I saw Sicko recently, and afterward my first impulse was to figure out how to pick up and move to another country. Any other country. I was so discouraged by witnessing this piece of American injustice through our own neglect that I thought I'd just have to abandon ship. Then, I realized how much I'd miss my people, and that we all deserve the same rights that will be lost if we just leave. I remembered the words of my precious Avetts, 'When you run, make sure you run to something and not away from, 'cause lies don't need an aeroplane to chase you down.' Not lies I have told, but lies I have believed. Lies I have encouraged through my own disregard for the truth. Admittedly, trips to the grocery store have lately taken on a new learning curve as I am trying to be aware of where my food actually comes from, but I have faith that will get easier with practice. We all know that as Americans, we vote with our dollars. What we choose to spend our money on empowers us and our world more than amorphous policies handed down from government agencies. Which brings us back to Sicko- what are we to do? Half of the group I saw the film with have no health insurance. It only puts them in precarious situations when they, say, have to have an emergency appendectomy, or when they get sick and it is a hassle to find a doctor. But it matters that they do not get preventative care. It matters, specifically as Michael Moore points out because we no longer are taking care of each other. America worships the individual, and yes, I am a lucky American, but we value our own needs over those of others. We care not what we are feeding, teaching or helping each other. Americans are like spoiled party kids, trashing the house because we can with no consequences. I do not even know how to begin to clean it up.
So, in a book by Susan Griffin, I found this:
“If human consciousness can be rejoined not only with the human body but with the body of the earth, what seems incipient in the reunion is the recovery of meaning within existence that will infuse every kind of meeting between self and the universe, even in the most daily acts, with an eros, a palpable love, that is also sacred."
So, for now, I will ponder and hope and be and do, and try to honor this world as an extension of my self and of your self.
1 comment:
And I must add my embittered comment, what is preventative care within our health system, if anything? What we CALL preventative care is actually diagnostic/early intervention care, as far as I can tell. With the exception of regular teeth cleanings, which reminds me of an appointment I need to make....
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