The Editors  They say the best place to keep an appointment with
the devil is at a crossroads. We are again drawing near another
political crossroads on health care. If we cannot move past our
own diabolical short-sightedness and partisan tendencies this
time, we will miss a historic opportunity to put our health care
system on a path toward sustainability, fairness and common
decency. It could be decades before the chance comes around
again.  We cannot afford to wait to reform our system. It is
costing us too much as individuals and as a society. The current
system regularly turns medical misfortune into personal tragedy
and economic ruin; it also weighs down U.S. industry, hindering
American manufacturing in an increasingly competitive global
marketplace. It also drains fiscal resources at the local, state
and federal levels that could be better invested in preventive
care, better education for our children or shoring up our
crumbling infrastructure.  As people of faith we can be guided
by a long tradition