Pulling-the-plug-on-grandma scenarios. The N-word and other ugly epithets. Shouts of "baby killers." Vanquished politicos exhorting mobs, "Don't Retreat, Reload." Bricks crashing through windows of congressional offices. Anonymous phone calls to lawmakers' homes threatening to kill them and their families. That is seemingly what passes for discourse today in America, as the reactions of opponents to the passage of the health-care reform bill ranged from misinformed to horrific. My personal I've-fallen-down-the-rabbit-hole moment was supplied by members of the "Greatest Generation" heatedly demanding that we "keep the government out of Medicare."

We do not have room in this column to debate the pros and cons of the bill (although we do have a decidedly "con" view expressed by Terri Seefeldt in a Guest Commentary). However, let us take a moment to reflect not so much on the bill itself as on our reaction toward it. Like most edicts out of Washington, this too will take some time to digest and dissect. In the meantime, can we take a breath? The political process is fraught with misinformation and slanted sound bites, but the rhetoric, dissembling, and half-truths of recent weeks seemed particularly egregious and mean-spirited.

Yes, this is a major event. Yes, the legislation is far from perfect. Yes, some will benefit, others will not. But for all the complaints — legitimate and otherwise — clearly something had to be done to address the accessibility and affordability of health care in our nation. In the weeks ahead, let us take a reasoned look at what is now before us.