In class we have been watching the Michael Moore documentary Sicko which is about the U.S. health care system. It shows how our health care system is just another way for big corporations to get bigger and bigger. Another way for the rich to become richer. The truth is the HMO's are not here to help the citizens in the U.S. In a way there here to steal from us. They do this by having everybody get health care because nobody wants to be in a situation where they need health care and don't have it. So the people pay these companies money so that in the case a person needs medical attention they can have it without worrying about there money. But what the people don't know is that the HMO's try their hardest to turn down every claim they can. So the HMO's make excuses to not give you money and some of them may be the most ridiculous reasons. In one case a girl crashed her car and insurance didn't cover her ambulance ride because she didn't call ahead of time to let the the health insurance company know that she was going to take the ambulance. President Nixon and a man named Edgar Kaiser met to discuss the creation of HMO's. Nixon passed the HMO's and tried to make it seem like an amazing thing. When in reality things got really bad. Years later Hilary Clinton tried to get a bill passed that would change the health care system into socialist healthcare. Now of course right wing politicians would do anything in there power to stop this and they did. All of this has led to the untrustworthy, and basically evil system that we call health care.
Something that I found particularly disturbing is that one of the directors at one of the HMO's who stamps if the claim is denied doesn't even read the claims. When he was asked if he read them he didn't know what to say until he finally said no. I think that shows perfectly that these people really don't care about us. It shows that not helping people is no problem to them as long as they get to keep those people's money. Another good example is some of Hilary Clintons political career. She tried with all of her power to get her health insurance bill to pass and it was widely supported. But the HMO's stepped in and took her down. She went from passing bills to reading to kindergartners. Not only that but she was bought out by the HMO's. She supported them in one of her campaigns. This shows that the HMO's have a dominant power in the U.S. Weather people know it or not they are making politicians their puppets with money.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
HW 22
Tuesdays With Morrie
by, Mitch Albom
Published by Doubleday in September of 1997
The Chapter, The second tuesday we talk about feeling sorry for yourself, is a very strong chapter about Morrie's views on a situation that most people go through when they know they are going to die. As of right now in the story Mitch finds visiting Morrie more as an act of kindness then learning what may be his important lesson, and it also may be his only chance to learn this. Most would expect somebody dying slowly and painfully to always be feeling sorry for themselves but Morrie is different. Of course there is some self grieving but not that much. He claims that he only feels it in the morning but then he thinks of all the good things in his life and then gets on with his day. In a way he thinks he's lucky that he gets so much time to say his final good byes.
"Maybe death is the great equalizer, the one big thing that can make strangers shed a tear for one another."pg. 51
This is a very interesting claim. I think that it makes a lot of sense because it is one thing that connects us to everybody and everything living. Everything that lives dies. If you feel and know that kind of pain and fear you may be a lot more sympathetic to people who are unfairly suffering miles away.
"I want someone to hear my story. Will you?" pg. 63
This quote reminded me of some thoughts that I've had. I think that everybody wants to let there story out but it isn't truly appreciated until somebody is dying but that is also when one would want to tell there story the most.
"Ted, we've had thirty-five years of friendship. You don't need speech or hearing to feel that."pg. 71
I Think that this is a beautifully written sentence and I completely agree with it. If you have such a strong relationship with somebody there's a point where just the presents of one another is what strengthens your relationship. Just to know a person is truly there for you is an amazing thing.
This book is really sharpening my views on death and illness for the best. I'm not going to apply all of my thoughts on death on this book but before I read this I had no idea about what happens to people when they die and how they go about doing it. All I knew is I had plenty of reasons to hate death. There is a lot of ambivalence in this book. It shows from what I have heard the happiest dying story and in a way it makes it even more sad. The happier it gets the sadder it gets. This shows that in society death is viewed as a sad thing. Especially to people who do good and don't deserve it. Being sick for most people holds them back but Morrie does something different. He uses dying as a chance to educate and learn. Thats not a very popular way to look at dying. Most would use their time dying to self mourn and pity themselves.
by, Mitch Albom
Published by Doubleday in September of 1997
The Chapter, The second tuesday we talk about feeling sorry for yourself, is a very strong chapter about Morrie's views on a situation that most people go through when they know they are going to die. As of right now in the story Mitch finds visiting Morrie more as an act of kindness then learning what may be his important lesson, and it also may be his only chance to learn this. Most would expect somebody dying slowly and painfully to always be feeling sorry for themselves but Morrie is different. Of course there is some self grieving but not that much. He claims that he only feels it in the morning but then he thinks of all the good things in his life and then gets on with his day. In a way he thinks he's lucky that he gets so much time to say his final good byes.
"Maybe death is the great equalizer, the one big thing that can make strangers shed a tear for one another."pg. 51
This is a very interesting claim. I think that it makes a lot of sense because it is one thing that connects us to everybody and everything living. Everything that lives dies. If you feel and know that kind of pain and fear you may be a lot more sympathetic to people who are unfairly suffering miles away.
