It's the same old lies as before. It's just that now the lies are spreading across the world within seconds and British people are able to weigh in on what's being said. Of course, for the isolationist wing-nuts who are just want to 'win' at all cost, their words won't hold any weight whatsoever. But for the people who honestly want to know what's going on, those voices are so important. Fifteen years ago they wouldn't be heard in numbers large enough to matter. Now, it's a different world, and thank goodness for that.

I've made progress in discussions with family just by being able to give a layperson's second-hand account of, say, Australia's system, because I've got an Australian friend, and we talk about this stuff. Without the Internet to facilitate those discussions, it would be harder to make a case. There have been some interesting posts around LJ (I'll link them if I can find the again) where Americans have talked about their health care experiences in counterpoint to non-Americans discussing their experiences. The differences are very illuminating.