by RUSM
A RETURN TO SOCIAL JUSTICE AND A CALL FOR HEROES
I must begin by admitting that I am not good at staying updated on the news. I find the up and down rollercoaster ride of political football and Hollywood scandal unimportant to the real world. I do stay current on the issues; however, I avoid the news for the most part. There is one show that I do watch frequently however – Bill Moyer’s Journal. I appreciate that his show focus on real issues that tend not to be popular, but are the issues, which we should be discussing. The most recent broadcast was such an important issue and one that seemed pertinent to the goal of the School for Heroes that I was compelled to share it with you all.
The topic of this week’s Journal is on the current economic crisis and a reemergence of social justice. The guests are all well known theologians Cornel West, Serene Jones, and Gary Dorrien. The topic, though interesting, focused mainly on the ideals of love and compassion for your neighbors. I believe these ideals to be admirable, but ultimately flawed. They are ultimately counter to our American way of life. In fact, they are ideals counter to our global economic system. The American way is simply a dream of prosperity in which anybody, no matter their initial circumstances can come to power. It is a story that has been told thousands of times, yet it always neglects the consequences of somebody getting ahead – that somebody must be left behind. The panel implies that we are on a precipice, in which, we can move toward the development of a new economic and political system built on a foundation of social justice or fall back in to the old habits of bubbles and busts.
A quick search on Wikipedia attributes social justice to the philosopher John Rawls with influences from many other egalitarian, progressive philosophers. Rawls believes that justice is absolute, unassailable, and the basis of most societal contracts, whether economic, governmental, or other. In these contracts people give up a certain level of freedom in exchange for co-operation for the greater good of the society.
The application of social justice to the economic system seems reasonable and possible; and in many ways is already in practice. It means that companies need to cooperate with the communities they are in and treat their employees as people. It means that companies need to provide transparency in their products and warn consumers of risks
involved in their use. Social justice can even be applied to
companies protecting the environments in which they work.
As the panelist point out, however, social justice is not what we practice in the United States. We practice a weakened form that requires less responsibility and vigilance on the society to enforce social justice. The US form gives all the trust to the companies and expects them to do what is right. Unfortunately, greed and corruption or whatever the cause (in my mind the cause is a minute
issue) has provided us with a far shallow form of social justice – one in which the greater society does not profit from the arrangement, but only a handful of people do. It is a system of deregulation – a system of Reagan-era, Clinton-era, Bush-eras, Obama-era economics that puts too much control in the hands of the people that are too removed from society as a whole.
I was struck by the panel’s discussion because I found myself being cynical about everything they said. Though I agreed with the idea of a utopia built around the principles of social justice, I doubted that we could ever build such a system. I live in a world where many figureheads of social justice are made to be fools by the media. For example, Ralph Nader – arguably a leader of the social justice movement – has fought for social justice for years, but he is rarely appreciated by the public. How could now be a precipice to social change when we live in a world where all of our leaders grew up with the Reagan-80s-acquisition of stuff mentality? Social justice requires refrain from want – renouncing of certain freedoms and pleasantries. Americans give up something? Yeah right, just look at Californians and their current economic situation!
The broadcast ended on a heart-tugging note of those being affected most by the economic downturn – the poor. It made me think of the idea of social justice more and how they relate to the School for Heroes. I can doubt that society as a whole will ever renounce greed and instead focus on the betterment of the world. I cannot doubt that such people out there exist. I hope to one day be one of them. I know that my fellow classmates share a similar goal (if not, I misunderstand this school). Maybe Mr. West was right when he insinuated that we are at a precipice, yet it is not one that applies to all of society, but rather those of us that are intent on spreading goodness in the world. It is through our actions that change will occur.
I am including a link to the podcast of the Journal episode for those whom wish to listen. Bill Moyer’s Journal airs weekly on PBS. You can check your local listings for day and time.
