“Affordable” Care Act advertisement

What mentality is really driving those who have pushed the ludicrously entitled “AFFORDABLE” Care Act (aka Obamacare)?

Here is a real ad.  Read it carefully and look with a critical eye at the imagery.  What is Pres. Obama’s and Nancy Pelosi’s and Harry Reid’s team trying to tell young people?

But, hey!  Who are we to judge?

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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61 Comments

  1. Siculum says:

    I had to go back and read and re-read “This is a real ad.”

    Speechless. Not surprised, but speechless.

  2. Joe in Canada says:

    I looked at some of the other ads too. The groups that put this webpage together don’t think very highly of Coloradoans.

  3. jaykay says:

    “My health insurance covers the pill…”

    Well, just how expensive is it anyway? I mean, neither of them looks as though they’re scrabbling around in the dirt for a crust. What’s next? Will health insurance cover sticking plasters or lip balm?

    Seriously, I’m not from the US so not commenting on the ins-and-outs of “Obamacare”. But that demeaning Statist mentality is staging a creeping takeover everywhere. “Thank you Big Daddy Government for looking after my every need ‘cos little me can’t really care for myself and it’s sooooo much better when you make all the decisions for me”.

    As for the whole icky immorality of the ad itself, well…

  4. Heather F says:

    I read about this earlier this morning on the Register from Simcha Fisher. The ads are so terrible that apparently Planned Parenthood in Colorado mistook them for anti-Obamacare trolling and sent out tweets of (un)righteous indignation. Her comment: “Things have gotten so awful that even the awful people can’t tell if the other awful people are being awful on purpose in a good, compassionate, progressive awful way, or in the old-fashioned, mocking, whatevershaming awful way, because THEY’RE JUST ALL SO AWFUL.”

  5. wanda says:

    I pray that the younger generation will truly see how they are being used to push an agenda. Instead of really helping the younger folks, they are being depicted as helpless idiots who cannot possibly help themselves. It’s as if they want to have pets spayed and neutered to control the population. Please young ones, you are worth so much more than this.

  6. wmeyer says:

    A small point, but the URL of the web site is the first offense: “doyougotinsurance.com”. Do you got? Really? And someone thought that was clever?

    The ads and the scenarios they present are despicable.

  7. Theodore says:

    So much for the so-called Republican “war on women”. The party of slavery and Jim Crow owns this issue lock stock and barrel.

  8. To wmeyer’s point: The ad campaign is chilling because it reflects both the moral decadence and the intellectual lacking of recent generations of young people. What’s sad is that this desperate attempt to attract young people to sign up may just work; at any rate, they’re doing their darndest to appeal to our worst vices and tendencies.

  9. James Joseph says:

    Well, it’s no wonder there are no women of marrying age in any of the five parishes I attend.

  10. ocalatrad says:

    Shocking but then again this is the administration of the Pervert-in-Chief, the one who pals around with the sodomite lobby, invites rappers to the White House and has declared total war on the true Faith. It is so depressing and nauseating that people of such low moral standards and such an affinity for sexual depravity are running things.

  11. NBW says:

    Wow! What a tacky and terrible ad; but why should I expect anything different from this administration? They’re pushing sex, abortion, common core and Obummercare.

    How about a picture of feet with a toe tag, caption: “Obamacare would not cover my expensive prescriptions.” Thanks, Obamacare.”

  12. Magpie says:

    ”If a couple is contracepting and fornicating and of good will, then who am I to judge?”

    Now, isn’t this the argument that has been used in favour of ignoring the moral law inside the Church for 0ver 40 years? Pope Francis’s throwaway comments: the gifts that keep on giving.

  13. inexcels says:

    On the one hand, the terrible offensiveness of this ad pretty much speaks for itself.

    On another hand, it’s interesting, as a man, having the tables turned on me, as it were. Media is replete with objectifications of women, ascribing to them worth proportionate to their physical attractiveness, and so forth. But this isn’t done nearly as often with men. But here’s an ad that does exactly that. How interesting it is to be seen as an object whose sole purpose is fulfilling physical pleasure:

    “OMG he’s hot! Let’s hope he’s… easy to get. All I have to worry about is getting him between the covers.”

