lol with the formatting, not sure what happened there :P
Excellent job connecting the unit with the "Invisible hand", a term that wasn't uttered once in the last month! And you are completely right! The conservatives (the ones who have the military preferred view you cited) have this fetish with military spending so they can pulverize other nations and act as the "tough guy" while behind their backs our OWN people are withering away.
I wish it were as easy as spending in the right places, and maybe this IS the most practical way of doing things in our current situation. But I think overall we need a reassessment of what our biggest enemy is: sickness (and not the spending fetish kind, the physical and sometimes mental (which was surprisingly hardly discussed at all this unit... parenthesis in parenthesis ftw...) kind). People are acting as if money is all what has kept us advancing in science... when it's really only ALLOWING us to continue (because money has "stuff" value)- the KNOWLEDGE has been with us all along. If it weren't for corruption and research was free to do... we probably would be much further along.
Great post to cap off an awesome blog for this unit!
Evan
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
HW #32 - Thoughts Following Illness And Dying Unit
Our culture has various practices surrounding illness and dying, some of which have a purpose and logical cause, and some of which seem to have no rhyme or reason. I think the most atrocious of those practices includes the tendency of the government to allow the invisible hand to rule in insurance companies, because it results in a high percentage of people without complete (or any) health coverage. If the health coverage was run by the government or if insurance companies had more actively regimented regulations, perhaps the health of our country would be better, overall. I also dislike the way our country treats the illness and dying in other countries. Why can we afford to put so much of our financial resources into our military, which often hurts the citizens of other countries, but cannot afford to help the terribly sick and needy in other countries or even in our own country? If we do have enough money, then why isn’t it being utilized in a beneficial way? If our country spends more of its budget on health care than most other countries, the lack of healthy people in our nation is an indication that it is not utilizing the money well.
In order to transform this illness and dying practices, our government should utilize its money in a more thoughtful way (for example, by spending less money trying to keep old and fatally ill alive in the hospital) and by regulating the habits of insurance companies. By spending more money on advertising and encouraging the consumption of healthy foods, and by banning or discouraging foods with relatively no health benefits, the nation’s hospital bills would probably decrease significantly. Heart disease is one of the biggest causes of death in the US, and therefore a large cause of money spent on keeping the dying alive via machines, on medication, and on hospital care. I personally would rather spend money now on curtailing heart disease than on medical bills later. Surely there is a way of convincing others of the gravity of the situation, and of educating them about their options.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
HW #31 - Comments 3
Evan's HW #30:
Evan,
First of all, I laughed out loud at the two comments above :p
Second of all, I agree with Eloise about you answering your questions; your post was full of interesting ideas about perspective of death, and selflessness with age. (I especially enjoyed your metaphor in "In the end, whether it be the result of genetics or technique, men and women around the world continue to walk on the stones of years, effectively evading the least common denominator that has and will always catch us all: illness and death.") Although lovely to read and visualize, it still did not answer your question of the meaning and appeal of living to be 100.
Additionally, I recommend changing your introductory sentences; I know that you were trying to tie the reader in and be interesting, but truly, does EVERYONE want to live to be 100? is it really a dream commonly shared by ALL? Be careful with gross generalizations.
Evan's HW #29:
Evan,
I thought your choice of categorizing your domains into "Wisdom", "Power", and "Courage" was original and effective. You did a wonderful job of incorporating your own experiences into your blog. I especially liked your line, "...When my lower abdominal area felt like it had been struck by a truck" because it literally made me wince and helped me to visualize your pain, in a way. Although connected illness and dying to your own experiences, I think you could have talked about the readings and resources from class a bit more. I would have loved to read your thoughts about "Stigma", "Landmark", "Mountains Beyond Mountains" and "Near Death". Articulate, concise writing!
Eloise's HW #30:
Eloise,
I'm so very impressed! This post is fantastic. It addresses important relevant problems within the realm of illness and dying, such as the never ending intentions of oncologists and other medical personnel to keep the bodies alive, the lack of homeopathic remedies in the hospital (like art, laughter, proper diet, yoga), the lack of simple comforts such as fresh air, windows, and privacy, etc. My favorite part is the description of your uncle dying in the first paragraph (perhaps because it depicted something I've never seen?) Your ideas and explorations are all over the place - from your uncle to oncologists to art in hospitals to Tracy Kidder to various interviews. I love your obvious passion for finding information, although it is a little overwhelming to read. Perhaps in the future you could choose the point of each paragraph, and stick with it concisely. Your interview with Lorelei was a nice touch; it made the idea of doctors more than just a white coat and stilted agenda. well done!
Bianca's HW #30:
Bianca,
This is an impressively organized and written project; every quote you included was relevant and beneficial to your exploration. You incorporated them very well by introducing them and explaining how they relate to your point about the morality of suicide and the horrors of ALS. I loved Craig Ewert's perspective about "playing God"; thanks for including it. I would have liked to read about an interview with ALS patients, but I realize that it would be difficult to interview a ALS patient personally.
Raven's HW #30:
Raven,
I liked that your project was applicable to the lives of many, because diabetes is very common. Good job connecting this project to you as well as others, and giving background info. I think this project might have benefitted from you asking yourself a specific question about diabetes rather than what it is; you could have explored how hospitals deal with diabetes, or if hospitals encourage diabetics to diet/exercise, or interviewed some diabetics, or further researched stigma associated with diabetes. However, this post was still very informative and it encouraged me to do what I can to avoid this disease.
