It was not the tale of two cities. It was a tale of two people – actually, two types of people – as they heard last week’s vote to affirm the Democrat’s health care reform package.

One, a colleague of mine, called in sick the following day. Around the office, we joked that he became ill after hearing of the bill’s passage. Another client, however, was ecstatic. “I’m doing the Happy Dance,” she told me. “It’s about time the Democrats show some guts and voted on what is right and needed, not what is politically sensitive.”

One sees health care as a political option, while the other sees health care as a human right.

And what do I think? Well, I see it as complex. If I were serving in Congress, I probably would have voted as Congressman Jim Matheson did against the bill. But unlike Congressman Rob Bishop, I don’t think the sky is falling because of its passage.

The problem with health reform is that we’ve moaned and groaned about skyrocketing cost and unfairness of some insurance plans for decades. A Republican, Richard Nixon, proposed something similar to the just-passed plan, long before the Clintons were battered for proposing universal coverage.

We complained and growled, but nothing happened. Republicans would suggest a muzzle on medical malpractice attorneys and Democrats would jeer at insurance companies, but all we got was talk and higher premiums.

This year the controversy became more toxic. There were a lot more men and women who lost insurance due to job lay-offs. There was also a lot more partisanship egged on by talk radio windbags.

Yet, the bill passed – and I have concerns. I’m concerned that there wasn’t a more aggressive attempt by Democrats to work with the handful of moderate Republicans and gain a least nominal GOP support. I’m concerned that the “cost-savings” touted by Democrats is smoke and mirrors. I’m concerned by the outrageous deals initially made (and apparently dropped) to ease passage. And I’m concerned at the impact the bill will have on job creation.

What I’m not concerned about however, is the loudly-shouted argument that the American people don’t want the bill. The truth is that most Americans don’t know what the bill contains. What they know is what Rush Limbaugh has told them. And majority opinion is not the holy grail either. The majority of the South, for instance, opposed civil rights legislation but that didn’t mean Congress shouldn’t have acted and done what is right.

Is the bill constitutional? The Supreme Court will decide that, not some retired electrician who mouths obscenities at a Tea Party rally.

So, yes, I would have voted against it. But, no, passage of health reform is not the cataclysmic end of our Republic. Health reform is simply a smelly bill passed with good intentions. A more limited bill covering everyone for catastrophic illness would have been my choice.