    Da-ang! There’s a slap in the face. What an eye-opener as to how many women must feel in regard to how so many men view them throughout their lives. Now, I try pretty hard to view women as, well, people and not just a bunch of walking, talking models, and I think I succeed most of the time, but being a young and healthy man even I sometimes fall into that objectifying mentality. Things like this ad help drive home what a messed-up mentality it is and give me motivation to try not to fall prey to it.

  14. The Masked Chicken says:

    Straight out of Brave New World:

    Lenina shook her head. “Somehow,” she mused, “I hadn’t been feeling very keen on promiscuity lately. There are times when one doesn’t. Haven’t you found that too, Fanny?”

    Fanny nodded her sympathy and understanding. “But one’s got to make the effort,” she said, sententiously, “one’s got to play the game. After all, every one belongs to every one else.” (3.12-13)

    Huxley got it in one.

    The Chicken

  15. Imrahil says:

    As an aside (and really an aside), dear @0calatrad, and although I really don’t like that kind of music in almost all cases you run across it in public,

    I do not think that
    >>invites rappers to the White House
    should belong in a list which besides it contains
    >>pals around with the sodomite lobby
    >>has declared total war on the true Faith.

    Generally, well, this is a real ad.

    As for the whole icky immorality of the ad itself, well…

    Neither a surprise nor shocking, to me. No surprise, because I do not think the US administration believes in the Catholic and natural-law teaching in this respect (and in some others). Not shocking, because, for good or ill, the once-existing societal taboo to not blatantly disrespect Christian morality even in points one disagrees with it (speaking of general society, not of the obligations of the Catholic) has at this time gone the way of all flesh and we knew that before.

    Just… telling… and of course of a sad fact.

    I might have expected (not in the sense of probability, but in the sense of demand) that a government respects their people’s consciences, but… well, but.

    There’s one little thing I wonder even from their own position. Why are they so harsh on unattractive people? Or … this is a half-joke… does Obamacare also cover cosmetical surgery?

  16. LarryW2LJ says:

    I saw this earlier this morning as part of a Michelle Malkin post on Facebook. I thought for sure that it was a parody, and then became slack jawed to discover that it isn’t.

    So this is what we’ve come to? Sex, free stuff, no responsibility and poor grammar to boot.

    We have fallen so far from the America that I experienced as a small child. I regret that we no longer have it, pray that we will get it back, and am glad that I grew up in the environment that I did. I will raise my children up to know that environment, and will school them in those morals and values the best that I can – even at the risk of being known as “a bitter clinger” or as “an extremist”.

    Gracious and good Lord, please protect my family from this world! We definitely do not belong here. Amen.

  17. Imrahil says:

    Dear @inexcels,

    well said.

  18. PA mom says:

    Yuck!

    I am deeply hoping that the average American is not as stupid as they must believe them to be.

  19. Dr. Edward Peters says:

    See why it’s so hard to parody modernity? I thought the ad was fake. Miserable me.

  20. mamajen says:

    Magpie,

    Pope Francis’ actual comment was not remotely similar to that. Same sex attraction in and of itself is not a sin. He was not talking about ignoring or excusing sin. Sure, the liberals choose to run around pretending otherwise, but we here know better.

    Father Z,

    With all due respect, I’m not getting your humor or something lately. It seems like you’ve been picking on Pope Francis a lot in recent weeks. [That would be wrong. I am, however, picking on people who misinterpret him. Rabbit hole closed.]

  21. APX says:

    Those wondering how much the Pill costs, it’s about $20/month. I’m a student with no extra money and no extended health insurance to cover my prescriptions I need to keep me from having a heart attack, yet I manage to afford my drugs.

  22. AvantiBev says:

    As an actress whose day job has been in a law firm that does what is euphemistically called “family law” for over 15 years, I find the comments herein rather interesting. Some of you poor souls seem surprised. If you had a look at our clients’ files you’d more accurately see how marriage, fidelity, family, faith, chastity are viewed by so-called Catholics (we have lots of them as clients) and other Christians. These two models/actors are accurately holding “the mirror up to nature” in their stance and expressions. The ad text doesn’t surprise me one little bit.