" I learned from this project that teenaged males are probably more afraid of death than teenaged females are, and thus live in more misery. This conclusion is based on the assumption that Epicurus was right when he said that the ultimate cause of misery is the fear of death and the desire for immortality"
HOWEVER- I am not sure you are in a place to deal such an absolute about males living with more misery. You touch on this a little bit about the survey being on such a small scale but I would not go on to make this level of judgement quite yet. Also, I was somewhat disappointed at the abruptness of the ending of the post- I was looking for that one really, beautiful closer but I never got it.
Excellent work,
Evan
Daniel's Comment on HW #30:
Agreed. Nice post. You synthesized the information in both Epicurus and Yolam, developed a methodology, and delivered an interpretation of the results.
I know you had mostly teenagers available for the study, but I wonder if you had a chance to ask these questions of a few adults as well. Do you think the gender difference would stand, even out, or switch?
Do you think that women consider (or are taught to consider) child-rearing a form of immortality/remembrance? If so, what does that say about the state of "fatherhood" as males have come to see it? (of course, I'm throwing inference on top of inference...but the graph made me curious about WHY there was a difference).
Evan,
First of all, I laughed out loud at the two comments above :p
Second of all, I agree with Eloise about you answering your questions; your post was full of interesting ideas about perspective of death, and selflessness with age. (I especially enjoyed your metaphor in "In the end, whether it be the result of genetics or technique, men and women around the world continue to walk on the stones of years, effectively evading the least common denominator that has and will always catch us all: illness and death.") Although lovely to read and visualize, it still did not answer your question of the meaning and appeal of living to be 100.
Additionally, I recommend changing your introductory sentences; I know that you were trying to tie the reader in and be interesting, but truly, does EVERYONE want to live to be 100? is it really a dream commonly shared by ALL? Be careful with gross generalizations.
Evan's HW #29:
Evan,
I thought your choice of categorizing your domains into "Wisdom", "Power", and "Courage" was original and effective. You did a wonderful job of incorporating your own experiences into your blog. I especially liked your line, "...When my lower abdominal area felt like it had been struck by a truck" because it literally made me wince and helped me to visualize your pain, in a way. Although connected illness and dying to your own experiences, I think you could have talked about the readings and resources from class a bit more. I would have loved to read your thoughts about "Stigma", "Landmark", "Mountains Beyond Mountains" and "Near Death". Articulate, concise writing!
Eloise's HW #30:
Eloise,
I'm so very impressed! This post is fantastic. It addresses important relevant problems within the realm of illness and dying, such as the never ending intentions of oncologists and other medical personnel to keep the bodies alive, the lack of homeopathic remedies in the hospital (like art, laughter, proper diet, yoga), the lack of simple comforts such as fresh air, windows, and privacy, etc. My favorite part is the description of your uncle dying in the first paragraph (perhaps because it depicted something I've never seen?) Your ideas and explorations are all over the place - from your uncle to oncologists to art in hospitals to Tracy Kidder to various interviews. I love your obvious passion for finding information, although it is a little overwhelming to read. Perhaps in the future you could choose the point of each paragraph, and stick with it concisely. Your interview with Lorelei was a nice touch; it made the idea of doctors more than just a white coat and stilted agenda. well done!
Bianca's HW #30:
Bianca,
This is an impressively organized and written project; every quote you included was relevant and beneficial to your exploration. You incorporated them very well by introducing them and explaining how they relate to your point about the morality of suicide and the horrors of ALS. I loved Craig Ewert's perspective about "playing God"; thanks for including it. I would have liked to read about an interview with ALS patients, but I realize that it would be difficult to interview a ALS patient personally.
Raven's HW #30:
Raven,
I liked that your project was applicable to the lives of many, because diabetes is very common. Good job connecting this project to you as well as others, and giving background info. I think this project might have benefitted from you asking yourself a specific question about diabetes rather than what it is; you could have explored how hospitals deal with diabetes, or if hospitals encourage diabetics to diet/exercise, or interviewed some diabetics, or further researched stigma associated with diabetes. However, this post was still very informative and it encouraged me to do what I can to avoid this disease.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Evan's Comment on my HW #30:
Excellent post and survey to go with a great presentation! I thought it was really funny that guys are more afraid of death before being able to leave their mark, because it's true!! However I only think most of us (including myself) are very competitive, while there are some exceptions. The same goes for females (but reversed).
Best passage to me was,
" I learned from this project that teenaged males are probably more afraid of death than teenaged females are, and thus live in more misery. This conclusion is based on the assumption that Epicurus was right when he said that the ultimate cause of misery is the fear of death and the desire for immortality"
HOWEVER- I am not sure you are in a place to deal such an absolute about males living with more misery. You touch on this a little bit about the survey being on such a small scale but I would not go on to make this level of judgement quite yet. Also, I was somewhat disappointed at the abruptness of the ending of the post- I was looking for that one really, beautiful closer but I never got it.
Excellent work,
Evan
Eloise's Comment on HW #30:
"in order to feel that they have purpose and meaning, teenaged males need to feel that they are making a lasting difference, whether in someone’s life, or via a monumental accomplishment." I thought that this was the quote that withsheld the deepest amount of insight because you are clearly analyzing the results of your data. To make this point stronger you could have elaborated upon what other reasons may cause this, and why you believe in the theories of Epicurs and then stated your evidence. I also think you could have made this point stronger by analyzing your counter evidence (females) and why you believe they had the results they did.
Daniel's Comment on HW #30:
Agreed. Nice post. You synthesized the information in both Epicurus and Yolam, developed a methodology, and delivered an interpretation of the results.
