ran it. We’ve got to make this government smaller and less costly. There are big problems to address. It’s been shocking how people have been paying attention to the process, and we’ve noticed. We’ll repeal this — we’ll put a bill on the floor to take out the Medicare cuts, the tax increases, and the individual mandates." (source)

If the past year of 'All Obamacare All The Time' is what was necessary to bring about the transformative change of which Representative Boehner speaks, it just might have been worth it. And history may record this latest brush with Progressive rule as the much needed wake-up call that renewed our national identity, purpose and promise.