    I know I am a broken record…er…damaged CD… or to be really modern, corrupt wave file…….but it ain’t only the evil fruit of abortion Christians should be attacking; you have to pray that a coming generation of women will turn in revolt against the whole shebang that is the Sexual Revolution. It won’t end with the Peter Pan/Hugh Hefners that modern man has become. It must and can only be ended by women en masse turning on the culture that would have them be perpetual skanks. Their grandmothers surrendered good sense and good morals but the time will come, if we pray hard enough, when a generation reclaims for themselves and their daughters decency, virtue and honor.

  23. inexcels says: having the tables

    Alas, women will lose BIG TIME in this turning of the tables despite efforts to interfere with biology and God’s plan/image.

    The reduction of sexual differences to self-selected “gender” options, the feminization of men and the masculinization of women will very soon start producing even more bloody returns.

  24. OrthodoxChick says:

    inexcels,

    Men being objectified by women is entering the mainstream. Have you seen the new add for “steak-umm” yet? It’s disgusting. Women in their 30’s and 40’s drooling over a kid in his 20’s who is portrayed as a “hot” young firefighter.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeJYSkne3vM

    We have the feminist movement and the hook-up culture to thank for this. The hook-up attitude portrayed in this print ad probably won’t raise eyebrows among young people, unfortunately. But I also doubt it will entice them to go purchase Obamacare. Afterall, this ad is targeted at precisely the same audience (college kids) who are now able to remain on their parents’ health insurance until age 26. The girls in the 26+ crowd who share this mentality probably know that they can get the pill for free at any Planned Parenthood clinic, so no incentive for them to buy health insurance they can’t afford either if it’s just to get the pill. In other words, we’re all being subjected to this moral rot for nothing.

  25. ChrisRawlings says:

    Larry,

    We do indeed belong to this world, at least insofar as these are the times and circumstances to which God has us to powerfully witness the Gospel. You are called to sanctify this world, not run from or escape it.

    As a side note, and as a Coloradan, I find these advertisements pathetic. They are actually created by a local left-wing policy group and are aimed at milennials like me in whom the whole Obamacare enchilada rests. What is notable us that this garbage is sure to only outrage most Coloradans. There is a conservative revolution of sorts underway here and grotesque liberal overreach like this is one big reason for it.

  26. Priam1184 says:

    The Western world has been emasculated by that damn pill, and now they just won’t give it up. Like a junkie who’s willing to kill both the kids and their mother just to get a fix.

    @OrthodoxChick You’re right: being objectified by women is completely and 100% mainstream now. And the women are about 20X more vicious about it then men ever were I think. And you’re also correct that this won’t raise an eyebrow among the hook-up generation. Sad and evil times and they seem to get sadder and more evil by the hour; but this won’t last forever.

  27. Salvelinus says:

    Sancte Michael Archangele defende nos in proelio….

  28. OrthodoxChick says:

    AvantiBev,

    I’m sadly not shocked in the least. As one who just chaperoned a dance at a local public high school a few weeks ago, my job was to bounce the door. Not to keep kids from getting in, mind you. Nope. My job was to allow them to stand just outside the door to get some air after all of the twerking, and to prevent them from strolling off to a parked car or behind a dark corner of the campus. The young lady in the above print ad is dressed far more conservatively than the kids I spent time with.

    I commend all of you parents who are able to homeschool and shelter your kids from this culture. But once your children reach 18 and leave the safety of your parenting to confront the world, the kids I’m describing are the kids who will be your kids’ college roommates, co-workers, and next door neighbors. Can we get that bishop of Portsmouth to consecrate the millenials to the Sacred Heart too? Seriously. This is the generation who will be legislating when we all reach the age of euthanasia victimization.

  29. MikeToo says:

    Interesting ad given that the New York Times just admitted that women are half as likely to get organism in a committed relationship.

    http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/11/women-find-orgasms-elusive-in-hookups/?smid=fb-share

    Also, USA Today, admitted earlier this year that thoes who follow Catholic teaching on sex have better sex lives.

    http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/07/17/devout-catholics-have-better-sex

    It looks like the science is in, the Catholic Church wants you to have the best best sex life possible.

