Anyone here ready to rethink these notions...when humans began their existence on this earth, they knew certain things, one of these things is that their group needed someone to treat, the sick and infirm...the medicine men and women were always and forever commissioned by the society...illness and disease is a community problem and the medicine person always and forever worked for the community...these dedicated doctors were called to work for the community...not once were they shouted down for being socialists...they knew that their position was one of the most revered in the society; and they knew that their calling was one they never could put down no matter what...they were "paid" as best as the society could afford and this continued well into the 19th century, as the frontier doctors would answer the call of the community and work for dinner, or vegetables, or whatever...they knew that each community needed a doctor and they filled that need...in return the community provided shelter, food, and whatever funds they could gather and everyone thought the doctor should get more for the love the community had for them...What happened???
Do you really believe that anyone in your society should be turned away from care if they show up with a broken leg, an infectious disease, a difficult pregnancy??? Should the size of your pocketbook determine the quality of your care? In all of history it never did...why now??? Health care has always been a function of the needs of the society...the health care professionals have always been employed by the society...just like the firemen, the police, and the chiefs...should the firemen check your ability to pay before responding to your fire? Should the police check your credit report before deciding who they will arrest? Should a Doctor review the contents of your wallet before viewing the contents of your burst appendix???
This is decidedly not socialism...it is humanism, or just plain common sense...the society has need of doctors and health care...each and every individual within that society needs to know that when their turn comes they will be treated with the same care and respect that they gave when they were healthy and did everything they could do to make sure their neighbors were cared for when they needed it. Health care, fire protection, police protection are all social responsibilities...and the individuals that fill these posts do so just as much for you and me as they do for the pay check...do you really want to be treated by a doctor that will quit and go into engineering if (s)he isn't paid enough? If the calling is not there to be a doctor, all the money in the world will not make them a good doctor, and if the calling is there, no amount of difficulty will stop them from ministering to the sick....
It is obscene to allow insurance companies to make a dime on health care...it is farcical to expect only the well healed to have effective medical care...it is criminal to deny care to someone on their ability to pay...I know, let 'em eat cake....
We are a tribe, albeit, a big one, and we need each other...some things just should never be privatized, roads, water, air, and health care...be kind to yourself, love yourself, discover how important it is to be generous to your neighbor, love the one's you're with and in the fullness of time be glad you live in a society that knows, in time, you too will need their care and they will be there to provide it...until next time, I remain...Respectfully Yours, Larry
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Great blog dad - I never minded being called a socialist but I like humanist!
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