HW 25

Sicko Precis:  


  Here in the U.S our health care is based off of profit rather then care. Since it is run by private ownership, maximizing profit is the biggest incentive. Almost 50 million Americans are uninsured and those who are insured are often victims of red tape and fraud. This is so because every one in the U.S sees themselves as the "lone cowboy". This is in contrast to other countries like France and Britain where they treat people regardless of there condition and they do not charge you, following the saying " we should live in a world of we instead of me".


Evidence: One point that Micheal Moore tries to prove from the movie is that the U.S has a healthcare system is corrupting our government this is seen in the following topics on which he spoke:


*Hillary Clinton was going against the health care system by trying to get the government to pass a universal healthcare bill, after being defeated by the HMO's they then became Hilliary's biggest supporter.


*Edward Keiser presented his "privatized health care system" to president Richard Nixon that boasted "all the incentives are towards less medical care, the less care you give them, the more money you make." The following day, President Nixon called for a "new national health strategy."


Response:
 I always thought that the U.S was had the best healthcare, due to the fact that it is such a powerful nation. It was shocking to hear that we are number 37 in the healthcare ranking. One would think that since The U.S was a superpower it would at least have a healthcare system which is half as good as other countries but this is not the case. Something I found interesting in the movie was the way people are viewed by the industry, as things to make a profit off of rather then people with feelings   They’re having nutty debates about who’s going to mandate how many people,” Moore said. “We’re not cars,” he quipped. The basic idea is that healthcare, the quality of life of the citizenry, is a responsibility and duty of the state. It is comparable to a basic need of the people like primary schools, libraries, universities - all of which have public funding. Healthcare is no different, and it is as important. The idea of insurance companies is mainly to reduce their cost, to hold back money, to avoid paying up. Obviously such a system can in no way guarantee the best measure of healthcare for the average individual out there who isn't a millionaire. 

HW 21

1.Lying to ourselves about the fact that we are mortal.

2.Going through all the stages of death with someone

3.Accepting death as fact; DNR

4.Went to a monk for help; wanting answers

5.Being sick strips ones right of pride

 Beth Bernett did what most people her age(or of any age) would not dare to do, come into a room full of strangers and talk about the death of a loved one. I found it to be very moving and real because it wasn't like she came in and touch the surface of an area in her life rather she jumped right in. And what really made it real was she did not bead around the bush and B.S her listeners, she told her story. Of the topics on which she spoke the two things that really got my attention were going through all the stages of death with someone and accepting death as fact. Accepting death as fact got my attention because it connected to my life personally. The first time I had to accept the fact that my grandfather was going to die was unbearable. The fact that someone will be stripped away from you forever is heart wrenching, so when she talked about how when she knew her husband was going to die (especially when they signed the DNR) it was moving.  


 Also her experience with seeing someone you love go through all the stages of death spoke to me. I personally have never been through all the stages of death with a loved one. Although Ive been to a lot of funerals and have lost loved ones I never actually "sat down" with them. The fact that she did this not only showed fearlessness but most importantly love. I remember thinking if this was to happen to my parents or siblings how would I feel? Would I be strong? Because its different to lose someone you live with then one you do not even if you love both.

Some thoughts I was left with were is denial bad. What I meant by that was is hoping for the"miracle moment" bad. I was wondering this because I know hope keeps up good moral but then again isn't  it better to just accept the situation at hand and go for what it is worth? One thing that I found interesting is that everyone searches for answers. Every one is the same at death because no one know what happens at death and I found it interesting when Beth Bernett went for help to a monk, because inside everyone there is a yearning to know the unknown.

HW 23

Tuesdays with Morrie By Mitch Albom Published by Doubleday in September 1997 



Precis: Its become more and more clear that Morrie's illness is taking over him. Weird thing is it seems the closer Morrie gets to death the more insightful he becomes. In fact he considers himself lucky that he gets a chance slowly fade and "enjoy his death".


