This unit was more enlightening than I thought it would be. At first I was spectacle about the unit, but that was only because of the name illness and dying. I thought to myself what could Andy possibly have to teach us about this, there's no way this can be as interesting and beneficial to my life as the food unit. I guess I was wrong. My only experiences with terminal illness and dying have come from family related deaths. I was able to watch and experience my grandmother die from lung cancer, it was quite a sight. I'd rather not see anyone else go through that again. My uncle died of aids in 2002 and I saw him about 3 months before he died, he looked extremely healthy but he still died and had a close casket. This prepared me for the subject we were about to tackle in school. Apparently there is a nightmarish industrial atrocity in most of our dominant social practices, and this is one of them. Because of the health care system America has those who need the insurance are often denied due to profit incentives that date back to the Nixon presidency. The movie Sicko, as long as the movie Food Inc seemed to be the light at the end of my tunnel. The movie Sicko provided that alternative to the problems we have socialized medicine. Looking at the facts and statistics provided in Sicko, and Mr. Harker's blog it would be more beneficial if we switched to socialized medicine. But of course the Republicans and others wouldn't have this at all.
This unit did have some more bright sides, it made me feel as if I should enjoy life more. The key to dealing with death to me is to welcome it. Now this doesn't mean you should try and die or kill yourself, it just means if death is the only outcome or your odds are that slim be grateful for the time you had on Earth and get ready to have all your questions about the afterlife answered. That especially sounds very promising. However, if I were to die at this moment I wouldn't be satisfied with my life. I still have so many places to see, things to do, people to meet, women to meet especially, and things to accomplish.
Now with hospitals I feel I am quite biased since I take for granted my health insurance that my mom's job provided for us for free. My doctor visits are always pleasant, my doctor Dr. Vharma is a nice woman who doesn't seem to not have a personal relationship with her patients. I love the doctor so much I look forward to going there, being weighed, seeing how much I grew, beating the eye tests with my stellar vision as the doctor calls it, even when I'm sick/ have the flu I look forward to going there since I know my doctor has got me covered, and the only bad thing I can think of when going to the doctor is getting shot to help prevent diseases and other things which I get for free. But enough with me, everyone isn't that lucky I understand this our healthcare system wastes way to much money trying to keep patients alive who are most likely going to die, rather than helping keep people alive for diseases which there are cures for. Our country has got some adjusting to do hopefully after this recession is over(if it ever ends) our country and re-establish itself and fix things. But, like they say on the news with time comes change.
For Abdul, Your most beautiful line was"Now this doesn't mean you should try and die or kill yourself, it just means if death is the only outcome or your odds are that slim be grateful for the time you had on Earth and get ready to have all your questions about the afterlife answered." This is a really smart line, people should definitely be grateful for what they receive and the memories and events they have before it's to late. It's also probably true when you die that all your answers about the afterlife are answered. Good job Abdul on your blogpost keep up the goodwork.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stephen, I was also struck by your idea that we can look forward to having our "questions about the afterlife answered." In a way, though, they'll only be answered if we are in some way conscious. For example if we're in heaven, or even hell, then we'll know what happened to us. But if our soul/spirit/mind/consciousness or whatever you want to call it simply ends when our heart stops beating, then are our questions answered? The answer will be there, but we won't be around to know it... And then that brings up reincarnation- if it exists, does the soul know that it will be reincarnated? Does it have any choice in how and into which body? I'm thinking all of this because I just finished a World Religions unit and it seems that one of the driving forces behind religions is the answers they provide people about the afterlife. As afraid as some people, especially many Christians, are of hell, people seem even more terrified of the idea that there is simply nothing after death, and religion can provide an antidote to that terror. They've done studies showing that prayer doesn't help people recover from illness (http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/health/31pray.html) but at the same time it does seem that people with strong religious faith who believe that they have earned a pleasant afterlife are less afraid of death, both for themselves and their loved ones. Has religion come up for you in this unit? It seems inextricably linked to most people's experiences with death...
ReplyDeleteIn my last post I asked what alternate health care system you would prefer to the one that we have in the U.S., and you started to answer that in this post, which I appreciated. The socialist health care model has more issues and problems than were presented in Sicko, but also has some distinct advantages over our system.
In general it seems that you've been thoughtful about the material covered in this unit and I look forward to your thoughts on birth...