I know you had mostly teenagers available for the study, but I wonder if you had a chance to ask these questions of a few adults as well. Do you think the gender difference would stand, even out, or switch?
Do you think that women consider (or are taught to consider) child-rearing a form of immortality/remembrance? If so, what does that say about the state of "fatherhood" as males have come to see it? (of course, I'm throwing inference on top of inference...but the graph made me curious about WHY there was a difference).
Sunday, January 16, 2011
HW 30 - Illness & Dying - Culminating Experiential Project
I endeavored to explore the inherent fear of death in our society, and how it is related to age, career or extracurricular, and gender. We read an excerpt from “Staring at The Sun” by Irvin D. Yalom. It addressed ways to deal with death in a peaceful way, and drew from the philosophical musings of Epicurus, an ancient Greek philosopher. Epicurus argued that the ultimate cause of human suffering is two feelings commonly present at the same time: the omnipresent fear of death, and the craving for eternal life.
Epicurus argued that death is not worth fearing, because the soul dies with the body, and thus ceases to exist. This argument is known as the Mortality of The Soul. If the soul is not alive when the body dies, then death is nothing to us; there is nothing to fear. He said, “Why fear death when we can never perceive it?” (Yalom). He also said, “Death is nothing to us; for that which has been dissolved into its elements experiences no sensations, and that which has no sensation is nothing to us” (Epicurus). He called this argument the Ultimate Nothingness of Death. Epicurus’ Argument of Symmetry addresses the essential sameness between a human’s pre-birth state of being and post-death state of being (or rather, non-being). This argument encourages one to question the rationality of fearing the second state of non-existence, and ignoring the first state of non-existence.
Yalom introduced the concept of Rippling in his book; it is a solution to discomfort caused by awareness of the “finiteness and transiency” of life. Rippling is essentially the effect we have on others. Some do this by immortalizing their name, creating art that will outlive them, or simply leaving something from their life experience: wisdom, guidance, virtue, comfort, a memory.
Resources:
Yalom, Irvin. . "The Ripple Effect." Therapy Today 19.4 (2008): n. pag. Web. 16 Jan 2011. http://www.therapytoday.net/article/show/416/
Epicurus. "Principal Doctrines." Epicurus and Epicurean Philosophy. Vincent Cooke, 04 Dec 1996. Web. 16 Jan 2011. <http://www.epicurus.net/en/principal.html>.
Epicurus, . "Letter to Monoeceus." Epicurus and Epicurean Philosophy. Vincent Cooke, 04 Dec 1996. Web. 16 Jan 2011. <http://www.epicurus.net/en/menoeceus.html>.
I wanted to explore if rippling is an indication of the fear of death, and if career, commitments, age, or gender could be used to predict one’s need to ripple, and thus their fear of death. According to Yalom, people comfort themselves and deal with their eventual death with the idea that their memory will live after they die. It follows that people who wish to be remembered are probably especially afraid of death. I created a survey, which questioned the survey takers’ age, general career/commitments, gender, fear of death, the traits they would like to be remembered for, and their desire to be remembered after their demise. Because the gross majority of the survey-takers were teenagers, I chose to make the age range a constant variable. Because it is impossible to quantify the effect of a career or extracurricular on others, I decided to forgo the exploration of the relationship between commitments and the desire to ripple.
When questioned about value of being remembered and the horror of being forgotten, the answers fell into four basic categories: Would rather be forgotten, indifference, would rather be remembered, and life was meaningless if forgotten. There were twenty survey takers, half of which were females between the age of 14 and 18, and half of which were males of the same age range. This is the data in a graph, with the x-axis being “The importance of being remembered” and the y-axis being “Number of people”:
I learned that most female teenagers would rather be remembered, but they feel that their life still has meaning if they are forgotten or had no effect on others. Most males, on the other hand, feel that their life was meaningless if they are forgotten, because they made no difference, and accomplished nothing. This is implies to me that teenage males in our society are more afraid of death than teenaged females, because there are more males who feel the need to ripple than there are females. However, this survey was on a very small scale and is not necessarily an accurate indication of the relationship between gender and fear of death in our society.
I learned from this project that teenaged males are probably more afraid of death than teenaged females are, and thus live in more misery. This conclusion is based on the assumption that Epicurus was right when he said that the ultimate cause of misery is the fear of death and the desire for immortality. This deduction about males vs. females matters, because it is an indication of how men and women should be treated. In order to feel that they have purpose and meaning, teenaged males need to feel that they are making a lasting difference, whether in someone’s life, or via a monumental accomplishment. This deduction is also important because it helps to explain the competitive nature of males, and enable me and others to show empathy to males who are obnoxiously competitive. I also learned from this project that conducting a meaningful survey requires more time than I took to do this one. In order to find enough data that can lead to valid inferences, many people must partake. This takes time, effort, and in this case, tact. The questions in this survey are not quite appropriate to ask in a phone call, unless the people conversing know each other very well and converse regularly.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
HW 29 - Reading and Noting Basic Materials
Paying for Medical care has historically been a huge challenge and it still one today. Sick, by Jonathan Cohn, documents the history of our health care system:
The US government organizes healthcare in the US by offering insured medical coverage so that citizens (and illegal immigrants) can afford medical care, and do not have to pay for it out of their pockets. 100 years ago, the chances or surviving in hospitals rather than dying were approximately 50%, which was the highest it had ever been. The costs of hospitalization, medicine, and doctoring were also higher, and gradually became too high to pay for the very sick and very poor. As the Great Depression took its toll, the cost of treatment for severe illness was often equal to one month’s wages; many had no choice but to forgo medical care completely. In the 1930’s, the Committee on the Costs of Medical Care suggested incorporating insurance for medical care. Because of a widespread fear of living in a completely government-run America, and because of hostile physicians lobbying against government interference in their business, the recommendation for insurance was revoked by Franklin Roosevelt. Insurance was first introduced in the US in 1928, when Michael Shadid proposed a cooperative in Elk City, Oklahoma, wherein families paid a regular fee. Shadid used this fee to set up a clinic and hire doctors, thus enabling families to receive affordable medical care. This inspired various other co-ops and nonprofit organizations or collaborative physicians throughout the country.
