(April 1, 2010) — Those of you growing weary of endless “to be continued” episodes of 24 and even more confusing installments of Lost can find solace in real drama television: the recent fight over Obamacare. With everything from suspenseful 15-minute countdowns to a Texas congressman shouting out “baby killer,” the excitement was endless. On a more serious note, history was made on March 21, but was it really the right way to go about things? No one can dispute the fact that the current healthcare system is fatally flawed—no pun intended—but depending on where you get your numbers from, voters do not exactly see eye to eye on Obamacare. Sure, a good chunk of those disapproving are varying liberals angry with the president for taking so long to get this passed or upset at little chunks of the bill (lack of a public option, abortion language, etc.), but they’ll come around eventually. Ultimately, it comes down to this question: Was this something Congress and the President wanted, or something the people wanted? It’s one thing to want coverage for every American; it’s another thing entirely to accept the costs. What our newly adopted American system of healthcare will have in comparison to others remains to be seen, but some of the costs of those systems include increased waiting between doctor visits, higher value-added taxes and mediocre care. What if government-regulated healthcare turns the insurance industry into the next DMV? Lines, bureaucrats, lines, forms signed in triplicate and some more lines. The benefits, however far-reaching and valuable, fail to really get at the major problem with healthcare: that it should be a fundamental right, not something that passes on enormous costs to taxpayers and other Americans. While some of the seemingly endless provisions of this 20,000 page monster of a bill seem financially sound, they avoid the bigger picture; they go around the awkward dance with insurance companies to actually lower the cost of administrating care. This plan doesn’t do anything to increase competition; instead, it sends more customers to existing insurance giants and makes competition even more difficult. Even more disturbing is how comically this has all played out. To think the fate of a piece of social legislation as historic and monumental as this was decided (pretty much) at the last minute amid scurrying politicians truly says something about the way our nation works, and the mere fact that it takes 20,000 pages of legislation for our government to get something done is mind-boggling. And while it truly is entertaining to watch Dave Obey awkwardly twitch and try to restore order among four hundred disgruntled politicians at nearly midnight, one can’t help but to wonder: why now? Was passing this bill that big a staple on the Obama presidency, or this Congress for that matter, that healthcare couldn’t wait until we reduced some of our national debt, or did it pass because it was the right thing to do? At least now you can rest easy knowing you can piggyback on your parents’ insurance well after college and even through graduate school. And if for some reason in three or so years you don’t have insurance, then Big Brother makes you buy it, or you pay a small fine, $95 as soon as 2014, increasing up to $695 in 2016. In the end, we’re in for some primetime television and awkward questions as November elections closes in.