  30. cheezwiz says:

    Turning for a moment from the dreadful immorality promoted by this ad, demoting the very real issue of STDs to an asterisk is ridiculous. How does this square with the emphasis this and previous administrations have placed on HIV/AIDs prevention? Billions spent on one disease that is almost totally preventable and this ad treats it as an afterthought!

  31. mr205 says:

    Recently, there have been a couple of pro-marriage articles circling FaceBook. My jaw about hit the floor when I ACTUALLY saw a woman post this article in response:

    http://elitedaily.com/dating/sex/why-you-should-always-have-sex-on-a-first-date/

    I’m only 28, but man, at least in high school and college, people were embarrassed and didn’t want to be known as someone who sleeps around.

  32. LarryW2LJ says:

    ChrisRawlings:

    I might have stated myself incorrectly and for that, I apologize, if I gave you the impression that I wanted to run away, as you put it.

    By simply be stating ” I will raise my children up to know that environment, and will school them in those morals and values the best that I can – even at the risk of being known as “a bitter clinger” or as “an extremist”. “, I meant to be an indication that I am attempting to perform my God given familial obligation to lead my family the best that I can. In addition, I also assist at a Catholic Bible study and right now were doing a Scriptural study on the “Seven Habits of Devout Catholics”, so I would hope that also qualifies as helping “to sanctify this world, not run from or escape it.”

    That being said, I would assert that, while we may be a part of this world, we do not belong to it. We belong to God and by His plan, were are ordered to spend eternity with him in Heaven. That is where we belong.

    Fr. Z, if I missed the boat on this one, I will humbly accept correction.

  33. The Sicilian Woman says:

    I saw this ad on Twitter yesterday and thought it was a joke. The moral freefall continues…

    On a brighter note, I attended a talk by an apologist last night. There were at least 200 people there, possibly closer to 300. He and the pastor of the hosting parish were very pleased. I saw a group of boys in their late teens and a few other young people there. I hope they hold strong in the faith.

  34. Nathan says:

    This is an illustrative example of the now-dominant political and social discourse in the USA: “Welcome Back To High School.” The two operative principles are that “Rules and restraint do not apply to Cool People” and that “if you aren’t trying to imitate the cool people, you have no voice.”

    That leaves those of us who find such things objectionable not only “not cool” and unworthy of entering the discussion, but a couple of pegs lower, among the “nerds,” “dweebs,” and “prudes.”

    Expect such ads to be presented by the mainstream as successful precisely because they get a negative reaction by us “prudes” and to be used against us as much as possible.

    In Christ,

  35. JonPatrick says:

    Interesting. I guess for a man to be attractive now you have to have not shaved for 3 days and be dressed like a slob.

    Amazing that I was able to attract the woman I have been happily married to for 34 years in spite of the fact that I shaved and tucked my shirt in before our dates ;)

  36. rsbsa says:

    What Does the Ad Really Say?

  37. benedetta says:

    “Hot to Trot” ?! Has anyone used that phrase since the 60s? How quaint.

    I guess having the government interfere in people’s sex lives is ok after all?

  38. lana says:

    Your higher insurance premiums at work.

  39. Legisperitus says:

    Masked Chicken: Brave New World is it, exactly it. That’s what we’ve got. Take your Soma and forget about it.

  40. chantgirl says:

    mr205- I’m sorry I even clicked on that link. *** Men who struggle with suggestive images should not click on that page.*** As for the author’s “article”, she is one cold woman. I’m sure men don’t want to be judged on the size/shape of their genitalia any more than women want to be judged based on the size/shape of their breasts etc.

    About the ad- Will Nate still want to be with Susie when the pill drops her libido through the floor?

  41. The Sicilian Woman says:

    Addendum: Had a Twitter conversation with a woman this morning who developed blod clots after being on birth control (patch) after only two weeks. She might be infertile and is subject to developing blood clots in the future. I am shocked – SHOCKED – I tell you, that the ad doesn’t mention the possibility of any such side effects, which are more common than is (not) reported.

  42. The Sicilian Woman says:

    *blood

    Any chance of an editing feature, Fr. Z.?