"I want someone to hear my story. Will you?" pg. 63
This quote reminded me of some thoughts that I've had. I think that everybody wants to let there story out but it isn't truly appreciated until somebody is dying but that is also when one would want to tell there story the most.
"Ted, we've had thirty-five years of friendship. You don't need speech or hearing to feel that."pg. 71
I Think that this is a beautifully written sentence and I completely agree with it. If you have such a strong relationship with somebody there's a point where just the presents of one another is what strengthens your relationship. Just to know a person is truly there for you is an amazing thing.
This book is really sharpening my views on death and illness for the best. I'm not going to apply all of my thoughts on death on this book but before I read this I had no idea about what happens to people when they die and how they go about doing it. All I knew is I had plenty of reasons to hate death. There is a lot of ambivalence in this book. It shows from what I have heard the happiest dying story and in a way it makes it even more sad. The happier it gets the sadder it gets. This shows that in society death is viewed as a sad thing. Especially to people who do good and don't deserve it. Being sick for most people holds them back but Morrie does something different. He uses dying as a chance to educate and learn. Thats not a very popular way to look at dying. Most would use their time dying to self mourn and pity themselves.
Friday, December 10, 2010
HW 21 Post Comments
Max- I'm sorry to hear about your fathers best friends wife. I can't really relate because I never met my relatives that died of cancer. If you know her story, is your dads best friends wife's story and Beth's story similar? Also I agree with your claim that it shouldn't matter if you have money to get health care. But thinking from another point of view the medicine is really expensive so how can something that is expensive to make be free? Who would supply it?
Evan-I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother and your friend dying. I have always thought what would it be like if one of my friends killed themselves. I've never heard of it happening to anybody I know but I keep hearing how its such a problem. For my own interest how do you think of that person now? I find it interesting that when you were little you had dreams of immortality. I think we all share that when were little but we just don't know better. We can't really understand it. So we all share that dream in a way.
Evan-I'm sorry to hear about your grandmother and your friend dying. I have always thought what would it be like if one of my friends killed themselves. I've never heard of it happening to anybody I know but I keep hearing how its such a problem. For my own interest how do you think of that person now? I find it interesting that when you were little you had dreams of immortality. I think we all share that when were little but we just don't know better. We can't really understand it. So we all share that dream in a way.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
HW 21 - Expert #1
List:
-There may not be any symptoms to a sickness until it spreads.
-What happens to the people with these sicknesses is not let out to the whole public.
-Denial is a big stage in dying.
-There are treatments that may slow the process but won't eliminate of the problem.
-As a person continues to die they become more helpless.
-Eric was diagnosed the day before thanksgiving, a day we are supose to be thankful for what we have.
When Beth was telling us about how her Husband got sick she mentioned that there were not really any serious symptoms. There was only one that could connect to kidney cancer but it wasn't something to worry about. This just shows how somebody can be completely healthy one day to having a fatale disease the next. They then start to slowly die away. You will look like a completely normal person and then slowly there will be symptoms and it will spread and sooner or later the body will be too weak to survive.
In many stories about death that I have heard, almost all of them, the person who is dying is in denial at least once during the time they have left. But it seems to fade away as time goes on. Beth was saying how Eric was in denial in the beginning. The word death was not even used around him because it would be upsetting. I think that everybody is scared to die and it has always been like that. Especially in this modern era where theres so many different ideas about it. With science also taking over religion, nobody can know what happens which is the scary part. People find comfort in their lives by knowing they are safe and the ones they care about are safe. Since it's most likely impossible to talk to the dead you can not know what happens when you die which is frightening. Also since your dead you won't be able to look over your loved ones and you'll have no idea how they will survive
-There may not be any symptoms to a sickness until it spreads.
-What happens to the people with these sicknesses is not let out to the whole public.
-Denial is a big stage in dying.
-There are treatments that may slow the process but won't eliminate of the problem.
-As a person continues to die they become more helpless.
-Eric was diagnosed the day before thanksgiving, a day we are supose to be thankful for what we have.
When Beth was telling us about how her Husband got sick she mentioned that there were not really any serious symptoms. There was only one that could connect to kidney cancer but it wasn't something to worry about. This just shows how somebody can be completely healthy one day to having a fatale disease the next. They then start to slowly die away. You will look like a completely normal person and then slowly there will be symptoms and it will spread and sooner or later the body will be too weak to survive.
In many stories about death that I have heard, almost all of them, the person who is dying is in denial at least once during the time they have left. But it seems to fade away as time goes on. Beth was saying how Eric was in denial in the beginning. The word death was not even used around him because it would be upsetting. I think that everybody is scared to die and it has always been like that. Especially in this modern era where theres so many different ideas about it. With science also taking over religion, nobody can know what happens which is the scary part. People find comfort in their lives by knowing they are safe and the ones they care about are safe. Since it's most likely impossible to talk to the dead you can not know what happens when you die which is frightening. Also since your dead you won't be able to look over your loved ones and you'll have no idea how they will survive
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