"When you learn how to die, you learn how to live" Pg 104
 One thing that comes to mind when I read this was how simple this quote is, yet how hard it is to follow(when you're not dying).If we lived life knowing were dying everyday I highly doubt people would spend as much time on things that didn't really matter. You get to focus on what you should have been focusing on all along.


"Forget what culture says. I have ignored the culture much of my life. I am not going to be ashamed. Whats the big deal? And you know what? The strangest thing......I began to enjoy my dependency." Pg 116
Just when you thought you finally found something that would make the situation hopeless Morrie flips it on you. One would think that being dependent would be totally horrible, especially for men, and yet he enjoys it.  I do have to say though it is weird that culture has made this dependency look bad but as he says it can have a flip side to it, people pay top dollar to be pampered and do nothing ,but why does that look bad when you're old?


"Its only horrible if you see it that way. Its horrible to watch my body slowly wilt away to nothing. But its also wonderful because of all the time I get to say good-bye...Not everyone is that lucky" Pg 57
 I always find it inspirational how Morrie can make any bad situation seem not as terrible as people make it. I think that there is a certain reward in a death that is not quick. One gets time to reflect on life and not only that but although  your dying your not dead, giving one time  to experience the life they have left to the fullest.



 From reading this book it is clear for anyone that death is somthing we need to face, but because its not understandable its scary. Morrie shows that we should be at peace with death rather then more stressed out then we need to be. Rather then letting his inevitable death get the best of him he gets the best out of his death.  That fact that this book is real connects to "actual life" makes it more insightful. Also Morrie is very original in his advise making one think how they can better or add to their views of life, and death.

HW 22

Tuesdays with Morrie By Mitch Albom Published by Doubleday in September 1997 



Precis: Morrie is a dying man who puts a spin on the way most people view death. After finding out that he has a fatal illness Morrie, along with his best friend Mitch, tries to be the middle man between the living and the dead. As a man going on a journey that all must take and is telling the rest of the travelers what to bring and expect.

"His philosophy was that death should not be embaressing; he was not about to powder its nose" Pg 21

 At this point in the story Morrie had an interview for t.v, and when asked if he wanted make up to make him look good he declined. Personally if I was old and wrinkly I would love to cover it up and try to look as good as I can. Morrie, in contrast, shows us that its good and in fact suggests to embrace the fact that death is out there. I find it interesting that people love to cover up and hide something that is inevitable. We put on make up in false hope that if we look ok we are ok.

"I traded lots of dreams for a bigger paycheck, and I never even realized I was doing it." Pg 33

In the story Mitch had a sudden realization that he had thrown out his dreams in order to be "successful". People tend to think tat if you are successful it doesn't matter if you do not like what you are doing because you are successful. This is not necessarily all their fault because its what society teaches. For example I used to have a job that I hated, but because it paid good I stuck it out. At the end of my term I found myself a man with money who wasn't happy.



"Everyone knows they are going to die," he said again "but not everyone believes it. If we did, we would do things difrently." Pg 81

This caught my attention because of how true it is, this is true in most if not all peoples lives. Something that comes to mind when I read this was is the phrase "out of sight out of mind". Because we push death out of our lives and heads we live like we have all the time in the world. If we lived life knowing were dying everyday I highly doubt people would spend as much time on things that didn't really matter (Facebook) as much they do.

 This book provides the alternative point of view that should be looked for in life. The fact that Morrie is not just sitting back and letting his inevitable death ruin his time that he is alive, is inspirational. Reading this book has made me question the very way I view death. I can only hope that if I was to be in a situation as this I could react the same.