I just got around to watching this weekend’s Bill Moyers Journal and was compelled to write something again; however, I am too appalled to put words to paper. Instead, I am going to link the podcast to you all and a link to a summary of the episode. I know most will not listen or read about it – it is news, and therefore, assumed boring, but this affects us all. Many of us have seen the movie Sicko, but this is a much more poignant look at how corrupt healthcare has become. Please listen, please read, and please send to your friends and family. The time to contact your congressional representative is now – no more waiting for the people in charge to do the right thing.
Podcast: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/rss/media/BMJ-1313.mp3
Summary and Transcript: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch.html
Healthcare is an interesting thing. I’m seeing a lot of it lately because my father is in bad shape and currently “recovering” in a nursing home. (i.e. we aren’t seeing much progress so far). One of the things I learned is that the patient’s family must become strong advocates for the sick person. The doctor usually only has a few minutes to look at the patient and rarely knows his history. You have to be proactive in requesting tests, talking with the doctor about the progression of symptoms, and so on. Otherwise they have no context for the current state of the patient and will not know whether he has had similar problems before, whether his condition has had a major change, and so on.
Also keep an open ear and mind to neighbors and friends who might have experience – One of ours suggested an MRI (after a CT Scan had come up negative), so we requested one… and it revealed a broken bone that the first scan had missed. Others have suggested specialists we should see, other tests, and so on. I requested a blood test to follow up on ones 3 weeks earlier, and they revealed another major problem.
The point is, if you don’t ask – and even push – don’t expect to see much results from overworked medical staff. There’s a new thing called a “concierge plan” in which you can pay an annual fee to be able to consult with the same doctor by phone any time you want. Building a relationship with your doctor is really important if you want quality medical care.
I am sorry to hear that your father is not doing well. It is good to know that he has family around him to help him through. Healthcare is a strange animal. I have worked in it for many years and still do not fully understand its workings. Healthcare can somehow be both the most rewarding job around and the most jaded.
I am a strong proponent of universal healthcare. I fail to see how the United States is the only “first world power” that does not provide its people with healthcare. I know that other single-payer systems do have problems, but they must be better than this. I have seen some horrible things happen to people in my care due to insurance issues and other American problems. It is frustrating.
The President said that a single-payer system would interrupt our way of life too much. I fail to see how that can be. Other countries have done it and survived the hiccups. Yes, the United Kingdom did make the switch while rebuilding from a war, but other countries did not have that luxury. Is the President implying that Americans do not have the capacity to accomplish such drastic changes, yet Canadians could?
In the US, we have some of the best diagnostic equipment in the world. We also have the best medical schools out there. We are ranked 37th by the World Health Organization in healthcare, however. Dominica and Costa Rica are ranked higher than the US and they are two of the poorer countries in the western hemisphere. I fail to understand it.
I believe the problems we face in the US due to economics and healthcare are intimately linked. It is an issue of greed. Things need to change. And – as you said – we need to push to get our way. I think it is time for one coordinated shove!
Thank you for sharing your story.
Corey, I’m sorry too to hear that your father is unwell. Sounds like you’ve had some bad experiences with the doctors there. I hope that at least the nursing home offers good nursing care. Things like maintaining nutrition and activity (when possible) can be really crucial for an older long-term patient.
You are wise to ask for re-tests and follow-up tests.
From family experience, I feel that quality-of-care problems are common across many countries, though certainly access to care is affected by differences in public insurance systems.
We (in western countries) don’t have any monopoly on “the best” minds, ethics or technologies. Top-tier hospitals in India offer an extraordinary level of innovative treatments and personal attention to the patient. A concentrated population, and progressive attitudes toward taking on difficult cases, enables specialists there to be experienced with rare diseases. Also due to the concentrated population, costs can be spread efficiently, making access to private healthcare in India relatively affordable (compared to the situation in the U.S. for instance) to the country’s growing middle class.
At any rate, wherever you are in the world when you or your loved one needs medical care, it’s good to be your own advocate, take advice from experienced family and friends, and question assumptions or premature conclusions about the diagnosis and “the best” course of care.
Hope your father sees some improvement. He must be glad to have you there.