When it comes to health, housing, and infrastructure, politicians have been corrupted by wealthy donors. Politicians look away while American burns in worship of wealth. I live in a rural community with a substandard hospital, a rampant drug epidemic caused by hopelessness (no jobs, no future for our youth), neighbors who believe Covid-19 is "fake news" (despite the high death toll here), and senior citizens who live in poverty. EVERY WEEK I hear elders talk about having to choose between food and medicine, and wishing they had safe housing. The hole is so deep, and we just keep digging.
Vivian - one of the undercurrents I keep coming back to is that if people don't feel like their politics are even capable of offering change, then they don't seek change through it. Beyond the insurrection and the rise of the far right, I worry that many on the left have foreclosed on the question of whether or not they can look to politics for change. And that's truly chilling.
Health care conversation is sort of like the weather. People are only motivated in the midst of a storm; once that passes, it's back to normal. To effect real change we're going to have to be as savvy as the NRA (minus the corruption, of course). Build a national organization. Recruit dues paying members. Message, message, message. Build on small victories. Elect our candidates. Make it clear to policy makers that we aren't ever, ever going to back down.
I hear you. The worry I have is that we've gotten so used to the rain that we can't differentiate between the storm and clear skies--it's always rainy. When that happens, we fail to respond to the storms that are so clearly happening right now.
We need to shift funding from war to healthcare and education.. Canada is doing a better job. We should have updated our US hospitals and insurance protocols by now.. we are sending too many billions of tax payers hard earned money away from healthcare.. so we’re definitely not prepared for the next virus mutation.
That's the truth, Mosab. I fear we've become accustomed to the system as it is as *so normal* that we can't even imagine it to be different. Do you find this affects the quality of care you can provide in clinics/hospitals--or to whom you can provide it?
While providing clinical services at urgent cares across metro Detroit, we used to get notifications from local hospital systems stating they can no longer handle additional burden of covid patients and we were instructed to serve as front line “heros”, despite the fact that we lack certain necessary diagnostic and treatment strategies, leading to subpar care. We do our best to manage, prioritize, and delegate accordingly. Was hoping to see hospital renovation and expansion by now, specifically in preparation of a novel virus/strain, but unfortunately we are still unprepared.
I am a nurse and I already knew healthcare was a disaster in the United States. Certainly COVID has pointed that out even more starkly. I don't know why there's not more of an outcry about it. All healthcare workers and certainly patients have been suffering. I am doing my bit to effect change from within.
Grateful for you, Betsy—both on the frontlines and in your advocacy. Do you think we’ve just baked this into the normal brokenness? Or do you think people just don’t know how bad it was if they weren’t in it themselves?
I’m not sure what it will take but I know we will only achieve it with a mass movement and people need to get out of their comfort zone and do something!
It takes big-picture thinkers to envision "massive" reform. President Obama began it with the so-called Obama care. Now, in this even more contentious era, will anyone dare to try?
When it comes to health, housing, and infrastructure, politicians have been corrupted by wealthy donors. Politicians look away while American burns in worship of wealth. I live in a rural community with a substandard hospital, a rampant drug epidemic caused by hopelessness (no jobs, no future for our youth), neighbors who believe Covid-19 is "fake news" (despite the high death toll here), and senior citizens who live in poverty. EVERY WEEK I hear elders talk about having to choose between food and medicine, and wishing they had safe housing. The hole is so deep, and we just keep digging.
It’s devastating to hear every time, Jan. It’s almost like folks have given up hope that it doesn’t have to be this way.
A colleague and I are working on research not just healthcare but economy too
need to address both given political condition of the US
Vivian - one of the undercurrents I keep coming back to is that if people don't feel like their politics are even capable of offering change, then they don't seek change through it. Beyond the insurrection and the rise of the far right, I worry that many on the left have foreclosed on the question of whether or not they can look to politics for change. And that's truly chilling.
Health care conversation is sort of like the weather. People are only motivated in the midst of a storm; once that passes, it's back to normal. To effect real change we're going to have to be as savvy as the NRA (minus the corruption, of course). Build a national organization. Recruit dues paying members. Message, message, message. Build on small victories. Elect our candidates. Make it clear to policy makers that we aren't ever, ever going to back down.
I hear you. The worry I have is that we've gotten so used to the rain that we can't differentiate between the storm and clear skies--it's always rainy. When that happens, we fail to respond to the storms that are so clearly happening right now.
We need to shift funding from war to healthcare and education.. Canada is doing a better job. We should have updated our US hospitals and insurance protocols by now.. we are sending too many billions of tax payers hard earned money away from healthcare.. so we’re definitely not prepared for the next virus mutation.
That's the truth, Mosab. I fear we've become accustomed to the system as it is as *so normal* that we can't even imagine it to be different. Do you find this affects the quality of care you can provide in clinics/hospitals--or to whom you can provide it?
While providing clinical services at urgent cares across metro Detroit, we used to get notifications from local hospital systems stating they can no longer handle additional burden of covid patients and we were instructed to serve as front line “heros”, despite the fact that we lack certain necessary diagnostic and treatment strategies, leading to subpar care. We do our best to manage, prioritize, and delegate accordingly. Was hoping to see hospital renovation and expansion by now, specifically in preparation of a novel virus/strain, but unfortunately we are still unprepared.
And right on cue! https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/medicare-cori-bush/
I am a nurse and I already knew healthcare was a disaster in the United States. Certainly COVID has pointed that out even more starkly. I don't know why there's not more of an outcry about it. All healthcare workers and certainly patients have been suffering. I am doing my bit to effect change from within.
Grateful for you, Betsy—both on the frontlines and in your advocacy. Do you think we’ve just baked this into the normal brokenness? Or do you think people just don’t know how bad it was if they weren’t in it themselves?
I’m not sure what it will take but I know we will only achieve it with a mass movement and people need to get out of their comfort zone and do something!
It takes big-picture thinkers to envision "massive" reform. President Obama began it with the so-called Obama care. Now, in this even more contentious era, will anyone dare to try?