  43. Rachel K says:

    Personally, I think the moral slide begins with bad grammar ;) On a serious note, the “Bitter Pill” alters the way a woman’s brain works and the way she perceives the man, it also alters her pheromones and so the way he perceives her. Chemical social engineering. And, we are all “taking the Pill” through the water supply….

  44. (X)MCCLXIII says:

    We get this kind of thing all the time in England. :(

  45. Imrahil says:

    So, of course, do we.

    Nothing about ABC here, to be silent of Church teaching. The official publically financed anti-aids ad has the slogan “do it, but do it with it”.

  46. StJude says:

    THIS is what democrats think of women.. we are all just a bunch of stupid skanks that need big daddy govt to hand us birth control.
    Gee thanks.
    Just when you think we cant get any lower.
    I dont even recognize America anymore. Lord.. please help us.

  47. NYer says:

    Love him or hate him, Conservative talk radio host, Rush Limbaugh devoted a lengthy segment to the add today and made some excellent points. On the one hand, you have government enacting laws to ‘protect’ you: don’t smoke, don’t do drugs (except marijuana), eliminate trans fats from your diet, don’t drink large gulp sodas, etc. Ostensibly they do this to show “they care”. Under Obamacare, on the other hand, the message changes. Quote: ” … suggest to you that it’s okay to go pretend to be a mink, to have sex as often as you want.

    Don’t worry about it! It’s perfectly fine because our health insurance plan is gonna make sure that there are no consequences. Now, how — on one hand — can you believe that these people are looking out for you, they care for you, they really want the best for you, they really want to make sure you can’t eat or drink those bad things for you. You can’t drive certain kinds of cars and you can’t eat certain kinds of foods, all of this stuff. But then when it comes to sex, there aren’t any limits at all! You do whatever you want to do.

    There’s no right or wrong, there. Do whatever you want to do, and we’ll take care of the consequences for you. It’s sort of a contradiction, is it not? What it illustrates to me is, they don’t really… What government does is coerce. Wait until you find out how much your free birth control pills are gonna cost you, when your rates triple and your deductibles go through the roof.” Unquote

    The entire article is posted at this link, for those who wish to see its insidiousness. Link: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2013/11/13/regime_sells_obamacare_to_millennials_with_promise_of_sex_without_consequences

  48. mr205 says:

    chantgirl – You are correct. I am sorry, I really should have posted a warning.

    It really is amazing how hyper-sexualized our culture is. Everyone is so dulled to scandalous images. Recently at Pre-Cana, Father told my fiancée and I that, statistically, half the men in our class were addicted to internet pornography. Father had to spend a good 20 minutes telling the class about how destructive pornography is to a marriage.

  49. There is one very amusing side-story to all this.

    When the folks at Planned Parenthood in Colorado first saw these ads, they assumed they were produced by their enemies and went ballistic, condemning righties for “slut-shaming.” Then, a few hours later, they found out their own side made these ads. Then they said, oh, they’re wonderful!

    []

  50. benedetta says:

    Subtext: “Yay and thumbs up! I am going to pump my body full of artificial hormones and subject myself to myriad short term and long term side effects. All so I can sleep with this one guy who really doesn’t care much about me past that one night. One might be persuaded to subject themselves to horrible health consequences for a guy who loved them, but what about the guy who only wants to sleep with me? And, it’s free because the government is paying for it!!” And, on the very low likelihood that these two do marry, will the government pony up to pay for the treatments for the breast cancer, the infertility, the marriage counseling, the low standard of living after they divorce, the counseling for the children after they divorce etc etc etc…?

  51. chantgirl says:

    mr205- Your priest is wise to advise engaged couples about the dangers of pornography. I know few marriages that have not been hurt at some time by it. A cursory check of Catholic Answers forums will yield you thread after thread of men who are near despair because they can’t quit, and women who are so hurt by their husbands’ behavior that it has destroyed the intimacy between them. The Bishops are starting to notice how many times porn is sited in the reasons for divorce.

    http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/US.php?id=8812

    Say, I wonder if Obamacare requires counseling for porn addicts?

  52. chantgirl says:

    Sorry, that should read:

    I wonder if Obamacare requires counseling to be covered for porn addicts?

