Thursday, July 12, 2007

Michael Moore

While I commend Michael Moore for bringing the failings of our health care system to light, I have to protest on a couple major points. He makes our system look like the worst, it's not. He fails to tell you that Cuban citizens, along with Canadians, have to wait for months to see a doctor. If you have a wisdom tooth killing your mouth and can afford to pay to have it removed, would you be willing to wait 6 months or more just to see a doctor? I wouldn't! I know if I had the $$ I'd be in that dentist's chair NOW! And let's not forget how high a lot of other nations' income and other taxes are to cover their "free" insurance for everyone. We complain about paying upwards of 20-30%. I have many European friends who would LOVE to pay that instead of their current 50% or more. And did Mr. Moore not realize the firestorm he would bring upon himself by taking American citizens to Cuba?? That in itself discredited him even more amongst closed-minded people. And if you think we have it bad here in the US, a friend of mine's relative got sick while vacationing in Mexico and he would've been better of NOT going to the hospital in Mexico because their sterilization is archaic at best, nonexistent at worst! I have two very close friends in the medical field, and both will tell you in a heartbeat that our system isn't perfect. Doctors and nurses are overbooked, rushed, and overworked. Nurses frequently put in shifts that the rest of us would SUE our bosses over. But they can't, it's a normal workday for them. So instead of pointing out why someone else is so much better, let's take the system we have and make it better. Let's support organizations that provide free or low-cost medical care for our children. Support organizations that help provide needy families with HEALTHY food - which will in turn help improve their health and thereby requiring less medical attention. It's time to take the junk food out of the schools. Chocolate shouldn't be in any vending machine at school. That in itself doesn't help obesity. We have a lot of work to do, both inside and outside our medical system. Let's just not focus on one bad blemish. Let's focus on the system as a whole. But, thank you Mr. Moore, for starting the dialogue.

1 comment:

Walter parker said...

I am not a fan of Michael Moore at the best of times but if his rantings cause a reaction and a response like what you suggest, then he is to be applauded for bringing a hidden topic to light. As I implied elsewhere, it is not good enough to just criticize, one also needs to come up with some alternatives and orcreative suggestions like you have lynx.