Friday, December 3, 2010

Wiki-Leaks and American Healthcare

Just read a post by Donna Smith at commondreams.org  that is so moving I had to share it with you. The American healthcare debacle is no longer in the news much these days, having been most recently eclipsed by the Wiki-Leaks excitement.

But just because the public is fickle, doesn't mean that Americans  aren't  still dying out there  because they cannot afford decent health care in a dollar driven system.


Here's an excerpt from the post:
Today, in cites and states across the United States, 123 people died because they lacked enough money to buy healthcare services.  That brings the annual death toll for 2010 to 41,082. 
WikiLeaks had nothing to do with the deaths of the 123 people who died today or any of the 41,082 who died so far this year.
The 123 who died today did so with the full knowledge of all who allowed their deaths.  The 123 who died today might have lived if they had access to appropriate healthcare.  The 123 who died got no mention on any news program or website – liberal, conservative or otherwise.  So much for the value of 123 human lives.
 We Americans have become so conditioned to the cruelty of our profit-driven healthcare system that the death of 123 of our fellow human beings doesn’t even warrant the same coverage as the potential sale of Bob Dylan’s handwritten lyrics for “The Times They are a Changing.”   Something is ridiculous about thinking that Dylan’s lyrics might bring $200,000 - $300,000 from some wealthy buyer who might have funded some healthcare and saved a few lives today.  What’s changed, Bob?
Oh, we’re ready to throw the whole terrorist plot arsenal at the WikiLeaks folks because of the potential for lost lives based on the leaking of government diplomatic documents.  Yes, we are.  But no one stands accountable for the 123 dead today without access to healthcare they would have if only they had money.  No one stands accountable for the 41,082 healthcare dead so far in 2010.....
here's a link to the original post  It's worth taking the time to read the whole thing.


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