The US government organizes healthcare in the US by offering insured medical coverage so that citizens (and illegal immigrants) can afford medical care, and do not have to pay for it out of their pockets. 100 years ago, the chances or surviving in hospitals rather than dying were approximately 50%, which was the highest it had ever been. The costs of hospitalization, medicine, and doctoring were also higher, and gradually became too high to pay for the very sick and very poor. As the Great Depression took its toll, the cost of treatment for severe illness was often equal to one month’s wages; many had no choice but to forgo medical care completely. In the 1930’s, the Committee on the Costs of Medical Care suggested incorporating insurance for medical care. Because of a widespread fear of living in a completely government-run America, and because of hostile physicians lobbying against government interference in their business, the recommendation for insurance was revoked by Franklin Roosevelt. Insurance was first introduced in the US in 1928, when Michael Shadid proposed a cooperative in Elk City, Oklahoma, wherein families paid a regular fee. Shadid used this fee to set up a clinic and hire doctors, thus enabling families to receive affordable medical care. This inspired various other co-ops and nonprofit organizations or collaborative physicians throughout the country.
One such insurance corporation, the Blue Cross, had 2.8 million people enrolled by 1938. Harry Truman fought for a universal coverage plan in the 1940’s, and AFL-CIO (America Aetna and Metropolitan Life of New York were able to compete with Blue Cross by undermining prices. They made prices lower by experience rating and basing prices on risk. Blue Cross was forced to mimic its competitors in order to stay in business. In the 1960’s, Medicare and Medicaid were created.
In the 1970’s, the Employment Retirement Income Security Act told large companies, in effect, to purchase medical coverage for employees out of company funds, which caused insurance companies to struggle paying for the very sick. This increased the cost of insurance even more for those who were not employed by large companies. By the 1980’s, most employees had insurance through their jobs. Health insurance premiums increased and industrial corporations tried to cut costs by ceasing to offer coverage to employees. The insurance became less available through jobs, and thus more people found it necessary to purchase insurance themselves. People who were self-employed or worked for small businesses had trouble finding affordable health insurance because it was cheaper for insurance companies to sell through large corporations. This is still true.
In the 1990’s, the coverage offered through large corporations was lacking in benefits and was only offered to employees that worked for many hours a week, and for several years. Some corporations (such as General Motors) neared bankruptcy because they continued to offer thorough coverage. Many individuals were left in medical debt because they bought phony private insurance; eventually the government brought an end to such scams. However, the legitimate coverage proved to be unreliable as well; for example, Morrell (an insurance company) canceled health insurance for retirees, causing many to deplete their savings or go without the medical care they needed. In 1997 and in 2003, the presidents (Clinton and Bush) signed agreements to help retirees and senior citizens get the coverage they needed without paying out of pocket. Alas, senior citizens are still struggling to obtain the drugs they need, just as all US citizens are struggling to afford medical coverage.1
In Landmark, the editors and reporters of the Washington Post discuss the current legislation that will be enforced in the next ten years:
The government is now striving to produce thorough, reliable medical coverage for all citizens by enforcing the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act that President Obama signed in March of 2010. The changes listed in this act are planned to take place between 2010 and 2020. As a result of this act, Buying insurance will include choosing between many options, varying degrees of expense, a rating system, and basic insurance plans that differ in percentage of coverage. Those who are very ill and uninsured will be able to choose insurance, because one new regulation is for insurance companies to disregard pre-existing conditions. Insurance will be optional, but individuals who are not provided with health insurance through their job will be fined if they do not buy coverage. This controversial decision has been set in place to entice younger and healthier patients into the pool of insured individuals so that the costs treatment for the very old and sick will balance out. This legislation is projected to cost the government approximately $1 trillion over the next 10 years.2
The families of the sick deal with the issue in various ways. In Tuesdays with Morrie, the author Mitch Albom describes Morrie, who is fatally sick, to be married to a respectful, gentle woman, one with whom Morrie was a team (p. 148)3. Morrie’s sons visited him, conversed with him, and kissed him while he was dying. During my uncle’s sickness, his immediate family was willing to help him, but only at arm’s length. When he asked for help paying for groceries, or for his sister to take time out of her day to visit him, she resented the request. Erik Wood’s wife and son treated him with extreme care in many forms: time, money, and labors of cleaning him and feeding him. Those family members with whom Erik had not been on the best of terms, treated Erik, Beth and Evan with bitter resentment and disdain. Often times, the manner in which families treat the dying and sick is determined by the character and personality of the sick one, and the degree of sickness. My uncle is not always pleasant, so his sister did not appreciate his asking for pleasantness from her. Erik’s previous wife and children resented his absence in their life, among other things. Thus, they were unkind to him, Beth, and Evan, because they partly stood in the way of Erik’s life with his previous family. Morrie and Erik were precious and used their strengths in profound, moving ways for others; thus they were treated with profound, loving care.
