TALKING TO ENGLAND

Well, here it was Mother's Day and a perfect time to phone my cousin in England.
She was a World War II war bride who married my American cousin. The marriage did not work out so she went back to England in 1951 and has been there ever since. Using the Internet, I was able to establish contact with her four years ago after having heard nothing from her in almost 50 years.
Anyway, I digress.
In speaking to my cousin today she reported that she is still waiting (and has been for 14 months) to have a hip operation. In spite of being in pain constantly, the British medical system considers the operation she needs to be non-essential, so she has to wait. She could elect to have the operation done using her own finances, but that would be beyond her income. As a 78 year old retired policewoman, she just can't afford the surgery, and she is too proud to ask for help from her only son, or from others in the family.
Need I say more on the government run medical system? We still hear how America should adopt similar socialized medical setups. This in spite of the fact that situation such as the one my cousin finds herself in are duplicated by the millions in countries around the world that have adopted so-called "free" medical care.
There is no such thing as FREE anything, except in places where slavery is practiced.
My cousin's ongoing state of pain with no relief yet in sight proves my point.