Health care is not simply a political issue. It is a personal one. What is decided in Washington now will determine how we are treated in the future. Our shared fear? We are afraid our loved ones will suffer or die because of mistakes or poor coverage.

Some people say they are happy with their current health coverage. Others are not. And many are afraid something new would be something worse.

Nothing pleased me more than to hear the President promise that people would not be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. I’ve watched my mom battle breast cancer twice– and win (in 1997 and again in 2003). She lost her hair then. Now she’s lost her ability to choose a different health insurance. She is forced to pay higher premiums and cannot change insurance companies because cancer is now a pre-existing condition.

In politics, promises are often broken and people are the ones who have to pay. We want to know whether we would still have private health insurance if all of a sudden the government offers a public option. Would we have to wait in longer lines in the emergency room? What about preventative care? Would my mom’s cancer be treated as thoroughly in the future as it was treated in the past? Who and what can we trust?

On September 12, tens of thousands of people participated in the Taxpayer March on DC. Hardly anyone could have anticipated the crowds. While the march focused on more than the health care debate (anti-tax, anti-big government) – health care was certainly one of the most talked about issues of the day. People have valid reasons for opposing certain health care policies and proposals.

Some news organizations echoed the issues at hand. But some of the news networks battled each other. And some reporters had trouble battling the crowds. Stories that should have been told got lost in all the muck.

Even weeks after the protest, there are new reports and video that implies the event was staged.

Here is a story and video from The Huffington Post that shows a FOX News associate producer coaching crowds to cheer on cue. FOX News later admitted to it and has said the associate producer was disciplined.

But CNN’s Lisa Desjardins had trouble getting a crowd to cooperate during her live shot.

There is a problem here. Why would thousands and thousands of people act negatively toward CNN, yet welcome FOX News? To some, the answer has to do with politics. They’ll say FOX News is conservative and CNN is liberal. Others believe FOX News helped organize and perhaps stage the event. And some believe journalists at FOX News overdid their coverage or CNN failed to cover the event enough.

An advertisement in the Washington Post puts some of this into perspective:

FOX News wants to own the story. The event was covered by every major network, but this ad presses people to believe FOX was the only network present; or were the only ones who covered every aspect of the story.

Health care is too important for this branding war. This advertisement hurts everyone. It doesn’t help when people try to drown out certain news organizations instead of sharing their stories with their viewers.

Staged or not– thousands upon thousands of people traveled across the country because they felt so strongly about health care and taxes. People who had never been to Washington missed visiting museums and instead stood in a crowd hoping their local Congressman would listen to their message.

That is the story. It’s personal. Not for profit. At least, that’s how it should be. What’s your story?

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