In our culture, those who are sick and dying often rely on the medical coverage provided by their insurance company. Many suffer long waits for or failures to obtain treatment for their ailments. Those who are not sick often feel indestructible; they ignore symptoms of illness (like my uncle and Erik Wood did at first), forgo purchasing insurance (hence creating the need to fine young people without it)4, and carry a certain attitude towards a lack of physical health. I think much of the treatment of sick people by society and hospitals is kept under the radar (which is why the film Near-Death was such a radical and unusual documentary). When someone goes into a hospital with a fatal illness or for invasive treatment, their situation is not discussed in detail and they are not visited, except by doctors and very relationally close friends and family. Our guest speaker, Beth Wood explained that while her husband, Erik was on the death bed, no one but she, Erik’s oncologist, and her son, Evan were allowed to visit Erik. Sickness and death are shamed and stigmatized in our society, and this is revealed through our failure to discuss illness and demise, and through the actions of the ill in response to their illness/future death:
People can be stigmatized by their society because of physical deformities, blemishes of individual character, and tribe. When someone is handicapped or disfigured in some way, they go through psychological and emotional trauma. Examples of such trauma are Neurasthenia, Hysterical Conversion, Acute Anxiety and Hypochondria. Others identify their ailment, even a permanent one, as a blessing, because it caused them to deepen their awareness of the world and deal with suffering well. Others realize, because of their illness, that people without their particular illness are still handicapped spiritually, mentally, emotionally, or relationally. Sickness is an eye-opener to some; to them it is a lead to a new and better perspective of the world and their priorities. Still others see their disfigurement as a life-altering cause of misery and even inferiority. Sick people spend their life somehow fighting with their sickness, and society’s idea of their sickness.4
People often rely on industrial, illogical and unhealthy methods of repair to become well, and thus lose their stigma of “deaf person” or “handicapped”, releasing their shame:
“…The quacks and get-rich-fast medicine men who abounded saw the League (for the hard of hearing) as their happy hunting ground, ideal for the promotion of magnetic head caps, miraculous vibrating machines, artificial eardrums, blowers, inhalers, massagers, magic oils, balsams, and other guaranteed, sure-fire, positive, and permanent cure-alls for incurable deafness” (page 9).4
Indefinitely deaf people relied on various “guaranteed” methods of curing their ailment, which were neither prescribed by experts nor helpful to their health, because they were desperate to lose both their deafness and the shame that correlated with their deafness. They were shamed to the degree that they would succumb to the cruel advertisements of “quacks”. They denied that they were stuck with their ailment. Now, instead of quacks and medicine men, there are unreliable insurance companies and over-priced drugs that keep us from getting the help we need. The help that we are offered from pharmacies, the government, and insurance companies is very similar to the help offered to the League For the Hard Of Hearing: It is dishonest, not worth the trouble, and does not work. Insurance companies do not even reliably help the people that are enrolled in with them. Drugs are available, but only to those who can afford them at retail price or have a discount from the government. Insurance companies profess to be there for the purpose of helping others, but this is no more than propaganda, as the companies’ main priority is profit.
Sickness and death in our society actually include hidden-in-plain-sight nightmarish, industrial, inhuman atrocities, because to be sick or handicapped in our culture is often to be stigmatized, dependent on industrially produced drugs, manipulated, and treated as one’s illness rather than a person.
1Cohn, Jonathan. Sick. Harper Collins. NY. 2007.
2Staff of Washington Post. Landmark. Public Affairs. New York. 2010.
3Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays With Morrie. 1st. New York: DoubleDay, 1997. Print
4Goffman, Erving. Stigma: Notes On The Management Of Spoiled Identity. Prentice Hall. NJ. 1963.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
HW 28 - Comments 2
Evan (HW 27) ,
I hope a solution is found for your brother's predicament! What a horrible situation...It's heart wrenching and horrifying how once humorous issues can quickly turn into future-hindering conflicts. I enjoyed your line, "Bangs on cans with conviction." The lyricism and alliteration made it stand out, and showed your brother's can-banging in a positive light.
Evan (HW 25),
I agree that Michael Moore incorporated a shocking piece of evidence by showing the elderly man strenuously working at PathMark. I think the reason this evidence was strong, is because it was not grand. If the man had been in a grander, more elegant or rich setting, the horror of such a life as that man's would not be as dramatic - and horror was what Moore wished to evoke.
Although Michael Moore did not explore the morals of doctors in depth, I feel that they were revealed as ethically upright healers. The doctors he interviewed often said things like, "I love working in a place where I can help people regardless of their financial situation" or "It's wonderful not to have to turn people away."
Engaging writing, as usual!
Evan (HW 24),
When you say that everyone is on the same side when it comes to illness and dying...I wonder if that is true. If everyone was on the same "side", then why are there so many people dying from illness and starvation, especially in third world countries? Why is there so much money available for our military? Someone must either enjoy sickness, or be indifferent to illness and dying. In a way, I find it easier to respect the serial killer than the indifferent decision makers, because they at least have some purpose behind their death related actions. I don't mean to criticize you; I just wanted to open an additional realm of perspective towards "sides".
I also found myself wondering many times what could happen to make him face the "long defeat", and just how far he can stretch before he reaches his limits. It will be a sad day.