HW 20 Thinking/ Writing Groups

Stephen Gavin
Stephencgavin@yahoo.com

Partners:
Luz_leon93@yahoo.comNormalisweirdluz.blogspot.com
Christopher M. Lilcmm@gmail.com chrism23.blogspot.com
Letcia P. pichardleticia@yahoo.com LP-leticia.blogspot.com

HW 19

 The way my parents view death has greatly affected the way I see death also. Because my parents are religious I view death a only a beginning to an end, because there is an afterlife(a good one in heaven, or a terrible one in hell). Not only that but the experiences they have faced and the ones I have have definitely affected how we see it. For the most part on my dad's side, the topic of death followed the social norm.  My dads parents didn't talk about death to him because its a very sad and depressing topic, so instead they shunned it. On my moms side it was similar, my grandmother wouldn't talk about this stuff with my mom because my grandmother thought it was something for grown ups you only should talk about when it happens and no where else because its sad. The weird thing about this is although my grandparents did not talk about death with their kids, but mine are not afraid of the subject and because so neither am I. Because my grandparents didn't try to understand death it made my parents want to.

 My mom would talk about death and illness, because of the experiences in her life and the fact that her mom wouldn't talk about it with her, but she said if I was to ask her to talk about this topic( like later teen years) with her a while back she wouldn't like to.She said that because she didn't understand death  she was scared of it, same with my dad.The one major contrast between my grandparents and parents and my parents and me would be they were not allowed to look at dead bodies, but that is very different to my life because Ive been to 7 funerals.

 In my own life personally there was a period of time when people were dying left and right and I felt hopless, sad, and most of all angry(angry that I was helpless to just sit back and watch the people I love die). For a while I was depressed but after my fourth funeral I relized it was one of those things that happens and I learned to accept it. This it made me partially numb to death. What I mean by numb is not that I dont mourn the loss of a friend or family but Im not over emotional.  I remember reading from the play "The Flies" that there was public executions and this was done to "rob death of its glory". Nowadays society has subconsciously placed death has a nice big pedastal because we shun, fear, and dont (and in some cases do not want to) understand it.While I'm not promoting public executions I just thought it was interesting the way its viewed and found it kind of true in my life.  


Thoughts:
Is it wrong to feel numb towards death?

HW 18

Over the break i had my thanksgiving meal at a friends house rather than traditionally eating with my family(due to minor complications brought up among my family). This wasn't the first time this has happened but this usually happens during and after the meal then we all make up and party at the end. I usually look foward to thanksgiving because its a big thing in my family, so when I heard this wasn't going to happen I was a bit pissed off. Because of this I found myself being more of a critic than guest because i kept comparing this thanksgiving to when I have thanksgiving with my relatives.
 One thing I could not complain about was the food.There was an immense amount of food even though there were about 12 people eating there was still leftovers. Before we ate we blessed the meal and got ready to eat, but before we began our host told us of a old tradition. The host had a tradition to eat all the food that was brought to the meal ,because if all the food was eaten it would bring good luck. After hearing this I remember feeling obligated to eat as much as I could, not that I dont like to eat a lot but now I felt like I had to eat a little bit more than normal.At the feast there was a lot of food because everyone(My mom, friends, people from church) brought food. This is usually the norm for most thanksgiving feasts and I remember my brought up the point why do people feel they "have" to bring more food then you can eat to thanksgiving which was a good point but then again how wierd would it be if there was not enough food for everyone, and people had to watch others eat? Any way the food was mostly traditional thanksgiving food, turkey, cranberry sauce, coleslaw, potato pie, mashed potatoes, baked mac n cheese, etc. Rice was added to the menu later, because when my mom heard there was not going to be any, she decided that no matter who's house were going to we might as well not go if there was no rice. When we were all done eating we had a time to say what we were thankfull for and why, which was cool because some people where thankful for things i never thought of. Afterwards we sat around and did in home activities none of which involved excessive movement, because after a meal like this no one would want to for fear that their food might come back up. So some watched t.v others, played cards and other games, and the rest just hanged around.One thing I found funny was that usually at all the other thanksgiving meals Ive been to people try to take food home with them, but this year the people who came where trying to get rid of food.
 When ever I eat with my relatives its more of a party type of thanks giving with dancing, and guys trying to out do each other in sports and other games like domino's. But this year although it was fun it didn't feel "live" mabe because I had to eat double my intake for the sake of tradition.