Forty-Two

I had the pleasure of watching Michael Moore’s Sicko this week and I just happened to read the New Scientist article about altruism and the beneficial effects it has on groups and I had an epiphany that that is exactly what we need: Altruistic Health Care. Not “Socialized Medicine”, not “Universal Health Care”, but Altruistic Health Care.

When someone we know gets sick or injured and has difficulties with paying for their medical care we rally around to help them, making food for them, helping them out financially if we can, and doing anything we can do to help support them. When a friend of a friend gets sick and needs help, we’re happy to donate to raffles, bake sales, and other fund raisers to support them. We donate to the United Way, the local homeless shelter, and the local food bank.

If you look at all you currently do to “help” those less fortunate than you to afford to be in a better situation, and add up all the dollars spent, it would most likely be less than the tax increase that would allow us to afford to pay for this altruistic health care for all United States citizens. Then we would no longer have to have health insurance. Just imagine: you’re sick, so you go to the closest doctor’s office, you’re seen, you’re taken care of, you go home. No forms to fill out, no co-pay to pay, no worrying about how you will afford the prescription. It’s all free. The pre-natal care for a baby, the birth of the baby, the time off afterwards… it’s all free and paid.

Instead of trying to raise funds locally with fundraisers to help those we care about, we need to to move our efforts to a nation-wide system. If those that cannot can be helped by those who can, we all benefit. Groups that show altruism do better than groups that are selfish, and we all know that insurance companies are selfish. We know they don’t approve necessary care because it will lose them money. It is time for all of us to stop allowing them to do so. Rally for Altruistic Health Care for all United States citizens. Demand it. We deserve proper health care!

Photo is from the Creative Commons Flickr stream from Otis Historical Archives of the National Museum of Health and Medicine, in Washington DC.

Link to Preview of New Scientist article on Altruism benefitting groups here.

Link to Michael Moore’s “What Can I Do” page here.

The Library of Congress has been uploading a collection of photos from the 1910s to the 1940s and it has some amazing photos of the Rosie the Riveter type of “women working during the war effort” photos. The one above is just one of many great shots, this one is by Alfred T. Palmer. The photos make you really think about what women have accomplished in gaining rights in just the past century. I mean, the idea of women working outside the home was something so special they took all these propaganda-style photos. Amazing.

It’s made me take some time to think about how much life has changed for the average woman since the turn of the century in 1900. Appreciate what we have because we haven’t had it long.

Link to the Flickr Library of Congress collection