Evan (HW 23),
Nice precis! It was concise and engaging. I often fear having fun with writing them, because then the writing won't seem like the author's, but you were accurate and interesting. Your line, "We can't exactly take a step back and think about our loved ones' death in a philosophical way, whether it be because of pain or lack of memory..." was striking to me, because it is true, but only to an extent (in my opinion). I think it is possible to take a step back and see painful situations in "philosophical" or intellectual way, or with a broader perspective, but it takes emotional maturity, effort, the ability to actually feel through the events, and in some cases, lots of time.
Evan (HW 22),
I thought you precis was accurate, but I don't know how trustworthy I am because I read that chapter some time ago. I thought your line, "PJ must have been truly gifted" was an interesting thought, but I wonder what you meant but "truly" gifted? that line makes me think that you feel that someone is falsely gifted if those around them influence them...I'm not sure that that is what you meant to communicate. I don't think this post was quite alligned with the assignment; You were supposed to post responses to the quotes you provided, and then write about how the book has related to you own experience in a later paragraph. However, your format was effective as well.
Eloise (HW=visit),
This is gorgeous writing! How creative and appropriate to make narrative poem. Your writing accentuates the gravity of the situation you witnessed on you visit. I think when you said "She says she feels there pain but doesn't urn for their intensity" you meant to say "She says she feels their pain but doesn't yearn for their intensity"...but I might be mistaken. I would have liked to read a bit about the context of this visit; who was this female you were visiting? Did you know her prior to your visit? Did she like being interviewed?
Eloise (Sicko HW),
It is interesting that you describe Michael Moore's simple portrayal of other countries as a positive thing, because it scares citizens into submissions. Why do you think that the idea of free health care systems in other countries motivates citizens in the US to be submissive? Do you think that Michael Moore was right in portraying health care systems in a cartoony light? These are ideas that, if elaborated upon, could benefit your last paragraph.
Your precis was refreshingly straightforward, by the way. I enjoyed your bravery in switching things up, even if it wasn't intentional.
Eloise,
I love your specific plans for pharmaceutical economy of our country. I'm not sure if they would work, but I think it is beneficial to fall into the habit of searching for solutions to our societal problems. You say, "Mountains are there to climb, so I am going to hike till it kills me." How do you intend to "hike"? Do you have a strategy, or some ideas for how to make a difference, even when we can't significantly alter our economy or put plans for it into action? I'm interested to hear about what you have in mind.
Eloise (Book review part 2),
One day when we went to the hospital in Peru Eloise,
"Farmer was walking rapidly to diagnose a patient when he encountered his first proof of success a little boy of 3 years of age once weighing 20 pounds with MDR TB now chubby and running. Farmer created a regime of second-line drugs based on his knowledge of TB, and children. It worked miraculously. Then the joy was over, on to the next patient..." This is a little confusing. Had I not read the book, I would not understand when Farmer created this second line drug regime. I wouldn't have known if he'd created right then and there in the hospital hallway, or years before. This is trivial, but I think it is important to be clear, especially in a well written precis.
I appreciate your discernment in finding symbolism in the quote about the childrens' ball; I did not see that deeper meaning before I read your blog.
Eloise (Book review part 1,
Your precis had many helpful details, such as dates, PIH's budget, the number of TB stricken Haitians, and the various hours that patients come to call. Keep it up, but keep it concise!
Because I am in the middle of a book about the psychological needs of men and women, I relate to your sentence, "I think Farmer has the magical quality to not tell the person not to feel the way the do (as I would) but how to help cope with the feelings. That in its self is HARD to do..." This is so true. It is so easy to tell a friend they are wrong to feel how they feel, and yet it is so harmful. I think Farmer helps to heal his patients in ways beyond the physical, because he understands everyone's innate need to just be heard. I found your writing to be beautiful in both meaning and wording, but it would be even more so if there were fewer sentence fragments. Not to get all "sat" on you, but I see grammatical progress in your blogs; keep it up!
Casey,
Great post and I will write a more detailed comment later but I want to remind you that money wasn't the only reason we couldn't get my father insurance- we would have given any amount of money for his well-being. We were lied to by the insurance companies and mislead into believing it was "being taken care of" whereas he was actually just shoved aside and fell through a crack in the system.
Hope you had an awesome break!
Evan
From Eloise:
YO ! I think this was a really great post, as always the writing style flowed nicley. I think that your greatest strength shown in this post is your ablity to incorporate your thoughts on illness in dying with all aspects explored in the class so far. I belive the best line was " Even so, I wondered how he could have thought that he was invincible. I realized that such an attitude can be found in most people, whether revealed by an 11 year old boy jay walking, a high school freshman smoking cigarettes, a college student forgoing a condom, an obese middle aged woman watching television all day instead of going to the gym, or a diabetic man having a field day at Kentucky Fried Chicken. No one wants to think that they are susceptible to sickness, to mortality, to falling into a vulnerable hospitalized circumstance, to death." It was funny because you stated so many true cases, even though many sound like a sterotypes and relatead it to what sounded to be a dominant american population.. but I think you got slightly distracted by why many people don't get health insurance because I am sure your uncle as invincable as he felt if insurance was free he would gladly accept. So I think this highlighted the sad fact that one cannot be optomistic rather feel pesemistic and get insurance because it is not simply provided it is a choice determined based on economic position.
OVERALL GOOD JOB ! :)
Casey,
Awesome post here. I see many parallels between your uncle and my father! They both thought they were invincible, did the most to avoid being in the hands of doctors and suffered for it. You are absolutely right about this 'invincibility complex' that we all share, and as for the best line, I have to agree with Eloise with
"I realized that such an attitude can be found in most people, whether revealed by an 11 year old boy jay walking, a high school freshman smoking cigarettes, a college student forgoing a condom, an obese middle aged woman watching television all day instead of going to the gym, or a diabetic man having a field day at Kentucky Fried Chicken."