  53. Unwilling says:

    A real gaffe! Fire the copy editor! Risqué but risky… for the promoters of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil.

    We should use “common sense”?!?!

    Augustine, Thomas, GKC, C.S. Lewis and many others show where that leads.

  54. Lin says:

    So very sad! Much prayer and fasting are required! GOD help us!

  55. mlmc says:

    why the surprise?- in Virginia we saw the posters by the Democrats seeking the college student vote by extolling oral sex- “to keep your head in the game”- and “don’t let election day go down without you” & claiming the Republicans would make oral sex a felony. Free stuff & free sex- what a sales campaign!
    ?

  56. Kerry says:

    Will there be an ad, “Yo stud boys! Go ahead wit dat ho’. Obama care got yo back up to five Benjamins”?

  57. Suzanne Carl says:

    I’m curious about the person or persons behind the creation of this ad. Did they not realize the parody? Was it intentional? Do we have a Catholic mole on the creative side of this ad who was hoping for just this sort of discussion? Or is the culture so far gone that the person(s) creating this ad really didn’t see the message created? I pray this was done by someone who was smart enough to see the self-parody rather than too stupid to understand.

  58. Nathan says:

    Suzanne Carl, I’m fairly much convinced that the persons and the group behind this ad are fully aware of the self-parody involved. In fact, I think that is precisely the point–even my teens are well aware that, among young people, to be “cool” is to be ironic, mocking, and edgy. I think we ought to remember that this ad is aimed at those young adults, just out of college, who truly get their news and awareness of the world from Comedy Central cable tv, Twitter, and campus Facebook pages.

    There’s a real gnostic tendency here–those of us who might object to this approach just don’t get the insider joke, and (like those poor, benighted, unenlightened, clinging-to-their-guns-and-God losers in flyover country) unworthy of even a voice in this society.

    In Christ,

  59. The Masked Chicken says:

    ” And, we are all “taking the Pill” through the water supply….”

    You mean you aren’t vacuum distilling your water :)

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vacuum_distillation

    Seriously, the EPA won’t even release the contents of municipal water supplies. Progesterone is fairly heat stable, from what I can gather from the cursory literature search I just did. It is a neuroprotective agent showing great promise in traumatic brain injury, so more of the contracepting crowd might survive should there be a zombie apocalypse. Hey, you have to find the silver lining in all of this :)

    The Chicken

  60. Rachel K says:

    The Masked Chicken says:
    “You mean you aren’t vacuum distilling your water :) ”
    I like that!
    Chicken, your point about one of the positive effects of progesterone is good, but the Pill contains a synthetic progesterone sometimes referred to as progestogen, which has a chemical composition more similar to testosterone than progesterone. This may account for some of the effects of the Pill on some women, eg hirsutism.
    An excellent British prolife doctor (sadly now deceased, RIP) gave me an abstract about the structure of the Pill and the negatively effects of this potent sex-steroid. She also drilled into me the fact that such a steroid has an effect on every organ in the body, including the skin.
    Dr Ellen Grant, a British GP, was involved in trialling versions of the Pill and her inquiries led her to condemn what she saw as the poisoning of healthy women with potent drugs. Her book, ” The Bitter Pill” is out of print I believe, but she has a website, http://www.harmfromhormones.co.uk which is informative. I highly recommend it for you and all readers here, but she is not anti-contraceptive though.
    You are right about the water supply and the secrecy surrounding what is in it, we are all imbibing goodness knows what…

  61. The Masked Chicken says:

    “‘The Bitter Pill’ is out of print I believe, but she has a website…”

    In this day and age of digital formatting, some aspects of copyright law are just infuriating. The woman is dead, for heaven’s sake. She is not going to make any more money off of the book and, in my opinion, her estate isn’t entitled to any money, since they did not write the book. All such orphaned books should, in a just society, be released into the wild as e-books. It is silly to think that we have sane copyright laws in the U. S. Just how insane do laws have to be before they can be ignored? At what point does the mental incapacity of those making laws become so evident that we can say that, in all likelihood, authority has fled from the officeholders?

    Sigh.

    The Chicken

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