Pretty much summed it all up there. We take death for granted and even laugh in its face often multiple times a day, little do we realize we will never truly obtain the "last laugh". Wonderful.
Keep it up!
Evan
p.s. I found one little typo you might want to edit... at least I think it's a typo? "Infects his life" at the end of the first P?
I hope a solution is found for your brother's predicament! What a horrible situation...It's heart wrenching and horrifying how once humorous issues can quickly turn into future-hindering conflicts. I enjoyed your line, "Bangs on cans with conviction." The lyricism and alliteration made it stand out, and showed your brother's can-banging in a positive light.
Evan (HW 25),
I agree that Michael Moore incorporated a shocking piece of evidence by showing the elderly man strenuously working at PathMark. I think the reason this evidence was strong, is because it was not grand. If the man had been in a grander, more elegant or rich setting, the horror of such a life as that man's would not be as dramatic - and horror was what Moore wished to evoke.
Although Michael Moore did not explore the morals of doctors in depth, I feel that they were revealed as ethically upright healers. The doctors he interviewed often said things like, "I love working in a place where I can help people regardless of their financial situation" or "It's wonderful not to have to turn people away."
Engaging writing, as usual!
Evan (HW 24),
When you say that everyone is on the same side when it comes to illness and dying...I wonder if that is true. If everyone was on the same "side", then why are there so many people dying from illness and starvation, especially in third world countries? Why is there so much money available for our military? Someone must either enjoy sickness, or be indifferent to illness and dying. In a way, I find it easier to respect the serial killer than the indifferent decision makers, because they at least have some purpose behind their death related actions. I don't mean to criticize you; I just wanted to open an additional realm of perspective towards "sides".
I also found myself wondering many times what could happen to make him face the "long defeat", and just how far he can stretch before he reaches his limits. It will be a sad day.
Evan (HW 23),
Nice precis! It was concise and engaging. I often fear having fun with writing them, because then the writing won't seem like the author's, but you were accurate and interesting. Your line, "We can't exactly take a step back and think about our loved ones' death in a philosophical way, whether it be because of pain or lack of memory..." was striking to me, because it is true, but only to an extent (in my opinion). I think it is possible to take a step back and see painful situations in "philosophical" or intellectual way, or with a broader perspective, but it takes emotional maturity, effort, the ability to actually feel through the events, and in some cases, lots of time.
Evan (HW 22),
I thought you precis was accurate, but I don't know how trustworthy I am because I read that chapter some time ago. I thought your line, "PJ must have been truly gifted" was an interesting thought, but I wonder what you meant but "truly" gifted? that line makes me think that you feel that someone is falsely gifted if those around them influence them...I'm not sure that that is what you meant to communicate. I don't think this post was quite alligned with the assignment; You were supposed to post responses to the quotes you provided, and then write about how the book has related to you own experience in a later paragraph. However, your format was effective as well.
Eloise (HW=visit),
This is gorgeous writing! How creative and appropriate to make narrative poem. Your writing accentuates the gravity of the situation you witnessed on you visit. I think when you said "She says she feels there pain but doesn't urn for their intensity" you meant to say "She says she feels their pain but doesn't yearn for their intensity"...but I might be mistaken. I would have liked to read a bit about the context of this visit; who was this female you were visiting? Did you know her prior to your visit? Did she like being interviewed?
Eloise (Sicko HW),
It is interesting that you describe Michael Moore's simple portrayal of other countries as a positive thing, because it scares citizens into submissions. Why do you think that the idea of free health care systems in other countries motivates citizens in the US to be submissive? Do you think that Michael Moore was right in portraying health care systems in a cartoony light? These are ideas that, if elaborated upon, could benefit your last paragraph.
Your precis was refreshingly straightforward, by the way. I enjoyed your bravery in switching things up, even if it wasn't intentional.
Eloise,
I love your specific plans for pharmaceutical economy of our country. I'm not sure if they would work, but I think it is beneficial to fall into the habit of searching for solutions to our societal problems. You say, "Mountains are there to climb, so I am going to hike till it kills me." How do you intend to "hike"? Do you have a strategy, or some ideas for how to make a difference, even when we can't significantly alter our economy or put plans for it into action? I'm interested to hear about what you have in mind.
Eloise (Book review part 2),
One day when we went to the hospital in Peru Eloise,
"Farmer was walking rapidly to diagnose a patient when he encountered his first proof of success a little boy of 3 years of age once weighing 20 pounds with MDR TB now chubby and running. Farmer created a regime of second-line drugs based on his knowledge of TB, and children. It worked miraculously. Then the joy was over, on to the next patient..." This is a little confusing. Had I not read the book, I would not understand when Farmer created this second line drug regime. I wouldn't have known if he'd created right then and there in the hospital hallway, or years before. This is trivial, but I think it is important to be clear, especially in a well written precis.
I appreciate your discernment in finding symbolism in the quote about the childrens' ball; I did not see that deeper meaning before I read your blog.
Eloise (Book review part 1,
Your precis had many helpful details, such as dates, PIH's budget, the number of TB stricken Haitians, and the various hours that patients come to call. Keep it up, but keep it concise!
Because I am in the middle of a book about the psychological needs of men and women, I relate to your sentence, "I think Farmer has the magical quality to not tell the person not to feel the way the do (as I would) but how to help cope with the feelings. That in its self is HARD to do..." This is so true. It is so easy to tell a friend they are wrong to feel how they feel, and yet it is so harmful. I think Farmer helps to heal his patients in ways beyond the physical, because he understands everyone's innate need to just be heard. I found your writing to be beautiful in both meaning and wording, but it would be even more so if there were fewer sentence fragments. Not to get all "sat" on you, but I see grammatical progress in your blogs; keep it up!
----------------------------------------------
Casey,
Great post and I will write a more detailed comment later but I want to remind you that money wasn't the only reason we couldn't get my father insurance- we would have given any amount of money for his well-being. We were lied to by the insurance companies and mislead into believing it was "being taken care of" whereas he was actually just shoved aside and fell through a crack in the system.
Hope you had an awesome break!
Evan
From Eloise:
YO ! I think this was a really great post, as always the writing style flowed nicley. I think that your greatest strength shown in this post is your ablity to incorporate your thoughts on illness in dying with all aspects explored in the class so far. I belive the best line was " Even so, I wondered how he could have thought that he was invincible. I realized that such an attitude can be found in most people, whether revealed by an 11 year old boy jay walking, a high school freshman smoking cigarettes, a college student forgoing a condom, an obese middle aged woman watching television all day instead of going to the gym, or a diabetic man having a field day at Kentucky Fried Chicken. No one wants to think that they are susceptible to sickness, to mortality, to falling into a vulnerable hospitalized circumstance, to death." It was funny because you stated so many true cases, even though many sound like a sterotypes and relatead it to what sounded to be a dominant american population.. but I think you got slightly distracted by why many people don't get health insurance because I am sure your uncle as invincable as he felt if insurance was free he would gladly accept. So I think this highlighted the sad fact that one cannot be optomistic rather feel pesemistic and get insurance because it is not simply provided it is a choice determined based on economic position.
OVERALL GOOD JOB ! :)
Casey,
Awesome post here. I see many parallels between your uncle and my father! They both thought they were invincible, did the most to avoid being in the hands of doctors and suffered for it. You are absolutely right about this 'invincibility complex' that we all share, and as for the best line, I have to agree with Eloise with
"I realized that such an attitude can be found in most people, whether revealed by an 11 year old boy jay walking, a high school freshman smoking cigarettes, a college student forgoing a condom, an obese middle aged woman watching television all day instead of going to the gym, or a diabetic man having a field day at Kentucky Fried Chicken."
Pretty much summed it all up there. We take death for granted and even laugh in its face often multiple times a day, little do we realize we will never truly obtain the "last laugh". Wonderful.
Keep it up!
Evan
p.s. I found one little typo you might want to edit... at least I think it's a typo? "Infects his life" at the end of the first P?
Saturday, January 1, 2011
HW 27 - Visiting An Unwell Person
I visited my ailing uncle in a hospital in Nyack. He was there because, several months prior, he tore a muscle in his foot while helping his father with the strenuous chores around the house. After ignoring both injuries for a while, he finally went to the hospital and spent some weeks with a cast on his foot. Meanwhile the cut underneath the cast became severely infected. Alas, this infection led to his hospitalization, which was very expensive for him because he had never purchased health insurance. The ignorance of my uncle and his doctors led to the spread of the infection. The infection was so drastic that the doctors debated amputating my uncle’s foot. Eventually, they amputated a toe. The infection came and went over the course of those months, but it seems to be physically permanently gone. Unfortunately, it still infects his life because with a toe missing he cannot fill his former position as a cook.
In the hospital room, my uncle reclined in a chair. A machine was connected to his foot with a tube, which was sucking infectious fluid. His foot was swollen, and parts were a blackish, dead hue. The sight caused me to fight several gagging reflexes. I told myself to concentrate on his face, the expression of which wasn’t much less dismal. The visit was filled with awkward silences; there was little to say about his situation, other than expressions of mental and palatable boredom and physical pain.
My uncle’s approach to sickness was fairly passive until sickness actually overtook him – he did not pursue health insurance until it was absolutely necessary. The social conditions that contributed to this issue were probably the high cost of insurance, or a lack of exposure to the fatal results of no health insurance. Health insurance is beyond costly if one’s employer does not assist in paying for it. The little restaurant for which my uncle worked apparently was unwilling to do so. I was at first disgusted by his assumption that insurance would never be necessary. I realized that this was snobby of me, because I might do the same thing in his situation. I cannot judge someone for forgoing health insurance when I receive it at no cost. Even so, I wondered how he could have thought that he was invincible. I realized that such an attitude can be found in most people, whether revealed by an 11 year old boy jay walking, a high school freshman smoking cigarettes, a college student forgoing a condom, an obese middle aged woman watching television all day instead of going to the gym, or a diabetic man having a field day at Kentucky Fried Chicken. No one wants to think that they are susceptible to sickness, to mortality, to falling into a vulnerable hospitalized circumstance, to death.
This attitude is both followed and contradicted in our guest speaker. She and Erik Wood did not buy insurance because it was expensive, and thus was forced to pretend she was invincible in a way. On the other hand, she contradicted this attitude because she had no choice but to embrace, rather than ignore death and loss. “Sicko” reminded me of my uncle, because it made many references to people who suffered from excessive medical bills, and to people who did not have insurance. It made me realize that situations like that of my uncle are not so uncommon, and that insurance should be more readily available to US citizens. “Sicko” was very personal to me, because it evoked memories of familial conflicts and sadness that resulted from our medical system.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)